Antec High Current Pro 1200W Modular Power Supply Review

Antec clearly designed this unit with one purpose in mind- to create a power supply that will be the perfect choice for any enthusiast wanting to build a 1KW+ system, and I have to say- it looks like they have succeeded! I hate to use the word perfect, because nothing ever truly is, however I have poked around this unit inside and out to try and find something I could criticise it for, but really, I could hardly find anything. Admittedly, the packaging isn’t quite what you’d expect from a unit of this value, and the 80mm fan may rival a HD6990 for noise when at 100% load, but from a technical standpoint- the unit is pretty much flawless. It clearly targets itself at enthusiasts who know exactly what to look for in a power supply, rather than trying to lure naive builders in with gimmicks and dodgey claims. I don’t think there is much to say about this unit other than that is simply performs. I’d like to quote Antec’s own description of the product, which after reviewing it, I believe to be extremely accurate:

Antec’s HCP-1200 unifies raw power with advanced PSU engineering to meet the demands of high performing PCs. To experience kilowatt-class power in an unmatched design, pick up Antec’s HCP-1200.

My favourite thing about this unit is the approach that Antec took, they take your £220 and hand you back a PSU worth £220 rather than £30 of packaging and £50 of useless gimmicks/marketing which isn’t uncommon among other manufacturers. Antec take an old-school approach like they did with their Performance One cases and provide you with a high-performance and professional product. £220 is a lot to spend on a power supply, but if you can justify spending that money then this should undoubtedly be your option. If you are looking for a unit that you can trust to power your current rig, and many more in the future then the price of the unit starts to make sense. I have seen reports of this unit drawing 2.2KW from the wall, this is of course well out of spec and will not meet the 80+ Gold rating, but this unit can really be pushed which makes it suitable for those of you that want to play BF3 on tri-SLI GTX580s or who really want to push your high end system to it’s limits.

In short, if you are a true hardware enthusiast or professional who wants to buy a PSU to last many, many years powering the very latest hardware then this is a solid option. An initial investment of £220 is nothing compared to what it will provide you with in the long term. The feature set is there, it is capable of powering duel-CPU boards, it is capable of powering the latest graphics cards in multi-GPU configuratons, and most importantly- it won’t let you down. If you are serious about hardware, then you are going to need a serious PSU, and the Antec HCP-1200 would be my number one choice.