Antec HCG-750M 750-Watt 80 PLUS Bronze Power Supply Review

Introduction, Specifications, Availability and Pricing

Antec's High Current Gamer series has proven to be a success from day one. When the series was introduced, it was focused on gamers with multi-GPU systems needing quality power at a decent cost. As time has gone by, Antec has evolved the series to cater to a wider audience. First they added more wattages to reach out to those who didn't need as much power. Then they added modular cabling to allow for tidier installations.

Antec's latest installation of the HCG series starts by adding modular cables to the 750W variant. That isn't all though as the new HCG-750M adds a white LED fan to the mix to light things up. Perhaps one of the best things about doing this is that Antec placed a switch on the unit allowing users to turn the LEDs on or off as desired.

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Previous iterations of the HCG have done very well in our tests, so we have some high hopes for this one just by looking at the specifications below.

Specifications, Availability and Pricing

Antec's new HCG-750M features a pair of 12V rails. Each are rated for 40A each with a combined output of 62A or 744W. Both the 3.3V and 5V rails are rated for 25A each with a combined maximum output of 150W. The 5VSB rail is rated for 3A or 15W. Maximum combined output for the HCG-750M is 750W.

The HCG-750 does a good job of filling out our Feature Summary. It doesn't miss a beat when it comes to protections, even making sure that over-temperature protection is covered. The HCG-750M is partially modular. All cables both native and modular are fully sleeved. It is 80 PLUS Bronze certified and although it is not rated for 100% continuous output at 50C, Antec rates the unit for it at 40C.

Antec lists the HCG-750M with an MSRP of $149. This seems a little bit on the high side, but if you do some shopping around, you will find it at a much more reasonable price. Newegg, at the time of writing, has the HCG-750M listed for $99.98 after rebates and shipping. That's much more enticing and reasonable considering the output and efficiency of the unit. Antec backs the HCG-750M with a five-year warranty.

Packaging

Antec gives us a little teaser of the PSU on the front, along with letting us know that it has a white LED fan.

The back presents us with a wall of text that is the same in a multitude of languages. There isn't much here out of the ordinary, but it is nice to note that the PSU uses Japanese capacitors.

This side of the box lets us know how many connectors of each type are available for the unit.

The other side gives us the I/O specifications for the HCG-750M.

The bottom features a few more pieces to the puzzle. What is notable here is that the power supply features the ability to support 8-pin to 16-pin GPU connectors.

Inside the Box

Antec's typical cardboard packaging is present. It isn't anything special, but it gets the job done.

The HCG-750M has a semi-gloss black finish on it. The I/O specifications label and serial number are placed on top of the unit.

Both sides feature the same logo with the opposite being inverted for being installed in the bottom of a case.

Things are standard in the back with a honeycomb mesh grill, AC input and on/off rocker switch.

The front features the modular connectors and are labeled for their associated rails. The on/off switch for the LED fan is here. It would have been nicer to see this on the back as you have to open your case to turn the light off as it stands. If it were in the back, you could turn it on and off at will.

The clear 135mm fan is shrouded by the honeycomb grill.

All modular cables are fully sleeved.

Rounding out the contents of the box is the AC input cord, mounting screws, user manual and warranty pamphlet.

Cabling Arrangement and A Look Inside

Cabling Arrangement

Cabling is very simple for the HCG-750M. Aside from the attached 24-pin and EPS12V connectors, there are four PCI-E connectors over two cables. The peripheral connectors are handled via four cables that have mixed connectors offering nine SATA, six Molex and a single FDD connector.

The HCG-750M features two 12V rails. The first rail takes care of one of the PCI-E connectors and all of the peripheral connectors. The other rail addresses the 24-pin, ESP12V and other PCI-E connectors.

A Look Inside

Opening the unit up reveals a cleanly designed Seasonic unit. Passive cooling is present without being overabundant.

Multiple Nippon Chemi-Con bulk capacitors sit on the primary side of the power supply.

The secondary side is littered with Nippon Chemi-con caps. There was also a single Rubycon capacitor present.

ADDA provides the active cooling for the HCG-750M with the ADN512UB-A90LD 120mm fan.

Test Results and Final Thoughts

Test Results

Our load tests utilize a couple of FAST ATE active load testers and a variety of other equipment such as an oscilloscope, power conditioner, temperature probe and a power consumption meter. You can read more about our standard testing approach here.

The tests performed are based around six conceivable setups that are out there and progressively load down the PSU up to the power supply's limits or 1000W, whichever comes first. Since our test equipment's limits are higher than that of the Antec HCG-750M 750W power supply, we can test it to the maximum.

The above tests represent typical loads that we have measured from various systems and are meant to give a rough idea of where your computer might fall in line with our tests. Please keep in mind that each system is different and actual loads can vary greatly even with similar hardware.

Let's start by taking a look at the voltages to see how well this unit did during testing. Starting with the 12V1 rail, we see 2% regulation from start to finish with a total drop of .14V. 12V2 faired a little better, staying within 2% regulation start to finish and showing a total voltage drop of .13V. The 5V rail managed to stay within 2% of specification with a total drop of .05V from start to finish. Moving towards the 3.3V rail, we see that regulation was within 2% of specification with a total voltage drop of .05V.

DC Output quality for the Antec HCG-750M 750W was great and well within specifications. During Test 1, we saw 10mV of noise on our scope. When we increased the loads in Test 2, the ripple climbed to 14mV at a little under half. During Test 5 under a load of 750W, the oscilloscope showed a maximum of 26mV on noise on the 12V rail.

The Antec HCG-750M 750W is rated for 80 PLUS Bronze efficiency. This means that the power supply must perform at 82%/85%/82% efficiency at 20%/50%/100% loads respectively. As you can see, the HCG-750M passed on our bench, and wasn't close to failing at any point.

Final Thoughts

Antec's HCG series has proven itself over time and multiple iterations have been introduced to bring it where it is today. The additional wattages and modular cabling were necessary introductions in order to modernize the unit and keep it competitive.

Now Antec has added an LED fan and updated the modular connectors to future proof them a little, and frankly, I'm surprised that it took them this long to do so.

The performance for the HCG holds true to what we've seen from the series in the past. Voltage regulation stayed within 2% across the board and DC output quality was very good as well. Even the efficiency was good for a Bronze rated power supply.

Unfortunately the price on the HCG-750M is out of control if you have to pay the MSRP. Even though this unit just hit the market, there are numerous rebates to incentivize buyers a bit more. Hopefully this unit will settle in fast and stay low, otherwise it may just sit on the shelves for a long time to come.