Antec TrueBlue 2.0 480W Power Supply

Exterior of the True Blue 2.0, Included Accessories:

The exterior of the Antec True Blue 2.0 power supply is pretty basic. The chassis is your standard gray, with a clear 120mm fan and gold-colored fan grill. The label on the side lists all the output specifications.

The rear of the power supply has your standard AC power plug, 115/230V switch, and external on/off switch. The exhaust vent in the rear uses a square pattern, we have seen some other power supplies switch to a honeycomb design for supposedly better air-flow, honestly I don't think it makes that much of a difference though. Inside the PSU are several blue LEDs that glow brightly when the power is turned on.

Included with the power supply is the user's manual (in several languages), warranty information, and power cable. Antec has a 3 year manufacturer's warranty on these power supplies, so if anything should happen, you contact Antec directly and they will take care of you.

Interior of the TP-II 480 Blue:

The design of Antec's TruePower 2.0 power supplies is a little different than most other manufacturers. The design is similar to their first generation TruePower line in terms of voltage regulation. On most power supplies there is a one group regulation choke with three windings, however Antec took the approach to separate them. If you look in the picture below, you will see three (+3.3V, +5V, and +12V) chokes in a row with single windings (the ring cores with wires wrapped around them). Technically the 3rd has a secondary winding, but it is just for the -12V. This change, coupled with feedback circuits on each rail allow Antec to have tighter load regulation (±3% or better) than other power supplies (usually spec'ed at ±5% or better).

Good to their word, Antec's TruePower 2.0 power supplies do have properly separated dual 12V outputs. Why is it so important to have these rails truly separate? First reason is safety, to limit power to 240VA per rail (UL/EN safety requirement), second to limit the +12Vp-p noise to 120mv or less per rail. The 4pin ATX +12V connector is on 12V2, and everything else is on 12V1.