Thermaltake ToughPower 1200W @ [H]

FrgMstr

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
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Thermaltake ToughPower 1200W - Having a PSU that is rated at 1200 watts is a big deal. Having a PSU that will give you 1200 watts under stressful conditions is quite another. We put the Toughpower 1200w into the oven and see if it stands up to its 1200 watt power claims. Don't miss this one.

The value and power that the Toughpower 1200w delivers is currently unmatched. Few users will need a power supply of this magnitude, but undoubtedly many will desire it.
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another great PSU review, its great to see so many coming out.

i was rather surprised with how well this thermaltake unit did. to be honest, with the way people gripe about them i expected it to crash and burn.

as a thought, maybe do a review on an el cheapo from the corner computer store just for comparison? it would be interesting to see the quality difference. also, its pretty cool when stuff bursts into flame.
 
Nicely done review, as always folks. The only negative I notice is the inability to power two 8800GTXs with only three 6 pin pcie connects. Of course you can have three next gen products!
 
Sir_ReeL said:
Nicely done review, as always folks. The only negative I notice is the inability to power two 8800GTXs with only three 6 pin pcie connects. Of course you can have three next gen products!
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I don't think that is too big of a deal, since it should be pretty easy to convert an 8pin to 6pin with an adapter. I wonder if the power supply comes with those, or maybe the video card does?

Kinda funny to read a review for a power supply that costs more than my entire PC probably does. :)
 
THRESHIN said:
as a thought, maybe do a review on an el cheapo from the corner computer store just for comparison? it would be interesting to see the quality difference. also, its pretty cool when stuff bursts into flame.
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Already working on a 5 unit round up from Newegg.
 
Including Rosewill units ?

If yes, bring a fire extinguiser next to you...

 
As you said... I do desire it. For my Delorean case mod it would be nice to place a sticker on it saying "danger 1.21 KW" I dont think we will see gigawatt PSUs but man that is a nice PSU.
 
JBark said:
Kinda funny to read a review for a power supply that costs more than my entire PC probably does. :)
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When the performance and stability of your system can hinge on your power supply, the price of a quality unit is definitely a worthwhile investment ;)
 
JBark said:
Kinda funny to read a review for a power supply that costs more than my entire PC probably does. :)
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This isn't even the most expensive PSU I am working on at the moment either and as such it represents an incredible value for what you get.
 
Shotglass01 said:
And please post a goodly number of carnage pics. Good read!
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Not to get off topic here but there will be what pictures we can. One unit blew out on the primary knocking out my kill-a-watt and spewing smoke. It was RMA'd however in order to try again..as such the unit could not be opened for pics. I am hopeful it doesn't happen again as I don't have a spare kill-a-watt ATM.
 
Wow, great review! Kudos to Thermaltake. I don't need anywhere near that amount of power, but I wonder if the other Toughpower PSU's stack up like this one does.
 
Docmhz said:
Wow, great review! Kudos to Thermaltake. I don't need anywhere near that amount of power, but I wonder if the other Toughpower PSU's stack up like this one does.
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The 1000W should. It is always important to remember that one unit from a vendor can differ significantly than another even if they are named similiar.
 
Those are some jaw-dropping numbers! I kept waiting for the shit to hit the fan thinking something's got to give: Nippon caps, Yate Loon 140mm fan, Modular cables - something's gonna blow up somewhere, I mean this is Thermaltake.. <reads> ..87.5% efficiency @ 610W!? That could power my fuckin' house - what must the ripple look like?! ..<reads> ..Holy Jeebus! :eek: Ripple's good too?

So the drawbacks are:
1) It isn't as flashy as some other PSUs
2) The internal wiring is a little sloppy
3).....That's it.

This is a very happy day. Someone at Thermaltake deserves a raise.

Good job with the review, Paul. Hope your Kill-a-Watt doesn't croak on you.
 
Holy shit, 86% eff. at 100% load... wow :eek:

Damn, and these aren't that expensive either.

For the first time, somone did something right at thermaltake.
 
I guess I've been really behind on upgrading my PC. I haven't read the review, but I have noticed that they have the 1000W and such. Is PC really getting that power hungry to require 1200W? That's like trippling what I currently have on my system.
 
Here are some efficiency numbers. Assuming a PC running 24/7 at a cost of $0.16 per killawatt-hour (average in NY):

At 609W continuous (Galaxy 4 under constant load)
at 87.5% Eff: 8760hr/yr x ($0.16/1000W*hr) x (609W/0.875) = $975.51 per year
at 80.0% Eff: 8760hr/yr x ($0.16/1000W*hr) x (609W/0.80) = $1066.62 per year
at 75.0% Eff: 8760hr/yr x ($0.16/1000W*hr) x (609W/0.75) = $1138.10 per year

Or at a more realistic (but still high) 301W continuous for you folders out there:
at 86.99% Eff: 8760hr/yr x ($0.16/1000W*hr) x (301W/0.8699) = $484.98 per year
at 80.0% Eff: 8760hr/yr x ($0.16/1000W*hr) x (301W/0.80) = $527.35 per year
at 75.0% Eff: 8760hr/yr x ($0.16/1000W*hr) x (301W/0.75) = $562.50 per year

Plus you get the peace of mind of knowing that you can keep this mo' fo' for the full 5 year warranty period and then some.
 
