Value and Conclusion
- The Tesla R2 1000 W retails for $164.99
- Delivered full power at 47°C
- Efficient
- Tight enough voltage regulation on all rails
- Quiet enough fan at low to medium loads and under normal conditions
- Good build quality
- Compact dimensions for its capacity
- Price is on the high side
- Low hold-up time
- Ripple suppression on the minor rails could be better
- Only one EPS connector
- Not enough 4-pin Molex connectors
- The 5VSB rail should be stronger
The Tesla R2 1000 W may not offer cutting-edge performance, but it still manages to perform fairly well because of the good platform it utilizes. Unfortunately, some compromises had to be made in order to keep the cost down, so there are no modular cables and the capacitors are Taiwanese (thankfully Teapos, though), but I am pretty sure most users won't mind as they care more about a lower price. You can't have it all in this life after all. You get a good price—although the price of this unit isn't that good—and high-end components along with a rich set of features.
I do, however, think that Fractal Design could use flat stealth cables instead of these classic round cables to make the cable-management process a lot easier; flat cables would, on top of that, significantly improve airflow inside the case. Also, the hold-up time is way lower than the minimum allowed limit, a tell-tale sign that small capacity caps were used in the APFC circuit in an effort to further reduce the production cost. Finally, I find the idea of equipping a 1 kW unit with only two Molex connectors, to put it gently, really strange. At least four or five should be available as many components are still fed through these connectors.
To sum up, the Tesla R2 1000 W offers good overall performance, but its price is in my opinion significantly higher than it should be, at least in the US. Here, I should also note that all US shops I searched had none available, and I only spotted a price on Amazon, with none in stock! This is very strange considering that the unit can easily be found in Europe. To continue on with my thoughts about the unit, I think that the lack of modular cables is, next to its lack of more Molex connectors and the price (at least in the US), its most significant drawback. The Tesla R2 1000 W could, if Fractal Design manages to lower the price to around 120 bucks while increasing availability in the US, be a sweet deal for anyone in search of a reliable, efficient, and quiet—at least under normal conditions—PSU.