Thermaltake Toughpower 1000W Power Supply Review

Thermaltake's Toughpower series of power supplies are well known for using high quality components and quality construction.  Today, we are going to look at the 1000 Watt version of the Toughpower series.  The 1000 / 1200 Watt versions have a noticeably larger chassis to hold all of the components.  This power supply offers the latest in power supplies, such as the next generation 6 + 2 Pin PCI-Express power connector, and dual 8 pin EPS +12v connectors for quad cpu support.   This 1000 Watt version is Crossfire Certified.

Upon opening the box, there is a higher gauge (16 AWG) power cable, a silicone noise reduction pad, a Thermaltake sticker, Screws, and the Manual.  The manual is descriptive and offers instructions to install this power supply.

The Power Supply:

This power supply is different from the other Toughpower PSU's due to its longer chassis.  The color is a matte metallic bronze, which looks great. 

On the side, there is a metal Toughpower sticker that indicates the wattage.

This 1000 Watt Toughpower features four +12v rails.  The +12v1 and +12v2 offer up to 20 Amps each, and the +12v3 and +12v4 offer up to 36 Amps.  Note that the V3 and V4 rails are dedicated to powering the PCI-Express cables, there is plenty of power to go around.

The back features a grille for exhaust, power connector and a power switch.  This power supply offers a full range power circuit, so there is no need for a 110v / 220v switch.  The power switch also illuminates to provide a red light when switched on. 

Here is the features / specification sheet from Thermaltake's website:

	Stable 1000W continuous output (at 50℃ operating environment)
	Four independent & dedicated +12V rails(12V1,12V2,12V3,12V4) provides superior
	performance for PC system.
	NEW! Three 8pin and three 6pin PCI-E connectors design supports Multi-GPU Graphic card.
	Supports Dual Core CPU / Quad Core CPU / Nvidia SLI & Quad SLI and all Multi-Core
	GPU technologies.
	Modularized Cable Management to eliminate clutter and improve airflow inside the case.
	Independent Voltage Circuit: offers unflappable current delivery under heavy load.
	Strict voltage regulation (±3%): provides steady voltage for system.
	Active Power Factor Correction (PF>0.99) and high efficiency (up to 87%).
	Industrial grade components (capacitor, transformer, etc)
	High reliability: MTBF>120,000 hours.
	Quiet and reliable 14cm ball-bearing fan.
	Protections: Over Current, Over Voltage, Under Voltage, Over Temperature, Over Power,
	and Short-Circuit protection.
	Safety / EMI Approvals: CE, CB, TUV, FCC, UL, CUL, and BSMI certified.

This power supply features modularized cables, and the back of this power supply features the connections for these cables.  The diagram shows which cable corresponds with the connectors, along with which rail they go to.  The blue colored connectors in the diagram is for two of the 8-pin PCI-Express connectors and one 6-pin PCI-Express connector; they use the +12v4 rail. The three red colored connectors in the diagram are also for PCI-Express (One 8-pin and Two 6pin PCI-e connections); they go to the +12v3 rail.  The white colored connectors are for the Serial ATA/Molex/Floppy connectors; they all connect to the +12v1 rail.

Cabling:

The modular cabling that this power supply has offers a black mesh sleeve to eliminate cable clutter; another helpful feature is that the connectors feature a grip to easily remove the connectors from devices, it is a great and useful feature to have; especially if the connection with the device is tight.

There are three permanently attached cables on this power supply.  They are the 20/24 Pin ATX Power Connector, 4/8 Pin +12v CPU Power connector and a 8-Pin EPS +12v CPU Power connector.

3x 8-Pin Modular PCI-Express Connectors.  Note that they have a label that lets you know which rail they are going to.  When choosing which modular plug to attach these to, Thermaltake recommends that they be on the same rail (v3 or v4).

3x 6-Pin PCI-Express Connectors

3x 8-pin to 6-pin PCI-Express adapters, which allow for backwards compatibility for graphics cards that require two 6-pin PCI-e connectors each.

