Antec Truepower Quattro TPQ-1000 Review

Testing:

How will I know if this power supply delivers the watts? I need to test how it performs under load, verifying the voltages and airflow. With that being said, we can finally start testing the unit. To put this power supply through its paces, I will run a series of tests to load the Antec Truepower Quattro to simulate heavy gaming usage . The testing procedure will include running Stressprime 2004 Orthos Edition to stress the CPU and memory, HDtune to load the hard drives, and 3DMark06 Professional to stress both video cards. The test system includes five high CFM Silverstone fans to add additional load to the 12 volt lines. Additionally, I will check the airflow at both idle and load conditions to verify any increase in airflow through the rear of the power supply. Voltage measurements will be taken with my trusty voltmeter, while airflow will be tested using my Kestral 4100 pocket airflow tracker.

Testing Tools:

• Greenlee DM-300 Digital Voltmeter
• Kestral 4100 Pocket Airflow Tracker

Testing Setup:

• CPU:Intel Q6600 Core 2 Quad 450 x 8
• Motherboard: Asus Striker II Formula
• Memory: Mushkin XP2 "Redline" DDR2 2 x 2GB 5-5-5-12 450fsb
• Video Card(s): Asus 8800GT x 2 in SLI Overclocked to 750/1050
• Power Supply:Antec Truepower Quattro TPQ-1000 watt
• Hard Drive: Western Digital 250GB 16MB cache SATA x2
• Hard Drive:Seagate 320GB SATA
• Hard Drive:Seagate 1 Terabyte 7200.11 SATA
• Opticals:Sony DVD-Rom
• Water cooling by Danger Den
• O/S: Windows Vista Ultimate
• Comparison Power Supply: OCZ GameXstream 700watt
• Comparison Power Supply: Ultra X3 1000 watt
• Comparison Power Supply:Thermaltake Toughpower 1000 watt

Testing the system under load I anticipated seeing some voltage fluctuation, especially when hitting the 12 volt line pretty hard. I was pleasantly surprised to see the voltage actually move very little. From the beginning of the testing to the end, I saw a fluctuation of .01 volt on the 12 volt line (average of all four rails) as well as .03 on the 5 volt and .02 volts on the 3.3 line. With the starting and stopping of the tests in 3Dmark06 I expected larger swings, but it was not to be.