Specifications

The PSU carries the highest efficiency certification with 80 Plus Platinum, and the maximum operating temperature at which it is able to deliver its full power continuously is 50°C. Its protection features include everything except the crucial OTP (Over Temperature Protection), but such a wide operating temperature range does, thankfully, make OTP a little less useful to this Tachyon.

The fan has a 140 mm diameter and is, unfortunately, not equipped with ball-bearings, but with a plain sleeve bearing that doesn't last nearly as long. We expected a fan of higher quality to be used with such an expensive unit.

The unit's dimensions are larger because of the components needed to output 1 kW, but nearly any chassis available on the market should be able to accommodate this PSU since its length, although bigger than the normal 160 mm, isn't that much longer; that is, at least compared to monstrous PSUs like the Silverstone ZM1350.

Strangely enough, Rosewill states that this unit is ATX 2.31 compliant, although this doesn't stand since the latter spec requires at least two +12V rails and the Tachyon 1000 W only has one. However, this is nothing to whine about, and they probably filled this section of their PSU's specifications out in a hurry without priorly researching it properly. Finally, the warranty is five years long, which is a sufficient period for a high-end PSU, and its price tag is close to the Kingwin Lazer Platinium 1000W - one of its direct contenders.


The single +12V rail is powerful since it can almost deliver 1 kW. It will easily handle every system equipped with a three way SLI or Crossfire configuration. The minor rails, on the other hand, look weak with 100 W max combined power, but there is nothing to worry about since a contemporary PC won't draw more juice out of those two rails. This is why they are called minors, after all. Finally, the 5VSB rail can deliver up to 2.5 A, which looks like very little if we take into account the high capacity of this unit. A 1 kW unit should normally deliver >3A on this rail.

Cables & Connectors, Power Distribution

Six PCIe and two EPS connectors are available at the same time, something common in most 1 kW PSUs. The number of available SATA connectors is sufficient for the category of the unit and the same applies to the number of the peripheral connectors.

The length of all cables should not cause compatibility issues with a large full-tower chassis, and the distance amongst connectors is good. Finally, the longer EPS cable uses thicker 16AWG gauges for lower voltage drops and the same applies to the wires that deliver +12V and earth to the main ATX connector. All the other connectors use the normal 18AWG wires.

Since this PSU features a single +12V rail, we do not have anything to comment on about its power distribution.