Here’s What Antec have to say about
the unit:
“Neo HE combines the most desired features
in PC power supplies with unprecedented efficiency
in design. These new power supplies' energy-efficient
operation reduces power consumption by up to 20%
compared with traditional power supplies, saving
users money. Also generating less heat, and enabling
cooling with a smaller, slower, quieter fan. Active
PFC circuitry further reduces impact on the power
infrastructure. The result is cooler, quieter, and
more environmentally friendly power.”
The Neo HE is somewhat different to most other power
supply units and we do not mean that because it
is a modular type power supply unit as there are
many of these around these days. The Neo HE is relying
on its own high efficiency factor to solve all of
the problems that a power supply unit may face and
it is this that makes the Neo HE so different.
To keep things simple, when a power supply unit
is drawing power from AC (110V-230V) and converts
it to DC, there is a power loss. The lost power
becomes heat. The less efficient a power supply
unit is the more power it will waste and the less
power it will be able to provide and also the more
heat it will need to dissipate. Antec solved that
problem not by adding stronger cooling, which is
the cheap way of solving that problem. Antec enhanced
the efficiency factor of the Neo HE as far as that
is currently possible. This way, as you can imagine,
the power supply unit will not waste much power
while converting AC voltage to DC voltage. That
allows it to remain much cooler without the need
of high speed fans and also will keep your electricity
bill somewhat lower. Also, this way the power supply
unit remains cooler and can provide more power itself.
The Neo HE we have here for testing for example
is rated for 550W peak output at 50C ambient temperature.
If the air surrounding it is cooler, it is able
to provide more power than 550W. Or if you like,
it will always be able to provide 550W while mounted
in most computer cases, unlike most cheap power
supply units.
Let’s check out the specifications of this
power supply unit:
| FEATURES |
| Switches |
ATX Logic on-off
Additional power rocker switch |
| Maximum Power |
550W |
| Transient Response |
+12V, +5Vand +3.3V independent
output circuitry provides stable power and tighter
cross regulation (+/- 3%) |
| P. G. Signal |
100-500ms |
Over Voltage Protection
recycle AC to reset
|
+5V trip point < +6.5V
+3.3V trip point < +4.1V
+12V trip point < +14.3V |
| Special Connectors |
ATX12V/EPS12V Compatible
4 + 4 pin +12V
Molex Peripheral
Floppy
SATA
PCI Express |
| Leakage Current |
<3.5mA @ 115VAC |
| DIMENSIONS |
| Unit Size |
5.9"(L)
x 5.9"(W) x 3.4"(H)
15cm(L) x 15cm(W) x 8.6cm(H) |
| Net Weight |
5lbs.2.3kg |
| OUTPUT |
| Output Voltage |
+3.3V |
+5V
|
+12V1
|
+12V2
|
+12V3
|
-12v |
+5Vsb |
| Available Power |
79.2W |
100W |
504W |
9.6W |
12.5W |
| Total Power |
550W
continuous output @ 50C ambient temperature |
| INPUT
|
| Input Voltage
|
100Vac to 240Vac
+/- 10% |
| Input Frequency Range |
47Hz to 63Hz |
| Inrush Current |
60A @ 115V , 100A @ 230V |
| Input Current |
9A @ 115V, 4.5A @ 230V |
| Hold-up Time |
20ms at full load |
| Efficiency |
Up to 85%
115V - Full load 76%; Typical load 82%, Light
load 77.9%
230V - Full load 80%; Typical load 85%, Light
load 79.45% |
| EMI/RFI |
FCC Class B |
| ENVIRONMENTAL
|
| Operating Temp.
|
10 ºC to
50 ºC |
| Operating Alt. |
Sea Level-10,000 ft |
| MTBF |
80,000 hours at 50ºC |
| Safety Approval |
UL, CUL, TUV, CE, FCC, CCC,
CB, C-tick |
As you can see in the above charts the specifications
of the NeoHE 550 is impressive, it also has dual
PCIe power cables, and with its triple 12v rails
with 18Amps on each this power supply should be
able to power the most demanding system.
The Neo HE comes in a cardboard box, which is wrapped
in plastic. The design of the box was kept simple,
but it still looks nice. On the outside Antec’s
marketing motto, “Power and Protect”
is mainly its theme. By opening the box you will
find the power supply unit wrapped in a nylon bag
and cardboard pieces, separated from the rest of
the bundle. It would have been nice to see something
more protective on the inside like foam cushions
or something else more “bump proof”
than cardboard however this is certainly better
than having the unit loose or with no protection.
We didn’t really expect the Neo HE to have
anything special bundled with it as generally no
power supply units do. The bundle sent out with
this product mainly consists of a manual, cables
and the mounting screws. The manual is written in
5 languages, and that’s a good thing. It is
a very simple manual though with only basic data
and precaution tips. The AC power cable is nothing
more than a standard AC power cable and four mounting
screws nothing notable as well. Finally, there is
a bag with all the internal cables you are able
to use with the Neo HE. Let’s take a closer
look at the cables.
You will receive 7 pieces of cables with your PSU.
The first two are Molex power cables for your 4-pin
powered devices, such as common optical drives and
hard disk drives. The two cables provide you with
six Molex connectors. Next there are two PCI-E 12V
power cables, for two of today’s high power
video cards which make the Neo HE SLI/Crossfire
ready. There are two cables which provide SATA connectors
as well, for up to four SATA hard disk drives. Finally,
there is a 4-pin to floppy power 3-pin converter
which converts a single 4-pin Molex to two 3-pin
floppy connectors, as the name suggests.
Many people are not using floppy disk drives anymore
so it is nice that you are able to get rid of the
floppy connectors if needed. All of these cables
(except the 4-pin to 3-pin converter) can be directly
attached to a port at the rear of the Neo HE. You
can connect any of the cables to any of the ports
at the rear of the Neo HE; they will all work just
the same, despite the cables powering different
components. The only cable you have to be careful
about is the PCI-E power cable, as both ends are
almost similar. The end that indicates ‘PCI-E’
goes to the video cards and the black ends are attached
on the Neo HE. The main power cables which are the
ATX power cable and the 12V CPU power cable are
fixed on the power supply unit as you are going
to use them no matter what.
