Antec NeoPower NeoHE 550 550W Power Supply

Compatibility Issues with ASUS motherboards!

Posted Sep 7, 2006 - First off, let me preface my review by saying that I tried two of these, and neither one would work with my ASUS P5WDH Deluxe motherboard! This power-supply would turn the LED on the motherboard indicating that *some* power was being delivered, but when I attempted to boot, nothing happened! The fan doesn't even spin when I toggle the power switch, but this may be normal, as the fan may only spin when the unit gets hot. I did some research on this power supply (which I should have done *before* I bought it...doh!), and discovered that there is a history of compatibility problems with ASUS motherboards. Evidently, Antec came out with another revision of the power-supply to fix this problem. However, the version I had should have been compatible, so I was told to RMA it. I chose to exchange it for another one at the store, but low and behold, it did the *exact* same thing! I wasn't about try again, so opted for returning it. As an aside, I also spoke with ASUS tech support, and they indicated that there were issues with the Antec NeoHE series of power supplies and the P5 series of motherboards! It would work for some, but not for others. Oh well, just be forewarned! Reading the good reviews, it must work for some folks, just not for me! :-( I would have preferred better tech support from Antec. I also would have liked better documentation on what the warranty really is. I read AQ3 and AQ5 in different places on their web-site.

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neo power at its finest.

Posted Dec 12, 2005 - i highly recommend this p.s.u. great power, great value, and superior quality; what more could you ask for from antec? they always deliver to the hardcore pc builders. you wont be disapointed

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Excellent PSU

Posted Jan 26, 2006 - For my latest rig I was aiming for silence above anything else. I also needed at least 500W of juice considering I was possibly going SLI with my setup (which also includes 3 fast SATA HDD's). Basically for silence I was down to two options, either this Antec or the Seasonic S12. I was able to get the Antec at nearly half the price of the equivalent S12 so I went for that. Performance-wise, the rails were excellent for my Nforce4 board. In terms of silence, I compared it to my friend's Seasonic S12 600W (which has a 120mm fan) and this 80mm matched it in terms of noise. The only weakness is I had a heck of a time getting the cables into the motherboard plugs on my Antec P180 because the PSU was placed on the bottom of the case but overall a solid buy!

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Antec NEO HE power supplies are JUNK! Thats what happens when you rush a product ot market to just make MONEY!

Posted Feb 6, 2006 - I've been buying Antec Power supplies for years now and I can honestly say that this one, will be my LAST. First, there was an incompatibility issue between this powersupply and the Asus A8N-SLI and A8N32-SLI that cause random shutdowns due to what I'm told are irregular voltages. Second, after I paid to have the thing RMA'd back to Antec, the power supply that I get back throws sparks out of the back of my system after 2 and a half weeks of usage. I just spend a couple grand putting together some fairly nice components only to wonder if I just fried the whole thing.

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Neo HE 550 review

Posted Feb 23, 2006 - I have a Termaltake Armor case, so I found that the cables where just to short. But since I an a engineer and making new cables at work was no problem it was not disapointing to me. Anyway I like my moded flashing led cable wrap better anyway :) I do have to give a warning about it voltage tolerances, at about 520watt load 12 and 3.3 exceeds tolerances but not by much. I always overkill my power supply needs and I would recomend everyone should. So that said if you have a 500W max load then this is a great power supply.

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Delivers what it promises

Posted Jan 22, 2006 - I decided to build a high-end computer with the best parts for the money. Components include Asus A8N-SLI-Premium MB, Athlon X2 4400+, Corsair TwinX 2GB CAS-2, Dual WD 320GB SATA-II hard drives in RAID-0, eVGA 7800GTX 256MB 470MHz graphics card. The system is totally stable and omg it's fast. (Windows XP MCE starts up in 20 seconds even with a bunch of start-up apps!) Software volt monitors show fully stable operation. Very pleased with every single one of the components in this system.

