Antec TruePower Quattro 1000 Watt Power Supply

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In 1986, Antec arrived on to the scene and has since provided consumers with a steady diet of cases, power supplies and accessories.  With products directly aimed at gamers and enthusiasts, Antec has built a reputation for quality and innovation.  The company, based in Fremont California, is currently one of the leading manufacturers of computer cases and recently followed up the very popular 900 gaming case with the bigger and better 1200 enclosure.  Antec is also firmly planted in the power supply market with units based on Seasonic models. They have several variations within their PSU line up, ranging from 350 to 1000 watts of steady power.

Current components demand more power than ever with requirements steadily increasing. Antec's answer for that need is the 1000 watt TruePower Quattro. This monster aims to give you more than you'll ever need, but an abundance of power isn't the only thing it has going for it.  The TPQ 1000 is 80 PLUS certified, NVIDIA SLI ready, features Active Power Factor Correction, and sports four 12V rails! Sit back as HardwareLogic throws this brute on the test bench to see how it performs and give you everything you need to decide if this is the power supply that you've been looking for.

Contents and Features

The box proudly announces what it holds inside with 1000 painted in bold.  Along with the PSU comes a power cord, mounting screws, user's manual and a variety of modular cables.  The manual is easy to read and summarizes the features of the power supply along with a few set up diagrams.     

Antec's TPQ 1000 is 3.4" tall, 5.9" wide, and 7" deep.  The depth is a good bit more than the ATX standard, so you will want to measure your case for fit.  The unit comes with a black finish that's accented with bold, white racing stripes.  There's no mistaking how much wattage this baby is rated for, "1000" clearly printed on top of the PSU.  The stripes give the TPQ 1000 a distinctive look and lets everyone know that your system means serious business. 

The specification panel reveals four 12V rails that can pump out 18A each with a combined wattage of 840W maximum load.  Wow!  The 5V and 3.3V rails can pump out an additional 200 watts as well, and the TPQ 1000 comes with a variety of industrial grade protective circuitry like Over Current Protection, Over Voltage Protection, Short Circuit Proctection, and Under Voltage Protection. 

Cables and Connections

The TPQ 1000 is a semi-modular power supply that sports a few essential cables connected to the PSU.  As shown above, the 24-pin main connector, 8-pin +12V connector, 4-pin +12V connector, and two 8-pin PCIe connectors are hard wired to the unit.  All cables are sleeved from end to end with black, nylon mesh.  You can remove 4 pins from the 24-pin connector if your board only supports a 20-pin hookup.  Also, the PCIe connectors come with detachable pins in order to convert them to 6-pin if needed.  Antec labled the PCIe attachments in order to avoid confusion.   

With this power supply, there is a total of 8 modular cables and a variety of connection options.  You get one molex cable with three connectors, two more molex cables that have a floppy attachment, one SATA cable with two connectors, two SATA cables with three connectors, and two PCIe cables with 6-pin connectors.  

Harness	Connectors	Length (inches)
1	ATX 24-Pin	22"
2	12V 8-pin CPU power	22"
3	12V 4-pin CPU power	22"
4	PCIe 8-pin	22"
5	PCIe 8-pin	22"
6	(3) Molex and (1) Floppy	39"
7	(3) Molex and (1) Floppy	39"
8	(3) Molex	34"
9	(3) SATA	34"
10	(3) SATA	34"
11	(2) SATA	27"
12	PCIe 6-pin	22"
13	PCIe 6-pin	22"

The included cables come in various lengths but are long enough to to meet the needs of most systems.  Each cable is at least 22" long with a couple of the molex cables coming in at 39".  Although there are 13 cables available, keep in mind the first five listed in the table are hard wired and there are just five modular sockets available onj the PSU itself. 

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Performance

Our performance tests are done with a load testing system. This system allows us to configure a series of known loads to put on a PSU. More information on our PSU testing methods and philosophy can be found here.

Test Setup

Test	5V Rail	3.3V Rail	12V1 Rail	12V2 Rail	12V3 Rail	12V4 Rail	-12V Rail	5V SB Rail	3.3V+5V Watt. (Est.)	12V Total Watt. (Est.)	Total Wattage
1	4.8	4.0	3.24	3.24	3.24	3.24	0.000	1.000	37	156	198
2	12.0	10.0	6.30	6.30	6.30	6.30	0.165	1.000	93	302	402
3	20.7	17.3	13.10	13.10	13.10	13.10	0.500	1.000	160	629	800
4	25.8	21.3	16.38	16.38	16.38	16.38	0.500	1.000	199	786	996
5	3.0	2.5	16.38	16.38	16.38	16.38	0.500	1.000	23	786	821
6	13.5	11.3	5.40	5.40	5.40	5.40	0.500	1.000	105	259	375

Test Results:
*Efficiency results include wattage from the -12V and 5V SB rails.

