Thermaltake Toughpower DPS G 1050 W review @ TechPowerUp

[ehume]

I really like his pains-taking reviews.

[Jon Gerow]

How much criticism: yet you and McSteel are usually so even-tempered!
Was the original Sirfa-made DPS all that better than this new CWT one?

No. That was part of the problem. Even Corsair pursued High Power about using their "DPS" platform, but it was never really ready for mass-production and nobody could seem to make much improvement without screwing something else up.

[Jon Gerow]

Basically with a heatsink attached on them I believe that they could loosen up even more the fan profile.

Where were the thermistors located again? Just on the PFC sink, right?

Because I can say in the case of the HXi that the temperatures of the parts on the primary side would get far hotter than the secondary FETs. Put a heatsink and thermistor on there and, guess what? Nothing. When you program your fan controller to operate on a win/lose condition, the secondary side simply doesn't get hot enough to ramp up the fan. If you "loosen up" the fan profile more than it is, it's not the seconddary side that's going to overheat.... it's the primary side.

[ehume]

Where were the thermistors located again? Just on the PFC sink, right?

Because I can say in the case of the HXi that the temperatures of the parts on the primary side would get far hotter than the secondary FETs. Put a heatsink and thermistor on there and, guess what? Nothing. When you program your fan controller to operate on a win/lose condition, the secondary side simply doesn't get hot enough to ramp up the fan. If you "loosen up" the fan profile more than it is, it's not the secondary side that's going to overheat.... it's the primary side.

Did the PSU engineers run the tests as you specified? Or did they send yo some samples to test? Or did you all travel to China? It's hard for me to imagine your sitting at home, trying to PM an engineering intensive device like a PSU.

[Jon Gerow]

Did the PSU engineers run the tests as you specified?

Not as >>I<< specified.. but as the PRD written by Corsair's engineers specified.

Or did you all travel to China?

Corsair has two PSU engineers in the U.S. that alternate trips to China (three weeks there, three weeks back). There's also a Corsair QC and validation team in Taiwan, China and the U.S. that run products through different tests once the product is in EVT stage (everything from thermal to drop tests). Those guys find all sorts of crazy shit. Like finding out that the Mylar sheet used between the PCB and the PSU housing on the HX1200i didn't meet the thermal specifications laid out in Corsair's PRD. TBH: I know I would've totally missed something like that.

It's hard for me to imagine your sitting at home, trying to PM an engineering intensive device like a PSU.

Maybe because I'm not a PM.

My job at Corsair has little to nothing to do with developing PSU product... or any product for that matter. I just support product after the fact. We write blogs, reviewer's guides, proof manuals, answer questions for tech support and the press, support the forums, etc. But I am very close with Corsair's engineers on a non-official capacity and like to question every decision they make during the development cycle (like not putting sinks on the secondary FETs) and try to drop in on as many PSU meetings as possible. But that's more of a "hobby" thing for me given my background than a requirement of my job.

Sometimes I feel like I'm pissing them off because "it's not my job", but other times I think they actually like talking shop so much that they don't mind at all. Nothing like getting sucked into a conversation about the advantages of Gallium Nitride over Silicon Carbide to make your morning a little more interesting.