First Impressions
As with prior Antec reviews, upon receiving the Antec TruePower Trio 650 we noticed similarities between the packaging and past Antec products. The predominantly minimalist appearance of the packaging works well and emphasizes the key elements of the power supply. The ‘One, Two, Trio!’ slogan on the front of the box is a clue towards the statement by Antec that it includes 3 separate 12v rails for your system stability enjoyment. This is important because it allows users to deliver critical stability to power-hungry graphics cards and separate components in a system without fear of breaking the PSU.

The SLI logo, Quiet Computing™ logo, and the RoHS compliant logo stand out to hopefully catch customer eyes, but unless it is explained on the box, no one will understand what these terms mean, nor will they care. The back of the packaging is adorned with the usual English, French and Spanish technical specifications found on all Antec products. One thing that left us wondering a little bit was the deceptively well-lit power supply pictured on the packaging. It made us believe that the actual power supply was to have a tint or a coat of gun metal color of sorts, but that wasn’t the case at all once we opened up the packaging. This was a disappointment, along with a few other things that really could have made this PSU a best-in-class consideration.


Features
As we take a closer look inside, you’ll notice the box is filled to the brim with the actual power supply unit and standard outlet cord. There is no bubble packaging, nor any extra padding to sustain the unit incase of an accidental drop or slam during shipping. We would have liked better cushioning system to prevent any potentially unit-damaging bumps and jolts that might occur. Although Antec may want to shave costs, this is something that could always come back to haunt them as damaged units will certainly cost them money they don't want to spend to replace. As you can see, there isn’t much room for anything else, but at least Antec shows that it packed the actual power supply very well into such a small area. As mentioned, the only other thing that comes with the unit is the standard power connector, user manual and case screws. Some individuals may have grown accustomed to extra accessories or documentation usually provided with competitors products, but the Antec TruePower Trio 650 is best described as a no-frills experience from start to finish.


The unit is covered in a plastic bag to keep anything from getting inside the PSU during shipment. The cardboard is only there to hold the insulating materials together. Also, if you noticed, the power cables coming out of the power supply aren’t modular. This is something that potentially may change an individual's purchasing decision. The Antec TruePower Trio 650 has strictly non-modular anchored power cables. Unfortunately, those who enjoy having an extremely tidy case will pout at the sight of the Antec TruePower Trio 650. They’ll probably also be upset that the PSU isn’t cable sleeved at all. With competitor's power supplies coming attractively sleeved and with plentiful accessories, the ugly 1980’s steel colorless style of the unit and lack of any modular and sleeved cables makes us remember a time when beige boxes ruled the world. So those of us looking for an attractive PSU with more attention to the aesthetic detail will want to buy something else. As ugly as the unit is, the one thing all users can appreciate is the no-nonsense performance this PSU puts out, as we’ll explain later.

For now, the one thing that SLI and CrossFire users will look for and find in this PSU is inclusion of the ATX12V v2.2 standard. This lets consumers know that newer motherboards that require a newer power connection standards won't need to worry about this. The ATX12V v2.2 standard will always supply one 20/24-pin connector, one ATX12V connector and one EPS12V connector. It would be a crime for a power supply of this caliber to not be rated at the ATX12V v2.2 standard, so again no need to worry about that. Being SLI-ready doesn't mean that CrossFire won't work, because it will. This is because the Antec TruePower Trio 650 has two PCI-Express power connectors. Users with extreme setups, such as Quad-SLI provided by dual 7950 GX2 graphics cards, need not worry if this PSU has the juice to cover all bases, because it does. However, first generation DirectX10-compliant graphics cards from both NVIDIA and ATI will require enormously large amounts of power that even this PSU may not be able to supply. A gamer looking into the future should consider whether or not this may be impediment, as second-generation versions of these cards should see a sharp decrease in power consumption, so this power supply is still a very valid choice among high-performance enthusiasts looking towards the future.