User Review Antec BP300P - first impressions


Introduction


Antec Inc., founded in 1986 and headquartered in California, are one of the leading producers of high-performance computer components for the PC builder and enthusiast. Antec offers a wide range of products including enclosures, power supplies, cooling solutions and computer accessories. Antec’s Basiq PSU series, which consists of entry-level units intended for office or basic systems use, has expanded with the addition of Bp series power supplies.

Today we will have the chance to rigorously test an Antec BP 300P. Briefly, this PSU has 300W capacity, is equipped with a 120mm fan which promises silent operation, has two +12V rails and is protected by all necessary protections to ensure your peace of mind. Speaking of peace of mind, the warranty which Antec offers for all BP units is two years. It will be very interesting to find out if this small fellow can fulfill the manufacturer’s promises and deliver a good price/performance ratio which is what users mostly seek, mainly at low priced PSUs.


Specifications & Features

INPUT


  • Voltage: 200 - 240VAC ±10%
  • Frequency Range: 47Hz – 63Hz
  • Current: 3.5A

OUTPUT

Voltage: +5V +3.3V +12V1 +12V1 -12V +5VsB
Max Load: 16A 16A 18A 18A 0.3A 2A


  • +12V Maximum combined output: 276W
  • +3.3V and +5V Maximum combined output 105W

PSU Connectors Assortment


  • 24 (20+4) Pin Motherboard Connector x1
  • 4 Pin Atx CPU Connector x1
  • 6 Pin Pci-E Connector x1
  • Sata Connectors x3
  • Molex Connector x2
  • Floppy Connector x1

Features


  • 300W Continuous Power
  • Up to 80% efficient
  • 2 year warranty
  • 120 mm Fan

CircuitShield


  • Over Current Protection (OCP),
  • Over Voltage Protection (OVP),
  • Short Circuit Protection (SCP),
  • Over Power Protection (OPP) &
  • Over Temperature Protection (OTP)
  • Heavy-duty Caps
  • ErP Lot 6


Preview and Unboxing


The box is really small since the PSU's dimensions are restricted. On the front there are several feature badges.





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Left side of the box reveals some specifications including input, output and connector assortment.





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Laying the box back shows up the full watts guarantee sticker along with the sketch diagram of bp 300p Power Supply.


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Two pieces of cardboard protect the PSU which is also wrapped in plastic, to avoid accidental scratches during transportation. The bundle includes only the essentials one reusable cable tie along with 4 screws. Also there is no user's manual, only a folded piece of paper which merely provides a product overview.



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The PSU is painted in red and the 24 pin motherboard connector covered with red and black sleeves which looks good.


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The Antec Bp 300p psu comes with two 12v rails with 18amps on both results up with max load of 276 watts.





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The Antec Bp 300p comes with a comprehensive connector set that includes one 6 pin PCI-E, 4pin ATX12V, 3 sata connectors and 2 Molex connectors.


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On the upper side there is a 120mm cooling fan with a honeycomb mesh for better cooling .





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This side is simple red painted with Antec marked on the right side at the bottom of the Psu .


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At the back there is a power connector with no on/off switch and popular honey comb design grill for exhausting hot air out from Psu.


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Internal Looks


So here is what Bp 300p looks from inside and pcb used for Bp 300p is from Delta Electronics .





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The fan is from Yateloon electronics model (D12SH-12) rated @12v using 0.30A with 88cfm air flow and 2200rpm rotation.



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Test Setup

Amd Athlon ii X4 635
Gigabyte M68mt-S2
Gskill 2gb ddr3 @1600 C9
Asus En210 1gb ddr3
WD 1.5tb & Hitachi 1tb
Antec Bp 300p
Windows 7 32bit



Testing

Follwed up the testing Methodology of windwithme so thanks to him.
With default setup


  • CPU 200X14.5 = 2900mhz
  • Dram 1600mhz 9-9-9-24

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Enter to OS desktop 72 ~ 75watt



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Run OCCT Power Supply Test Items 147 ~ 149watt


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Powerguard shows this M68mt-s2 default mode max power consumption is 147W
According to 80Plus website,
Output 50% transfer efficiency is around 80%
After transferring, 220V 147W is around 117W real output.


OCCT Test Result


CPU Voltage Variation


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3.3V


The highest is 3.35V and mostly it is between 3.31~3.33V during the test.





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12V


The highest is 12.30V and the mostly is between 12.10 ~ 12.16V.


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3V voltage drop is around 0.01~0.02v. It is a very good condition.
Even 12V is only around 0.05v. At load voltage drop is not much and psu works excellent .



Using More Accurate way

Idle


5V testing result is 5.17V.


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OCCT Full Speed


The voltage is 5.17V which is same as of idle condition.





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Idle

12V testing result is 12.16~12.17V which is different with board meterage 12.23V .



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OCCT Full Speed


The voltage is 12.08V which is lower than the idle condition around 0.06~0.07V.






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5V voltage remains same in full speed condition.
12V only has 0.06~0.07V small wave. This meterage measurement is little lower than mainboard measurement.




OC System Setup


  • CPU 228X14.5 = 3310mhz
  • Dram 1600mhz 9-9-9-24



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Enter to OS Desktop 94 ~ 97W


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Run OCCT Power Supply Test Items
Amd Athlon iix4 @3.31GHz, 4 physical cores full load plus GT210 -206 ~ 210watt.