Test	5V	3.3V	12V1	12V2	12V3	12V4	-12V	5V SB	T in (°C)	T out (°C)	Watt in	Watt out	Eff. %
1	5.12	3.33	12.19	12.14	12.20	12.17	12.31	5.05	28.4	31.1	251	201	80.0
2	5.05	3.29	12.13	12.03	12.09	12.07	12.02	4.99	29.0	33.0	496	405	81.6
3	4.95	3.20	11.99	11.80	11.95	11.92	12.01	4.91	31.0	35.8	990	793	80.1
4	4.87	3.12	11.93	11.69	11.89	11.81	12.12	4.86	33.3	39.1	1264	978	77.4
5	5.01	3.20	11.99	11.69	11.91	11.87	12.10	4.93	33.0	36.9	1013	811	80.1
6	5.05	3.27	12.14	12.04	12.10	12.08	11.64	4.99	31.7	33.3	464	377	81.2

What we look for a number of qualities in the performance of a PSU.  First and foremost is voltage stability.  This is the ability to not only hold voltages within specification, but to do so with as little voltage change as possible.  To check for stabnility we look at voltage changes as we step through the loads of each ntest.  The Antec TPQ did very well.  As you can see by looking at the voltages from test to test, the voltage change is pretty small.  In fact, we never saw more than a 3% change from test to test.  This is very good step performance.  Yet, we don't stop as looking at step changes alone.

When we look at the overall change in voltage fotr all tests, the picture isn't quite as rosy - though still postive.  While the 12V rails showed an overall change of <4%, which is a good showing, the 5V and 3.3V rails showed variations over 5%.  They remained within specification of course - this is a quality unit - but we would like to see a bit less wander on these rails - and we have in other quality units.  There has been a lot of focus on 12V rails in the past few years, but the other rails are important too.  After all, the 3.3V rail is still used to power RAM.

Overall, we can say that the Antec TPQ 1000 is better than a fair performer.  And that's no easy task when your PSU is pulling 1.2+ kilowatts out of the wall socket.  Nice job Antec!

Efficiency is an important part of performance as well.  80 PLUS is an electric utility funded incentive program to integrate more energy efficient power supplies into desktop computers and servers.  The 80 PLUS performance specifications require power supplies to be 80% or greater energy efficient.  These power supplies provide energy savings, reduce a room's cooling load, increases comfort and reliability, and helps create a quieter computer environment.  The TPQ 1000 lived up to the hype as its average efficiency was 80.1% while typical efficiency hit 80.6%.  I would say that's pretty good for a 1000W power supply.  We do see a little nic in the efficiency in Test 4, but Test 4 conditions will rarely, if ever, occur in a system for more than a second or two.  Efficient yes, but is it quiet?

The TPQ 1000 features an innovative design to help decrease noise during normal use, but still allow for superior cooling capabilities as loads increase.  With its high efficiency and low heat generation, the power supply utilizes a smaller fan.  The exhaust fan rotates slowly and quietly to blow hot air out of the unit and speeds up as heat increases.  The PSU was quiet throughout most of the testing.  I started hearing some noise during Test 3 but Test 4 really got the party started as the fan ramped up to high.  Again, it's not likely one will be at Test 4 levels long enough to really get this PSU that hot, but it's nice to know the cooling nsystem is there and working - just in case.

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Category	Score	Comment
Features	17/20	1000 watts Four 12V rails Semi-modular cabling Flat black with thick, white racing stripes Single 80mm fan design
Cables, Connection, Dimensions	18/20	Fully sleeved wire harnesses Adequate cable lengths Has every type of connector you will need
Performance	19/20	Solid performer Quiet during normal operation Passed all tests well within specification Warm under heavy load
Efficiency	18/20	Meets the 80+ specification over all loads. Should operate at over 80% most of the time.
Warranty & Support	9/10	5 Year warranty You must keep purchase receipt for warranty support. Doesn't cover "normal wear". Web site contains useful operating and support information. We found a few complaints about warranty support, but nearly all stopped after 2005
Price & Value	8/10	Currently $249 at Newegg Can be easily found for under $200 at other sites One of the more affordable 1000W power supplies on the market

Our Recommendation

The TruePower Quattro 1000W is a feature rich power supply that brings a lot to the table. Consumers in the market for a PSU this big demand more than a generic grey box sitting inside their case and Antec knows it. 1000 watts, semi-modular, fully sleeved cables, distinguishing racing stripes, 80 Plus certification, and hushed operation are some of the characteristics found in this power supply. Our testing affirmed 80% efficiency claims and the unit was a solid performer with no major issues. 

Although there is a lot to like about this product, we did find a couple of areas that need improvement.  The > 5% voltage variations on the 5V and 3.3V rails require some attention.  Its not a deal killer by any means, but we've seen better and expect more from a PSU of this caliber.  Also, the unit misses the mark on tri-SLI with only four PCI-E connectors.  Granted, tri-SLI setups only make up a tiny percentage of the market, compatibility with that feature seems natural for a 1000 watt unit.  

We like what Antec has done with their distinctive TruePower Quattro line.  With one glance, you're friends will know what you have pushing your system and how much wattage it's capable of. And with a power supply this big, you will be able to run your monster multi-GPU, overclocked Core i7 system without breaking a sweat. Great looks, lots of power, and excellent efficiency make the Antec TruePower Quattro stand out as one of the better 1000W power supplies on the market.   

If you are wondering if this PSU meets your needs, try out eXtreme’s wattage calculator.

Other Reviews

It's always nice to have more than one opinion on a component before you spend your hard earned money. For one, we may see something others missed, or vice versa. As with all reviews published at HardwareLogic, we'll not only give you our recommendation, but also point out some reviews from some other great sites around the web.

ThinkComputers