Thermaltake Toughpower 1500 W

[crmaris]

Recently Thermaltake has added three new models to the Toughpower series, which are intended for power hungry systems with triple or even four-way SLI or Crossfire configurations. Today our load testers will have some extra work to do since we are going to test a monstrous Toughpower unit with 1500W capacity.

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[John Doe]

The Strider 1500 with full Japanese Chemi-Con's instead of the Taiwanese Teapo's. Hell of a PSU, but I think you knocked down the score too much for 3.3v regulation. It's a characteristic of this platform, in all tests I've seen, the Strider 1500 regulated somewhat lowly on the minors. It should gave gotten a recommendation and a higher score IMO, especially considering the Andyson's you reviewed back - and how much better this unit is.

 

[crmaris]

Well the fact that there is no grommet around the cable exit hole in combination with the stress that the thick wires take from the naked edges played a role too in the low rating. This is a very sensitive area and there should be much more protection for the wires, especially since the hole is small and the hard wired wires far too many.

The ultra high price was another factor.

 

[John Doe]

I don't think it's that important. I mean, at least it shouldn't be. I never heard of such thing cause an issue. Like the loose heatsink screws Jeremy is so bothered about. Besides, it's not easy to warp a C19 cable. Or cause a short by taking it in-out. And even if you do, that's your own fault for treating a 1500W PSU like an idiot. Also take the 40C rating for example, most Enhance units are rated at 40C, so again, not much point in cutting the score for not being rated at 50C. Price, yeah... it's priced the same as the Strider 1500. It could have been better at $300, but this one's a stronger unit. Although it's based on an older design, it still should deserve a recommendation since it's one of it's kind. If you need a 1500W PSU, you buy a 1500W PSU.

 

[crmaris]

No I don't mean the C19 cable with the grommet thing, but the hardwired wires (ATX, EPS, PCIe) that go out of the casing. They are heavily stressed against the casing edges and this doesn't make me feel comfortable. I have seen several shorts caused by damaged hardwired wires.

Also since other high capacity units can work at 50C (take Enermax Maxrevo 1350W for example) and this one is rated only at 40C I must cut points from there. The max temperature under which a PSU can deliver its full power is very important because it clearly shows the quality of the unit. You can't compare a unit that delivers full power flawlessly at 50C with one that merely does this at 40C. The manufacturer is not sure about its design or knows that it cant withstand high temps (attention 50C is a recommendation by ATX spec) so it drops the temp rating for a reason.

This unit is exactly the same with ST1500 with the only difference that the latter one is fully modular. Personally I prefer the fully modular version.

 

[John Doe]

Full modularity is kinda pointless though, this one's better. The Strider is full of Teapo's so the NCC's in this unit are a significant advantage over it. In fact, pretty much my only gripe with the Strider (aside from 3.3v) was Teapo's. This unit went over it so it's a PSU I'd consider for myself, of course if I needed it. This one, along with the Toughpower 1350 and the Ultra X3 1600 are the units I'd buy, not the MaxRevo with weak +12v. So either way, it does deserve a recommendation for what it is. Jeremy/Jon always put this at the end of huge PSU reviews. They get recommended because there's not much alternatives.

 

[crmaris]

Well every reviewer has his own ways and standards and rates according to his experience/beliefs. I have reviewed the ST1500 in the past and I highly recommended it but some years passed since then and much more modern designs released.

This 1500W unit is very strong but still has defects with some being really annoying considering the $370 it asks. Also max power at +12V is 1320W while the Maxrevo 1350W can deliver 1344W at the same rail since it uses DC-DC converters. I was also waiting the Maxrevo 1500W for review (this would be highly interesting) but something came up and now I don't know when I will have it.

 

[John Doe]

I hope they fixed regulation with extra modules for the empty part on the secondary. IIRC. I liked that part on the update of your review. Not holding my breath though, the platform didn't perform like Revo 85+/Galaxy Evo units.

 

[Jack Doph]

It's a Thermaltake: all it takes is time for it to fail.
Yes, my history with TT is one of consistent failure...

 

[John Doe]

This PSU doesn't have anything to do with TT's low-end division. Those were cheap HEC/Compucase units that failed. Toughpower's are made by CWT, who also makes the HX850.

 

[crmaris]

I hope they fixed regulation with extra modules for the empty part on the secondary. IIRC. I liked that part on the update of your review. Not holding my breath though, the platform didn't perform like Revo 85+/Galaxy Evo units.