Nicepants42 said:
Here are some efficiency numbers. Assuming a PC running 24/7 at a cost of $0.16 per killawatt-hour (average in NY):

At 609W continuous (Galaxy 4 under constant load)
at 87.5% Eff: 8760hr/yr x ($0.16/1000W*hr) x (609W/0.875) = $975.51 per year
at 80.0% Eff: 8760hr/yr x ($0.16/1000W*hr) x (609W/0.80) = $1066.62 per year
at 75.0% Eff: 8760hr/yr x ($0.16/1000W*hr) x (609W/0.75) = $1138.10 per year

Or at a more realistic (but still high) 301W continuous for you folders out there:
at 86.99% Eff: 8760hr/yr x ($0.16/1000W*hr) x (301W/0.8699) = $484.98 per year
at 80.0% Eff: 8760hr/yr x ($0.16/1000W*hr) x (301W/0.80) = $527.35 per year
at 75.0% Eff: 8760hr/yr x ($0.16/1000W*hr) x (301W/0.75) = $562.50 per year

Plus you get the peace of mind of knowing that you can keep this mo' fo' for the full 5 year warranty period and then some.
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Those numbers are also only at 4 loads not the entire possible range on one unit so YMMV to some degree and it is very rare for a PC to even be idling 24/7 at 300w (unless by idle you include folding).
 
Paul_Johnson said:
Those numbers are also only at 4 loads not the entire possible range on one unit so YMMV to some degree and it is very rare for a PC to even be idling 24/7 at 300w (unless by idle you include folding).
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Yes, but I can only work with the information in you're review. ;)

And honestly, I don't think it's that uncommon (especially here) to have a gaming system (drawing ~500W or more for a few hours a day) that doubles as a folding system or a file server for the rest of the day. I don't find 300W continuous to be outrageously high.

You are of course very correct that YMMV. Residents of Connecticut and Hawaii will see a much greater benefit than residents of Washington and Oregon.

For simplicity, cost per hour is (Price per KW / 1000) x (Power Draw / Efficiency%).
In NY, this would mean $0.055 per hour @ 310W, which increases to $0.060 per hour as efficiency drops to 80% and draw remains the same.
 
Well I'll be a monkey's love slave! Thermaltake made a good psu!
Nice review.
 
I am in awe of this unit. When I saw the 87.5% efficiency rating at 600 watt load, I cussed out loud--good thing I work at home!:D
 
Too be honest I'm not really surprised by the results, I own a thermaltank toughpower 700 watt psu (cost me 160 bucks) and the performance I get is about the same as what they rated.

Thermaltank I believe is one of the most underrated psu makers out there. Sure they made bad psu's at first but ever since they came out with the toughpower units they have just been amazing psu's.

I personally would like to see reviews for all the toughpower units that are 600 watts or higher and less then 1000 watts
 
Wow that is impressive, and admittedly unexpected. Looks like I may have to give Thermaltake a longer consideration for my next purchase,assuming their other PSUs perform similarly.
 
Nice review, amazing power supply. It does seem to beg the question though - do the lower end models in this series of PS meet the same standards? I don't need 1200w but I am interested in stability and efficiency at, say, the 750w level.
 
A big Thumbs Up to Thermaltake for building such a solid product that actually delivered on its aggressive marketing claims. Four PCI-E connectors would have been nice though, I wouldn't want a clunky adapter for an SLI setup visible from my pc window. I think the ppl this PSU is marketed toward will often have dual 8800's.


That being said, I wholeheartedly agree with the above poster. I would never buy a 1200watt PSU as I think the idea of needing that much power is a little over the top. I understand that [H] has to review the best products because thats what ppl want to read about in most respects (like video cards); but I think PSU's are different. I think most ppl in the market will want to know what is the absolute 'best' PSU in the wattage range that most computers will use, 750w give or take. We should be able to find PSU's just as stable without spending $400.


On a side note, I find it ironic how ppl (myself not excluded) will spend big bucks on an expensive PSU to supposidly improve their computers stability, when on the flip side software will still predominantly cause the pc to hang-up and freeze time, and time, and time again =/
 
Torsten said:
A big Thumbs Up to Thermaltake for building such a solid product that actually delivered on its aggressive marketing claims. Four PCI-E connectors would have been nice though, I wouldn't want a clunky adapter for an SLI setup visible from my pc window. I think the ppl this PSU is marketed toward will often have dual 8800's.


That being said, I wholeheartedly agree with the above poster. I would never buy a 1200watt PSU as I think the idea of needing that much power is a little over the top. I understand that [H] has to review the best products because thats what ppl want to read about in most respects (like video cards); but I think PSU's are different. I think most ppl in the market will want to know what is the absolute 'best' PSU in the wattage range that most computers will use, 750w give or take. We should be able to find PSU's just as stable without spending $400.
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Yeah, what he said. I was surprised it only has 3 pcie connections.

