Thermaltake Toughpower iRGB Plus 1200W Platinum PSU Review @ Tom's Hardware

[breixobaloca]

Thermaltake is pushing hard in the high-end PSU market. Its excellent TPG-1250-T ushered in a new era for the company, and now there's a digital TPI-1200F2FDP model ready to boost Thermaltake's reputation in a tough field where Seasonic's Prime, EVGA's T2/P2, and Corsair's AXi are really hard to beat.

From that line-up, only the Corsair AXi PSUs are equipped with truly digital platforms, manufactured by Flextronics. And because Flextronics works with Corsair exclusively, Thermaltake had to go another route for its digital PSU. Currently, Channel Well Technology is one of the most experienced digital platform manufacturers, so it made sense for Thermaltake to enlist CWT's help.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...l#xtor=RSS-182

P.S. What a long name. Next unit "Thermaltake Toughpower Gaming Series iRGB Plus Pro Advanced Edition 1200W V2"

[sith'ari]

Originally posted by Aris:
Moreover, Thermaltake should replace the mediocre Chemi-Con KZE cap on its +12V board, which gets quite hot under high loads. That'll notably restrict its already-short lifetime.

This unit comes with a 10-year warranty. Does Aris's statement implies that these caps will not outlast the warranty length?

[saywutrly]

I, too, was wondering if KZEs were THAT bad. You'd think that CWT's engineers had their reasoning. It isn't like YoungYear built it.

[-The_Mask-]

I personally never saw a failed KZE.

[Delter]

The thing is...they may get hot if this unit would be used in heavy scenarios.

But...hey...most people would just put a single card or 2x1070/1080 on it. Thats nothing.

[ehume]

Hold-up time: 18.2 sec.
Power Good from AC loss: 22.4 sec.
That's 4.2 sec of the PSU telling the rest of the system that power's OK when it's not. That's failure, isn't it?

[Tator Tot]

While it is interesting to see an RGB PSU; I have to say that all of these manufacturers trying to force you into their ecosystem of software, proprietary connectors, etc is obnoxious.

This unit comes with a 10-year warranty. Does Aris's statement implies that these caps will not outlast the warranty length?

Aris' point was more that a "premium" unit like this should use a better series of capacitors that wouldn't get as hot. They should last the warranty length and if they don't, this is what you have the warranty for.

On the other hand, that kind of disregard for build quality does not inspire confidence.

I, too, was wondering if KZEs were THAT bad. You'd think that CWT's engineers had their reasoning. It isn't like YoungYear built it.

It's not that KZE parts are bad, it's just that other lines from the same OEM have better values attributed to them. Either life expectency, ESR, etc. c

Hold-up time: 18.2 sec.
Power Good from AC loss: 22.4 sec.
That's 4.2 sec of the PSU telling the rest of the system that power's OK when it's not. That's failure, isn't it?

Those are milliseconds not full seconds. With that said, the hold-up time does at least meet ATX specifications and this is likely a tuning issue.

Aris also does say something about that at the end of the review:

The TPI-1200F2FDP offers tight load regulation, high efficiency levels at normal loads, excellent ripple suppression, low inrush current, and a longer than 17ms hold-up time. Its major downsides are an inaccurate power-good signal, which looks like negligence on CWT's part, and efficiency under light loads.

and again in the cons section:

• Not the best caps selection
• Efficiency at light loads
• Inaccurate power ok signal
• OCP at 5VSB is set high

[turkey3_scratch]

That's 4.2 sec of the PSU telling the rest of the system that power's OK when it's not. That's failure, isn't it?

Yes.

[cesium137]

I, too, was wondering if KZEs were THAT bad. You'd think that CWT's engineers had their reasoning.

For sure they had their reasoning: cutting costs
There is no general problem with KZE's - it's all about the position of one KZE cap close to the +12V FETs:

We do notice a problem that could affect the PSU's long-term reliability.
The single Chemi-Con KZE cap, which doesn't offer great longevity,
is positioned close to the +12V FETs. Inevitably, it gets quite hot.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...su,5316-7.html

[saywutrly]

For sure they had their reasoning: cutting costs

Wouldn't they want to cut costs in a cooler part of the PSU, or is this just another f up on their part as with the PG signal?