I think this platform (Maxrevo) has great potential, it's just they focus too much in efficiency so the crippled voltage regulation. But nowadays it's all about marketing. They prefer to have the Gold badge rather than drop 1-2% efficiency (and go Silver) and greatly improve v. regulation.

 

[qubit]

Such a large price on an ultra high end PSU and they can't be bothered to fit a grommet and a power switch? What ridiculous ommissions; these make it a dealbreaker for a unit like this. What else have they taken shortcuts on? One to avoid.

 

[John Doe]

Such a large price on an ultra high end PSU and they can't be bothered to fit a grommet and a power switch? What ridiculous ommissions; these make it a dealbreaker for a unit like this. What else have they taken shortcuts on? One to avoid.

It's not. This is the best 1500W unit until the MaxRevo proves otherwise, which I doubt. Most Enhance units (Strider's, Antec TPQ, CM Real Power Pro) don't have the rocker switch due to lack of space. It's not cheaping out.

 

[Archangel999]

Hi there it is my firs post when i saw this review. I have this PSU over 2 weeks almost. And what can i say ... WOW it make the things a lot easier with 3 x gtx 295 heavily overclocked and Intel quad heavily clocked too. I have before Corsair TX 850 i have only 2 x gtx 295 installed and it was on the edge. Now i have 3 x gtx 295 no problem at all and it is soooo quietly it is very very impressive. The power cord of the PSU is huge. The power cord that came with the TX 850 is like a toy compare to this one.

I'm very happy to see the review that i wasn't wrong when buying it. Now i see i have made a good choice. And i'm very happy every night ... it is so quiet in the room when sleeping.
It was very difficult to insert it in the VA 8000 Thermaltake Tower. So i can't imagine to insert in a budget case. The only one thing that i'm disappointing is that there is only 1 floppy power connector type i need 2 to connect to my DFI mobo to support the GPU's

Best Regards
D.D

 

[qubit]

It's not. This is the best 1500W unit until the MaxRevo proves otherwise, which I doubt. Most Enhance units (Strider's, Antec TPQ, CM Real Power Pro) don't have the rocker switch due to lack of space. It's not cheaping out.

Lack of space? I find that hard to believe. The missing grommet is potentially more serious, too, as crmaris pointed out.

 

[crmaris]

Hi there it is my firs post when i saw this review. I have this PSU over 2 weeks almost. And what can i say ... WOW it make the things a lot easier with 3 x gtx 295 heavily overclocked and Intel quad heavily clocked too. I have before Corsair TX 850 i have only 2 x gtx 295 installed and it was on the edge. Now i have 3 x gtx 295 no problem at all and it is soooo quietly it is very very impressive. The power cord of the PSU is huge. The power cord that came with the TX 850 is like a toy compare to this one.

I'm very happy to see the review that i wasn't wrong when buying it. Now i see i have made a good choice. And i'm very happy every night ... it is so quiet in the room when sleeping.
It was very difficult to insert it in the VA 8000 Thermaltake Tower. So i can't imagine to insert in a budget case. The only one thing that i'm disappointing is that there is only 1 floppy power connector type i need 2 to connect to my DFI mobo to support the GPU's

Best Regards
D.D

Welcome to TPU

Yeap its silent operation amazed me too.

As for the second floppy connector you can buy a simple molex to fdd adaptor and problem solved.

 

[John Doe]

Hi there it is my firs post when i saw this review. I have this PSU over 2 weeks almost. And what can i say ... WOW it make the things a lot easier with 3 x gtx 295 heavily overclocked and Intel quad heavily clocked too. I have before Corsair TX 850 i have only 2 x gtx 295 installed and it was on the edge. Now i have 3 x gtx 295 no problem at all and it is soooo quietly it is very very impressive. The power cord of the PSU is huge. The power cord that came with the TX 850 is like a toy compare to this one.

I'm very happy to see the review that i wasn't wrong when buying it. Now i see i have made a good choice. And i'm very happy every night ... it is so quiet in the room when sleeping.
It was very difficult to insert it in the VA 8000 Thermaltake Tower. So i can't imagine to insert in a budget case. The only one thing that i'm disappointing is that there is only 1 floppy power connector type i need 2 to connect to my DFI mobo to support the GPU's

Best Regards
D.D

What are you using the system for? If for gaming, then Quad-SLi is the most those cards go. The third card would not work. Also, that setup does not need more than 900W for two, 1000W for three cards, which would not work in SLi.

Lack of space? I find that hard to believe. The missing grommet is potentially more serious, too, as cramaris pointed out.