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Powerguard shows this M68mt-s2 OC mode max power consumption is 206W.
According to 80Plus website, there are only 20, 50 and 100% transfer efficiency.
After transferring, 220V 206W is around 165W real output.



OCCT Test Result

CPU Voltage Variation





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3.3V


The highest is 3.35V and mostly it’s between 3.29~3.33V during the test.


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12V


The highest is 12.23V and the mostly is between 12.03~12.17V.





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3V voltage drop is around 0.01 ~ 0.04 .
The voltage drop is around 1.01% higher than the default mode. but it’s still much lower than acceptable 5% tolerance.
Whereas 12V voltage drop is a bit Higher but still psu woks fine to run under safe conditions.



Using More Accurate Meter

Idle


5V testing result is 5.17V.



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OCCT Full Speed


The voltage is 5.19V which is higher than idle condition around 0.2V






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Idle


The voltage is 12.11~12.13V which is different with board meterage 12.23V.



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OCCT Full Speed


The voltage is 12.05V which is lower than the idle condition around 0.06~0.08V.


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You can see no matter idle or OC, 5V is raising 0.2V
There is no 5V dropping.
12V wave is only 0.06~0.08V. Even though it is bigger than the default, but still acceptable and is under 5% tolerance.





Conclusion


It's nice to see respectable companies releasing budget products without major compromises to their performance and quality. This is exactly the case with the Antec BP300P. Although Antec used one of the best OEM PSU manufactures, Delta Electronics, they managed to keep the retail price low, heavily boosting price/performance ratio, heavily boosting price/performance ratio.

To sum up, I found the BP300P to be a good/solid performer. The tight voltage regulation it boasted on all rails was far better than what I expected from a PSU of this price and the fact that it worked flawlessly.



The Good

Dual 12v rails
Low Price
Good Performance



The Bad

Short cables






Specially Thanks to Antec For providing the Review Sample.




 
Click to expand...
$ingh said:
The Good

Dual 12v rails -- How did you check this?
Low Price -- You have not mentioned, price
Good Performance -- w.r.t?

The Bad

Short cables -- w.r.t.?
Click to expand...

$ingh said:
The Antec Bp 300p comes with a comprehensive connector set that includes one 6 pin PCI-E, 4pin ATX12V, 3 sata connectors and 2 Molex connectors.
Click to expand...

What gauge cable is used, most are not sleeved but that is to be expected at this price-point.

What CAP's are used on the PRIMARY and the SECONDARY?

How is the soldering on the PCB?

You should read up before doing SMPS 'reviews' --
 
To sum up, I found the BP300P to be a good/solid performer. The tight voltage regulation it boasted on all rails was far better than what I expected

Output 50% transfer efficiency is around 80%
After transferring, 220V 147W is around 117W real output
Click to expand...
You need a variable load tester at the very least to properly test a PSU's performance. A part PC load will only tell one part of the story. Because :
- Voltage regulation needs to be tested from minimum to full load.
- Efficiency needs to be measured. This is possible only if you know the output load. You can't take the claimed efficiency figure from the website and calculate it in reverse.

The Good

Dual 12v rails
Low Price
Click to expand...
Most units do not have dual rails, they just have a single rail (not a bad thing) split in two with current limiters on each. Also the price is not mentioned.
 
You are very persistent and that is a good quality to have.

However, you must now convert this persistence into some kind of quality in output as well. Frankly, this 'review' stinks just like the last one I chanced to comment upon.

It really pulls down the quality of the site when we see this kind of trash published as a review. It is not one. It is your personal take on the power supply. You have no technical knowledge as is apparent from your writing, and don't have the right equipment to test a power supply.

I think you need to read more and talk less. See how PSU reviews are done. There are many of us here who have multiple power supplies as well as power meters and the exact same tools as you, but we don't go around publishing reviews because we know the review would stink. Therefore we either publish short previews or hand-on impressions (which would have been fine) or we air our views in threads where real-life experience is required. You need a known, high-quality load and an oscilloscope at the very minimum in addition to what you already have. Ideally a sound meter and temperature probes, and an rpm counter for fan speed. I would consider intelligent readings and analysis of those readings as a good review.

We don't expect a level of reviews here that will match a HS take on a power supply. At the same time, we cannot expect OCCT graphs in a PSU review. They have no meaning and are purely indicative. We expect an intelligent analysis of the design and quality of components. We expect you to be able to look at the platform and give us a take on it (and not copied). Either you give us a nice objective point of view, or a nice subjective point of view. As it stands, this post has neither.

Let me give you an example.

You have measured wall power and then looked at voltage stability under that wall power for a single rail. That test is immaterial, as wall power and output regulation are totally independent of each other in a switching supply. Literally they are two halves of the same circuit, and behave independently of each other - which is why all three rails respond differently.

Since you are aspiring to be a reviewer (and have a long way to go), start by learning your subject. I cannot stress how important this is if you want to earn the respect of your peers and be known as a quality reviewer. If, that is, you want to. Of course you can choose to continue in your current style and at your current level of competence. However the review-bashing you are getting here will not help your cause. You can understand what I am saying too - you may become the next big thing in India because this is a land of idiots who will listen to anything - we have birthed the worst leaders in the history of the world.

You won't find many of those idiots on this forum, though.
 
Sorry guys i know review lag in testing as lag in instrument like oscilloscope made me to test upto a limit... between i still try to make it better than unboxing and preview only .... will try my best to arrange oscilloscope for further testing and Crazy_Eddy please change title to basic testing, i think that would be fine ..

Psu is available for rs1750 at flipkart
 
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