Antec HCG 850w Bronze Power Supply Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

The Antec HCG 850w Bronze Power Supply retails for a price in the region of £110. In truth, for a bronze rated power supply, that does seem a little expensive, but then the Gold equivalent for the same price isn’t usually much better than 650w. As such, a bit of a trade-off has to be made whether you want the efficiency or ultimately the power delivery.

With a 5-year warranty protecting you, this is certainly a nice reassurance if you do plan to buy one.

Overview

In terms of looks and performance figures, it’s hard to fault this power supply. It does exactly what it promises on the box and generally does it very well. This is a power supply that has attempted to balance out price, wattage, and performance and on the whole, I think it does quite well. With that though, I do not think it unfair to suggest that this power supply is at its best when it’s asked to work hard.

Efficiency and Beyond

When a Bronze power supply provides figures more in line with silver, it’s hard to make any criticisms of it. Yes, we have been other power supplies give better returns, but in terms of the performance based on the price, it’s hard to argue that the Antec HCG isn’t a good choice for those with performance or gaming led systems.

Should I Buy One?

This is a quality power supply, there is no doubting that. Whether you should buy one though all comes down to your personal requirements. If you were to ask me if I was to recommend this power supply for an office computer, I would answer no. The efficiency and PFC ratings at low load are not particularly impressive. If you were to ask me if this was suitable for a gaming PC, I’d say absolutely.

In terms of efficiency performance, this completely nails the 80 plus bronze rating and as above, potentially could stake a claim for silver if the figures were a little tighter.

The 850w output is more than enough for your average or even above average gamer. For the price though, it does find itself in dangerous waters where many competing branded gold rated power supplies prowl. So while I would recommend this power supply, I’d probably suggest that you would be better served to wait for it to dip below the £100 mark before buying.