2x of modular S-ATA connectors, each with 4 S-ATA power connectors for a total of 8 S-ATA power connectors.

2x of modular Molex / Floppy connectors, each with 4 Molex, 1 Floppy power connectors for a total of 8 Molex and 2 Floppy power connectors.

Cooling / Noise:

There is a 140 mm fan on this power supply, which is larger than most power supplies; it should theoretically produce less noise because it can spin slower and still create the same amount of cooling power that smaller fans create at high speeds.  During testing, this power supply fan was fairly quiet and only increased to an elevated speed several times during the tests.   Also, the fan returns to idle speeds quickly when the power load is reduced, this is greatly appreciated in systems that are built for quiet operation. In comparison to competing 1000+ Watt PSU's, this fan is notably quieter.

A silicone noise reduction pad is included with this power supply, and fits snugly against the back of the power supply.  Thermaltake claims it can reduce vibration caused by the power supply by 80%.  I tried it with and without it applied, and I could not hear any difference.  If your case is made out of a thinner metal or aluminum, this can be useful.

Overall, this power supply is quiet during normal use.

Inside the Power Supply:

* Taking this power supply apart will void the warranty, as noted by a small sticker on top of a screw needed to fully open the power supply up.

The Toughpower 1000 / 1200 Watt models are packed full of power supply components.  Thermaltake states that these components are industrial grade and are of highest quality.

The heatsinks inside this power supply feature many fins and will offer sufficient cooling of the components.  There are two large primary capacitors, with a Nippon Chemicon type label on them.  There are also two large transformers, which have the CWT designation on them.  CWT stands for Channel Well Technology (This power supply is built by Channel Well).  It looks as if there are two power supplies in one unit (almost symmetrical).

There is a separate board with the power filtering components on it.

The fan is manufactured by Yate Loon, well known for making quiet fans.  This particular model is the: D14BH-12 (L-SSS).  There is a plastic sheet to direct airflow.  It is the same type of fan offered in the lower wattage Toughpower power supplies. 

Testing:

The test system consists of the following:

-Antec Nine Hundred Case

-AMD Opteron 165 Dual Core Socket 939 CPU @ 2.9 GHz (1.60v)

-ThermalTake Blue Orb II Heat Sink

-DFI LANParty nF4 SLi-D

-2GB of Corsair XMS Platinum PC3200 Memory

-320GB x 4 Western Digital 16MB Cache Hard Drives

-2x nVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS Video Cards in SLi

-Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Digital Sound Card

-Sony 16x DVD-RAM / 18x Samsung DVD-RAM Drives

-2x 120MM fans

-2x CCFL Lights

Voltages are at Max Load, running 3DMark06 CPU Test 1 / Deep Freeze HDR test, and read with a Multi-Meter.

To view additional / larger pictures, Click Here

The results of this power supply are phenomenal, the voltages stayed within specification and barely budged with the system at a full load.  All of the rails stayed strong.  The fan switched to a higher speed several times during the tests, most notably when the both the CPU and GPU were heavily taxed, but stayed quiet during regular use / gaming.  Efficiency was also great, at around 83%.  

Overall, this is an unbeatable 1000 Watt power supply designed for computer enthusiasts and gamers.  It offers a ton of power (1 Kilowatt!), high efficiency, and great stability.  There are next generation features on this power supply as well, such as the inclusion of four strong amperage +12v rails.  The 140mm cooling fan does a great job at keeping this power supply cool and quiet.  With all these great features, it should be placed on the shopping list when you are purchasing a high end system.

This is a highly recommended power supply.  

Pros +

-Unmatched Power Delivery and Stability

-Fan is quieter than other 1000 Watt PSU's

-Matte Bronze Color

-Modular Cables

-Three 8-Pin PCI-Express Connectors

-Lots of Power

Cons -

-No Cable Storage Bag

-Expensive

Techaddicts.net would like to give this power supply a 9.5 out of 10 rating and the 'Editors Choice' Award. 

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