Antec PSU Discovery: Peak Power vs. Continuous Power

It has brought to our attention, here at Verdis Reviews, that many brands are using misleading power efficiency labels which are not as you would expect. Antec, a global leader in the PC component market, always uses “Continuous Power” on all of their labelling. However other companies are not quite so honest…

It appears that other brands are using the Peak Power output for their labelling. What’s the difference between continuous power and peak power then? Well, continuous power is the output that can be sustained for logn periods of time whereas peak power can only be generated for a few seconds. So your 500w PSU might be rated at 500w peak power meaning that in actual fact it can only sustain that for a very limited time period.

The problems with companies misleading customers with their labelling has far reaching implications that can result in short circuiting, overheating and other damage that can ruin not only the PSU but also other components in the rig.

It is with great relief then that a leading brand, Antec, are honest and trustworthy, only stated the continuous power output on their labelling so as not to mislead. However, ensure that is buying from othrt brands you distinguish between “Peak” and “Continuous” power. With Antec though you need not worry about this and I am sure they will continue to release great power supplies like their Signature range and new CPX form factor units.

For information take a look at Antec’s Mini Site.