|
Review by: Daniel
Date: 6/13/06
Provided by: Thermaltake |
Thermaltake Toughpower 750 Watt
Power Supply Review
Today, we take a look at
Thermaltake's new power supply, the ToughPower 750W. The
Toughpower is a new series of power supplies that are designed for
power hungry Dual Core, SLI and Crossfire based systems. Video Cards,
CPU's, and Motherboards today require lots of power to run both
stable and reliable. With dual CPU and GPU systems gaining
popularity, a power supply with sufficient wattage is needed.
Thermaltake has designed the ToughPower series to handle
situations when lots of power is needed. The model being
reviewed is the 750 watt version. From the picture above, we
can see that the power supply has a huge 140mm fan that cools the
power supply components. The power supply also features what
is called "Mirror Effect" housing, which is basically a glossy coat
of paint over the PSU.
This power supply features Active PFC (Power Factor Correction)
which filters the voltage coming into the PSU to give the computer a
cleaner power input. Thermaltake also claims that this PSU has
a high efficiency (up to 85%).
A shiny (gold/silver) fan grille would have made its appearance
stand out more
(An auto switching PSU takes away the switch for
110v/230v selection)
The power cable that Thermaltake includes with this power supply is
much thicker than a generic power cable; it should offer better
shielding, for more reliable power. It is great to see
Thermaltake taking the extra step in including a high quality power
cord.
Here are the specifications from Thermaltake's website:
Complies with ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V version
SLI, Cross-Fire, and Dual Core CPU ready
Next generation four +12V rails(12V1, 12V2, 12V3, 12V4) supports
high-end graphic cards and PC systems (combined loading of 60A)
Independent Voltage Circuit: offers unflappable current delivery
under heavy load and makes voltage output more stable
Active Power Factor Correction (PF>0.99) and high efficiency (up
to 85%)
Extremely good voltage regulation (±3%): provides steady voltage
for system
Industrial grade components (capacitor, transformer, etc)
High reliability: MTBF>120,000 hours
Mirror effect housing and reliable 14cm ball-bearing fan
Protections: Over Current, Over Voltage, and Short-Circuit
protection
Safety / EMI Approvals: CE, CB, TUV, FCC, UL, CUL, and BSMI
certified
This is the large 140mm fan
This power
supply features the following connectors:
1x
24 Pin Main ATX Connector with Detachable Connector (for 20 pin
motherboard compatibility)
1x
8-pin +12v connector
1x 4-pin +12V
connector
8x 4-Pin Molex
Connectors (Peripheral Connector) for hooking up many Hdd's, optical
drives, etc.
(The
Molex connectors come with a squeeze type plug for easy removal)
2x
4-Pin Floppy Drive connectors
6x 5-pin Serial
ATA connector
(Plenty for new storage
drives)
2x 6-pin PCI-Express
Connectors
Probably
the most useful feature on this power supply are the dual PCI-E
power connectors for the possibility of having two video cards for
SLI or Crossfire.
As you can
see from above, this power supply offers a lot of power! (Most
notably the 6 Serial ATA connectors, the 8 Molex connectors, and the
2 PCI-E connectors). This power supply also features quad +12v
rails with a maximum of 18 AMP each, 60 AMP total (12v1, 12v2, 12v3,
12v4) to supply the graphic cards and CPU's plenty of power.
I should
also mention that all power connectors come with black sleeves on
the wires for improved cable management.
A silicone pad is
included to reduce vibration when installed in a case (up to 80%
vibration noise reduction)
It is installed into the
case like this, to create a buffer between the PSU and the case.
Testing:
For testing, I will be
using the following system setup.
-Thermaltake Aguila Case
-Thermaltake Toughpower
750w PSU
-AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+@2.6GHz
-Zalman Copper HSF
-DFI LanParty nF4 Ultra-D
-eVGA e-Geforce 7800GTX
Video Card -4x 160GB Serial ATA 7200rpm/8mb Hard Drives
-1GB Corsair PC3200
Memory
-SB Live! 24-Bit Sound
Card
-2 CCFL 12" Lights
Here are the results
(with multimeter); with the system at max power load:
+12v:
12.07v
+3.3v:
3.31v
+5v:
5.13v
As you can see, the power
supply kept giving out constant power, even when the system was
under heavy load. The fan in the PSU got louder as more
demanding applications were run on the computer system, but was
never loud enough to be annoying; but during normal non-intensive
use, the power supply was whisper quiet.
Overall, this product is
excellent for anyone who owns a system that requires lots of power
due to a high powered CPU and/or GPU. This power supply is
essential for any SLI or Crossfire setup.
Pros:
-Excellent Power Handling
-Next Gen quad +12v rails
-Quiet
-Black Paint "Mirror
Effect" looks great
-Vibration dampening
material included
Cons:
-A little pricey @ ~$190
Techaddicts.net would
like to give this power supply a 9.0 out of 10 rating; and
the Techaddicts.net Editors Choice Award.
(Highly recommended PSU)
Home
©Techaddicts.net Networks, All rights reserved.
|
