Antec BP300P is an entry level PSU (Power Supply Unit). In a common ATX case you get basically 250W to 400W or even higher PSU level. That is the most popular range of power supplies available. But is that enough? It is not easy to define the prescribed power usage for every system. So we are provided with a standard PSU based on different system specification. 250W is the minimum available. Also ordinary PSUs are not designed as per industrial standard. By standards I mean, they lack quality material and technology that can safeguard your hardware system. Likewise Antec BP300P has EMI filter and extra coils. This EMI filter is responsible to generate a clean electric current. I can provide you a small glimpse of how much power is actually needed for a regular system. For a gaming PC, server and overclocking system, 300W is not enough, but for regular desktop web surfing, playing flash games and for multimedia usage, 300W is generally good enough.
Antec BP300P might be a costly product, but it offers more stability due to its powerful internal capacitors and better circuit. For example, if your PSU has some internal power fluctuation issue due to poor capacitors, then it can cause adverse effect on the other hardware like CPU, GPU, RAM, Hard Drive, etc. This degrades system life. Antec BP300P gives you durability. It gives you a continuous and stable 300W power source with 80% efficiency. Let’s have a look on the standard power usage by testing any Desktop PC. I am taking some new hardware which are listed below for the same purpose:
- Intel Core i3 550
- Motherboard
- Nvidia GeForce 6800 (optional)
- 2GB DDR3 RAM
- CD/DVD Drive
- 2 Fans
300w [Optimum Power requirement]
Now let us see one by one the power consumption of the different hardware based on the standard assumption.
- Motherboard — 50W minimum for desktop and 100w 100W minimum for Server
- Processor — For medium and high end AMD processors minimum 150 to 200w. For processors like Intel Core i3 minimum 100W to 150W
- Graphic Card — AMD midrange to high end graphics card needs minimum 50 to 100W. Nvidia medium mid to high end graphics card needs minimum 50 to 300w.
- RAM — 50w for all DDR3 type stick.
- Optical Media — Minimum 50w for single Hard Drive — Minimum 50w for single.
- USB — 50w for USB.
- Cpu Fan — 50w for every entry level fan.
The total makes 300W minimum requirement for each system. This is only the calculations part. The power supply quality also matters alot. A PSU is the only source of power to PC and so it bears the maximum pressure. Every system needs an industrial grade power supply which is capable of giving constant and durable power. Also in case of power failure it must be strong enough to handle the fluctuation. Most of the time the weak internal capacitors breakdown. But in Antec BP300P you will get heavy duty capacitors. At the lower edge of BP300P there is a wide 120mm fan.
This SMPS also has Thermal Manager. This feature manage low voltage fan control so that you don’t get annoyed with fan noise. It is loaded with Antec’s CircuitShield technology which claims to offer features like Over Current Protection (OCP), Over Voltage Protection (OVP), Short Circuit Protection (SCP), Over Power Protection (OPP) & Over Temperature Protection (OTP). There are total 9 power connectors provided on the PSU to meet your maximum requirement. It starts with a single 20 pin motherboard power connector accompanied by a 4 pin CPU power. There is also additional 4 pin power connector that can be used as a backup. There is only one 6 pin ePCI-E power connector available. This clearly indicates that you can use only single graphics card. For older drives this PSU has 2 set of Molex connectors. For regular needs there are only 3 SATA connectors provided. If one is utilized by the hard drive and one by the optical drive, you are left with only a single one to use. But still Antec willingly added a floppy power connector. Thus Antec BP300P can also be used in some old PC with drives having older connectors. With +12V rails this PSU is quiet stable in power output.
Internal Components :
Antec designed BP300P with a motive to give a clean power flow. A regular power supply is not capable of protecting your internal component for various power issues. So by using a regular power supply you are putting your entire system on risk. Antec BP300P has a better design, wider fan and advance internal component. For example let’s look the power connector.
As you can see there is a small metallic cover over the connector on the backside. This is called as EMI filter. It helps the PSU to pass clean current to your system. In many places we face common issue of power fluctuation. EMI filter regulates the current flow. It converts the existing power to clean current in support with other components without hurting any internal component. For a PC – power fluctuation is the main cause of hardware failure. Also this fluctuation is not good for the power supply. It can damage the internal circuit and it would be dead before time. So there are chokes & PFC Coils which offer more endurance. Overheating can destroy them very easily if they lack quality. Sometime due to gaming or high pc usage like in servers, the motherboard draws more power. If the psu has poor quality coils then it will not stand for long time. Antec’s BP300P is capable of handling power fluctuation and also avoids the waste of electricity by drawing the only required power. There are 2 PFC coil on the circuit near the heatsink and one additional located near the main capacitor.
Antec BP300P has two sets of capacitor. The bigger one is the main capacitor and there is additional small secondary capacitor near PFC coils. Capacitor is nothing but like small battery that holds electricity in them. Cheaper PSU has mutiple capacitors to hold power which act as failsafe strategy to work even when one is blown up. This in return causes adverse effect on the pc hardware. Antec BP300P has 1 main and 1 additional 5V transformer to keep DC current flowing well inside through AC source. BP300P also has a fan control chip & a separate power connector for fan. Antec has smartly designed the PSU to deal with heat in case of high usage. This helps the components to stay cooler and offer long life output. The dedicated Fan control chip regulates the power usage of fan as per needed.
Power Connectors :
- 1x 24 12V Pin Motherboard Connector
- 1x 4Pin 12V ATX Connector
- 1x 6Pin 12V1 ATX PCIe Connector
- 2x 12V1 Molex Connectors
- 3x 12V1 SATA Connectors
- 1x 12V1 Floppy Connector
Conclusion :
It is not possible to keep a eye on your internal power supply unit all the time. So for better system life you must go with the best in the market. Antec BP300P is one of them. With industrial grade standard and durable design it offers you stability. You can expect to run a regular GPU on the same . But it is recommended to go for one with a higher power rating if you are using multiple GPUs, hard drives, etc on your PC. Because then the consumption rises and you need higher PSU usage. I recommended Antec BP300P for your office and home usage. Antec BP300P is available in market between Rs.2000 approx. While the regular 450w psu will cost you around 500 to 600 Rs. But does that is capable of protecting your costly hardware. Your motherboard, ram, cpu and hard drive. BP300P is just not a regular smps. It offers clean current flow with better power processing for longer PC life.
was this psu actually made by Antec?