Thermaltake Qfan 500W Review

[Oklahoma Wolf]

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=108

Not too long ago, I took a look at a new line of Toughpower units from Thermaltake that boasted a fancy schmancy frameless fan that promised fantastic performance with not a lot of noise to go with it. Today, I'm looking at the 500W little brother of that unit, the Toughpower QFan 500W.

Come on in and see how it did.
Sorry to keep you guys waiting on this one - I blame that crazy Kill-A-Watt. And its replacement. And my bank account for not allowing for the fancy clamping power meter I want.

[Super Nade]

If the price drops to sub $100, this would probably be the best unit in its price class. Nicely done Wolf. Now, did I notice a power resistor/dummy load on one of the daughter PCBs? I wonder if it is possible to say that all the talk of dummy load killing efficiency is just BS?

[burebista]

Thanks OW for another in depth review. And entertaining too. :D
I love those 500W PSU's reviews. :beer:

[Oklahoma Wolf]

Now, did I notice a power resistor/dummy load on one of the daughter PCBs?

You did ;)

[Lemmy]

jonnyGURU.com recommended...meh.

Zap said something about a Powmax unit a while back and still nothing :(

What's weird is that the wheels have turned, I can't find this unit in Europe :rant:

[Silk_the_Absent1]

Looks great, but for the price, I'm still going to recommend the VX550W. Now, if the Thermaltake were, say, $30 or so cheaper, that might change things slightly. But these Corsairs go on sale so frequently, they are really a hard act to follow.

Oh, out of curiosity, which platform does the VX550W use? I'm somewhat curious for my own information.

-Adam

[Oklahoma Wolf]

VX550 is the same platform. But, it's not modular so I felt it was unfair to compare prices on the two.

[Travis]

What's the precision of a clamping power meter?

[Oklahoma Wolf]

What's the precision of a clamping power meter?

See for yourself: http://cgi.ebay.ca/UT231-Digital-Power-Clamp-Meters-1000A-0-01kW-600kW_W0QQitemZ380027637596QQihZ025QQcategoryZ5827 7QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1 638Q2em118Q2el1247

[D3vastator]

@Oklahoma Wolf:
Which one do you think better in performance: Thermaltake Toughpower QFan 500W or Corsair HX 520W?

[Super Nade]

Not much to separate the two apart from the price. But, I'd go with the CWT if I had to choose (price being the same or else wallet dictates the purchase).

[Oklahoma Wolf]

HX520 - better warranty, slightly more powerful, cheaper.

[Travis]

See for yourself: http://cgi.ebay.ca/UT231-Digital-Power-Clamp-Meters-1000A-0-01kW-600kW_W0QQitemZ380027637596QQihZ025QQcategoryZ5827 7QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1 638Q2em118Q2el1247

Well that 'best' 3%+5 accuracy is not capable for efficiency testing since 3% does change the performance score. Why not use a much cheaper Weibo PF-120x power analyzer?

[Oklahoma Wolf]

Because:

I'd have to find one to buy it
I want to be sure it's less likely to be fooled like the KAW, because otherwise I might as well not bother (considering this was the first unit in about three dozen reviews to fool it)
I'm planning ahead for the Thermaltake 1500W review and need something that can handle that monster's power draw once we can get ourselves an SM-8800 to load it down. There are other units out there that will toast a KAW as well.
anything I buy is going to have a margin of error that could affect the score

[HOOfan_1]

Because:

I'd have to find one to buy it
I want to be sure it's less likely to be fooled like the KAW, because otherwise I might as well not bother (considering this was the first unit in about three dozen reviews to fool it)
I'm planning ahead for the Thermaltake 1500W review and need something that can handle that monster's power draw once we can get ourselves an SM-8800 to load it down. There are other units out there that will toast a KAW as well.
anything I buy is going to have a margin of error that could affect the score


Other than getting ridiculous numbers that can't possibly be right, how do you know if the meter is accurate? With the margin of error, couldn't it be 5-10% off for any particular unit and still give you somewhat reasonable numbers?

[Oklahoma Wolf]

I can tell pretty easily with the KAW - when it's off, it's off by a country mile. Other than that I go by clues in the design.