Amazing that this PSU did so well. I may go with a Thermaltake just for the efficiency, as I live in Hawaii and electricity is usually the highest in the US.

My only concern would be how many amps it actually pulls from the wall plug. Was that indicated anywhere in the review (I am not versed too well in electrical terms or concepts)?
 
JOESKURTU said:
Yeah, what he said. I was surprised it only has 3 pcie connections.
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It has 3 6 Pin and 3 8 pin so it has a total of 6 PCI-Express connectors.

My only concern would be how many amps it actually pulls from the wall plug. Was that indicated anywhere in the review (I am not versed too well in electrical terms or concepts)?
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No I don't give the amp draw I give the wattage pulled. But you can figure it by dividing by the wattage by the incoming voltage.
 
Well theres my next psu. I really like the video part, I hope this is a new trend that will soon follow with other reviews. Hopefully you guys get to review Silverstone's new OP1200 psu soon.
 
Sir_ReeL said:
Nicely done review, as always folks. The only negative I notice is the inability to power two 8800GTXs with only three 6 pin pcie connects. Of course you can have three next gen products!
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See the website:

"The 8 pin PCI-E connectors have the abillity to be adjusted to fit 6 pin PCI-E sockets"
 
Paul_Johnson said:
It has 3 6 Pin and 3 8 pin so it has a total of 6 PCI-Express connectors.



No I don't give the amp draw I give the wattage pulled. But you can figure it by dividing by the wattage by the incoming voltage.
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Paul, do the three 8 pin PCI-e's not convert to 6 pin? I know that on Tt's site it states that they do but you have hands on the unit so you'd know better than some poor misinformed webmaster (meaning the guy that put the info into Tt's site).
 
madmat said:
Paul, do the three 8 pin PCI-e's not convert to 6 pin? I know that on Tt's site it states that they do but you have hands on the unit so you'd know better than some poor misinformed webmaster (meaning the guy that put the info into Tt's site).
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I can't take a picture at the moment my regular camera is giving me a lens error.....but the cables I have here have that plastic piece that keeps them from keying in.
 
"In fact, most household circuits can't even provide the AC power this unit would require in order to put out 2000W of DC power. But there's the always-inevitable questions of 'Do I have enough power?' or 'Does my power supply have enough juice where my high end components need it.' That is why we have put together this 2000W unit; as the end all of power supplies as far as DC output goes. With as much as 1800W available on the 12V alone, there should be no concern whatsoever that there is enough power available for quad core, quad GPU or large drive arrays."
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unreal
 
Nicepants42 said:
Yes, but I can only work with the information in you're review. ;)

And honestly, I don't think it's that uncommon (especially here) to have a gaming system (drawing ~500W or more for a few hours a day) that doubles as a folding system or a file server for the rest of the day. I don't find 300W continuous to be outrageously high.

You are of course very correct that YMMV. Residents of Connecticut and Hawaii will see a much greater benefit than residents of Washington and Oregon.

For simplicity, cost per hour is (Price per KW / 1000) x (Power Draw / Efficiency%).
In NY, this would mean $0.055 per hour @ 310W, which increases to $0.060 per hour as efficiency drops to 80% and draw remains the same.
Click to expand...

I quad prime some dual dual core Xeon servers at work for power consumption testing and they typically draw under 300W. Keep in mind that these same systems usually also often power a 3ware card, 2-4 drives, and have FB-DIMM memory. 300W is probably a bit much for folding on a typical home PC unless you're folding with CPUs and an ATI card.
 
Goatbert said:
Nice review, amazing power supply. It does seem to beg the question though - do the lower end models in this series of PS meet the same standards? I don't need 1200w but I am interested in stability and efficiency at, say, the 750w level.
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I would say no. The 1000 and 1200w are completely different designs. Lee at PcPer reviewd the 850w and it was not the same.
 
Paul_Johnson said:
I can't take a picture at the moment my regular camera is giving me a lens error
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That's how I got my two Nikons for cheap - lens errors. Fixed the one I use for articles by thumping it firmly on my mouse pad. The other one needed disassembly so I could clean out the sand :D

Good job on the review as usual. Not too shocked to see a CWT design bringing home the bacon - their engineers really know what they're doing.

As long as they're not hampered by cost cutting on the components, they'll hold their own with literally anything else out there. I'm looking at you, PC P&C and Zippy ;)
 
malicious said:
unreal
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Actually, that unit was held back because UL wouldn't approve it because it put out too much power. UL insisted that the unit pull no more than put out than 1600W or they wouldn't approve it. So it's getting released next month as a 1600W PSU. No... they didn't just slap a 1600W label on the same 2000W unit. UL made sure that it would not put out more than 1600W. :(
 
jonnyGURU said:
Actually, that unit was held back because UL wouldn't approve it because it put out too much power. UL insisted that the unit pull no more than put out than 1600W or they wouldn't approve it. So it's getting released next month as a 1600W PSU. No... they didn't just slap a 1600W label on the same 2000W unit. UL made sure that it would not put out more than 1600W. :(
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Oh snap. That sucks.
 
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