Yes, it is. Most high-end Enhance units do not have it due to lack of space. Look at the back of the unit

As for the grommet, considering this PSU is currently the best option for 1500W, it would not make me stay away from the unit, not by itself alone. What you are missing here is the status of this PSU. If you need 1500W, it is the strongest choice right now.

 

[qubit]

@John Doe

Yes, that is odd. I still think it must be for some other reason though, after all, a switch really doesn't take up that much space and the length of the PSU can just take account of it. At this price point, I can't see it being a cost issue.

Perhaps it's the arcing that they're worried about? Think, the switch on the PSU must be designed to withstand being turned on and off while the PSU is outputting its maximum power. With one of these, the arc is going to be substantial, even with circuitry to reduce it, such as a VDR. That will eat into the metal of the switch and cause voltage spikes in the PSU, which are harmful.

I agree that the grommet would not completely write it off for me, but I would try for an alternative, wherever possible. It's a shame that there isn't much competition for it from other quality brands.

 

[John Doe]

It's the reason. It's because the design is big and crammed. Yeah, they should have redesigned their casings. The Antec TPQ doesn't have it either. There're just as big PSU's with the rocker switch so that shouldn't be an issue. As for this PSU, it's an upgraded SilverStone, simply a better version of the Strider 1500. Being Thermaltake doesn't make it worse at all.

 

[Archangel999]

I use my PC to crunching SETI project and i bought the 1500 Thermaltake unit because i have 4 x gtx 295 but can't install all of them on my current mobo and waiting for the newes 2011 lga socket to install it and the new sandy bridge - e. All cards are water cooled and the current quad too. And about the price you were talking about the Enermax in my country 1050w version cost a little bit more than the 1500 Thermaltake so it is bargain for me. I like the efficient too for the upcoming electric bill's
BTW i use only sli when gaming and only 2 x gtx 295 other use for phys-x.
Best Regards
D.D

 

[John Doe]

You sure you bought the new version? If it is the old one, I would return it right away for the Revo 85+ 1050. That one is a weak unit. This one;

 

[Archangel999]

It is the new unit ! This one is very old !

 

[John Doe]

Heh, got me worried for a while. Congrats, you got one of the strongest units in the market.

 

[Archangel999]

Thank you ! They have the old one unit too but in the half of the price of the new one. I read the reviews of it and i gamble when bought the new one because i search on the web for 2 days and no reviews found on the new one. And when today saw that there is a review decide to write down some words of the new unit.

Best Regards
D.D

 

[SuperJoker]

What are you using the system for? If for gaming, then Quad-SLi is the most those cards go. The third card would not work. Also, that setup does not need more than 900W for two, 1000W for three cards, which would not work in SLi.



Yes, it is. Most high-end Enhance units do not have it due to lack of space. Look at the back of the unit

http://www.digital-mart.in/Images/CM/Real Power Pro/1260w-3.jpg

As for the grommet, considering this PSU is currently the best option for 1500W, it would not make me stay away from the unit, not by itself alone. What you are missing here is the status of this PSU. If you need 1500W, it is the strongest choice right now.

Well I don't know about the two gents with 3 and 4 GTX295 cards, But My 3 GTX295 cards are powered by a Silverstone ST1500 1500w psu in an Antec Fusion Remote Max HTPC type case and what do I use the 3 295 cards for? Why for Seti@Home running fully optimized in 64 bit under Windows 7 Pro x64 as can be seen Here, S@H is a Boinc project, one of many that can use ATi and/or Nvidia gpus to crunch numbers with, Of course some may prefer to make their PC into a fold engine, but that's their choice. It's a bit of a tight fit for the cables in this case(pun not intended), but outside of an Antec 24 pin adapter cable for the front panel which I have to replace for $5.93 and two pwr switch cables that are plugged into the wrong locations(I bought the case used, hence no instructions), the ST1500 settled a problem I had with vibration related noise I think due to it's sheer weight, so I'm lucky except for the case's power switch It all works and My 3 cards are currently air cooled and heavily filtered, My next PC will be total water cooled and 3 or 4 GTX295 cards is nothing as It'll have 6 water cooled GTX295 cards inside which means I'll need 2 psus, I have 4 that are converted and I only need two more(one of each type), they'll be mounted on an EVGA P55 Classified 200 w/a Xeon cpu and Reg/ECC 24GB of ram(1156 Xeons can use up to 32GB of ram), If the Tt 1500w is low enough in price I'll get that and a Corsair AX1200 to power the Beast or I'll get another ST1500 and an AX1200 instead as I like the ST1500 cables or an ST1500 and an HX1050, It's said that less is more...