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Neo HE 550

Posted Dec 28, 2005 - I installed this PSU in an Antec P180, which recommended this psu. Seems to work fine with Gigabyte K8N Ultra-SLI board. The power cable lengths are a little frustrating, since this was recommended, and I will probably not be able to reinstall the VGA cooling duct in the box. I'm not sure how an additional video card would affect the 12v connection either, since it's already a tight fit. The modular design does make it easier to install and make the finished job a lot neater and easier to work with.

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will be a great psu on future atx2.2, but a lousy psu on current atx2.0

Posted Dec 8, 2005 - for current atx2.0, the 24a and 20a on 3.3v and 5v rails is simply inadequate which means instablity, just ask anyone who owns an asus a8n-sli motherboard. as for future atx2.2 which will use less on the 3.3v and 5v rails and more on the 12v rails, the neohe550 will probably be a great psu with it's triple 12v rails having 18 amps each along with it's 85 percent effiency, detachable cables, and antec name which means quality. to sum it up, although it'll probably have great performance on future atx2.2 it's poor performance on current atx2.0 i can only give the antec neohe 550 one star for now.

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Antec NeoPower 550

Posted Jun 1, 2006 - I thought that maybe the cooling fan could have been bigger, however; I do not have any heat issues, and it is quiet. Attn: Asus board owners, DO NOT buy this psu; many complaints about the compatibility issues.

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Antec NeoPower NeoHE 550 550W Power Supply

Posted 1 year ago - make sure power cabling is planned out & plugged before install, those modulars plug in tight! ps fit right into my antec p180 case and main power cable reached socket on d915psy mobo. fired up no problem 1st time. all in all, good deal.

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Nice modular power supply...

Posted Sep 29, 2006 - Just purchased this from ZZF and received an A4 revision, with the serial number starting with S0607. Hope Antec resolved the issues some people were having. Couldn't see paying the $ premium for a Corsair 520w or 620w power supply. The only thing keeping me from giving this 5 stars is the unknown reliability - it seems to be hit or miss with these. When I had to deal with Antec customer service before (for a 3-yr. old TruePower 430 that had a sagging 5v rail) I was treated well. Will update this review if needed.

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Solid Performer

Posted Aug 22, 2006 - I am running a 1.86ghz E6300 Core 2 Duo at 3.5ghz without any isses, voltage rails are the best I have seen to date from a PSU even under full 24/7 load with lots of drives and peripherals. 4-pin CPU power cable BARELY reached in a Antec P180b case, but this will depend more on motherboard layout really. Most PSUs can't make the distance though! I should warn any Antec users that if you want to use the 3 year warranty you must keep your receipt or purchase invoice, otherwise RMAs are easy to deal with (From past experience with a Antec SL400watt PSU) For the Active PFC, high efficiency, and solid 550watts of power this unit is priced nicely. Reviews are showing this PSU can run a x1900XTX Crossfire get up without breaking a sweat, although I can't test this myself yet. ;)

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Neo isn't just for the Matrix

Posted Jul 1, 2006 - The first power supply I received was faulty where it would not turn on no matter what. After a lengthy RMA with the online retailer I finally got a working replacement. The Antec NEO was installed in the Cooler Master CMStacker 830 Case. Installation was a breeze as it just slid right in and screwed into the chasis. I noticed quite a few complaints about the shortness of the cables but I found that in a full tower, the cables are the perfect length where you can keep everything neat and allow maximum airflow with the use of zip ties. The modular cable design is one of the best out there. You won't have anny accidental detachments and they include enough cables to satisfy many power users (even those running SLI monsters). Using a new untested Asus M2N32-SLI Delixe was a risk because of compatibility problems with previous Asus A8N32-SLI but I have not had a single problem with my new motherboard. 3 Year warranties for power supplies, I feel, are far too short. I really believe that they should extend them to 5 years as most of us upgrade our systems and keep the old P/S along with it. It would be nice just to have that peace of mind with your new purcahse. With that aside, I would still highly recommend this power supply for any power user running a modest system. You can't beat the great price and the adaptability of this wicked unit.

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