400-450W PSU Roundup
by Christoph Katzer on November 6, 2007 4:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Thermaltake Purepower RX 450W
Next up is the Thermaltake TR2 RX Purepower 450W PSU, stepping into the ring wearing the standard Thermaltake silver colors. One of the more unusual aspects about this PSU is that thermal take uses punch holes for the fan grille. This looks a bit unusual, and we can't help but think that this design will impede airflow -- double the odd considering the use of a larger 140mm fan -- but most likely this was a cost-cutting measure. A normal fan grille would provide better ventilation and we definitely think it looks better, but we aren't going to try to pretend that appearance is the most important factor when it comes to picking out a power supply.
The label indicates 14A and 16A outputs on the 12V rails, which is a bit lower than we would expect, but the combined power is also 30A and the result is the same as the previous two models. The columns for the 3.3V and 5V rails are a bit confusing, as you have to read the text above to find out that the maximum combined power of these two rails is 140W. The ratings end up being similar to what we find on just about any other 450W power supply, however.
The Thermaltake unit has also all cables sleeved, even between connectors. Since this is a modular power supply, Thermaltake includes a small bag where unused cables can be stored. The main ATX cables are 50cm long, which might not be long enough for use in full tower cases. The package includes six Molex connectors and four SATA connectors plus a single 6-pin PCI-E connector. That may be inadequate for a high-end system, but it's more than sufficient for midrange computers.
The inside is a typical CWT layout with the filtering stage in the top row and the poorly designed heatsinks all over the place. A large fan can reach most components on the PCB, but the heatsinks act like an umbrella since there is simply no space where air can come through. There are more and more Thermaltake power supplies out there, and each one has these lousy heatsinks. It's no wonder that all of these units have a bad thermal management and in most cases need to have a little piece of plastic installed under the fan to direct the air in the right direction. Only bad thermal designs need this kind of help. Instead of taking the brute force approach of a 140mm fan, it would be better for Thermaltake to spend a bit more effort on improving their heatsinks.
Next up is the Thermaltake TR2 RX Purepower 450W PSU, stepping into the ring wearing the standard Thermaltake silver colors. One of the more unusual aspects about this PSU is that thermal take uses punch holes for the fan grille. This looks a bit unusual, and we can't help but think that this design will impede airflow -- double the odd considering the use of a larger 140mm fan -- but most likely this was a cost-cutting measure. A normal fan grille would provide better ventilation and we definitely think it looks better, but we aren't going to try to pretend that appearance is the most important factor when it comes to picking out a power supply.
The label indicates 14A and 16A outputs on the 12V rails, which is a bit lower than we would expect, but the combined power is also 30A and the result is the same as the previous two models. The columns for the 3.3V and 5V rails are a bit confusing, as you have to read the text above to find out that the maximum combined power of these two rails is 140W. The ratings end up being similar to what we find on just about any other 450W power supply, however.
The Thermaltake unit has also all cables sleeved, even between connectors. Since this is a modular power supply, Thermaltake includes a small bag where unused cables can be stored. The main ATX cables are 50cm long, which might not be long enough for use in full tower cases. The package includes six Molex connectors and four SATA connectors plus a single 6-pin PCI-E connector. That may be inadequate for a high-end system, but it's more than sufficient for midrange computers.
The inside is a typical CWT layout with the filtering stage in the top row and the poorly designed heatsinks all over the place. A large fan can reach most components on the PCB, but the heatsinks act like an umbrella since there is simply no space where air can come through. There are more and more Thermaltake power supplies out there, and each one has these lousy heatsinks. It's no wonder that all of these units have a bad thermal management and in most cases need to have a little piece of plastic installed under the fan to direct the air in the right direction. Only bad thermal designs need this kind of help. Instead of taking the brute force approach of a 140mm fan, it would be better for Thermaltake to spend a bit more effort on improving their heatsinks.
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zeroidea - Wednesday, November 7, 2007 - link
The Antec PS featured in this article is currently on sale at staples.com for $30.http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/S...">Link
SilthDraeth - Wednesday, November 7, 2007 - link
I know it falls outside of the 450Watt max, but it is still below the 500 watt barrier. I just bought the psu for a midrange system I built my mom, I know it works well, but I don't have the ability to test everything.One can wish right?
Noya - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
If you look around (buy.com), the Corsair 450vx can be had from $51-61 pretty regularly, and at that price it's untouchable. I must say I've had one for about two months and haven't had any problems with it.smthmlk - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
Can we have a full list of caps in each unit? Noting the primaries is nice, but what about the others? Thanks.Talcite - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
Thanks for finally putting up O-scope readings, it's quite nice to see them. One thing I'm concerned about though is the lack of explication or analysis.For example, is the entire o-scope range 200mV in the 12v readings or is it one division? Also, there's a number of strange spikes in all the o-scope readings. I'm pretty familiar with the 450VX o-scope readings (mostly from other sites) and I haven't noticed any spikes of that nature in their readings. It probably isn't, but is the equipment faulty?
Thanks for putting the readings up anyways though, they're a nice addition.
Super Nade - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
Those strange spikes are probe noise. If the probe is coupled incorrectly, you will see this artifact. This cold be due to any number of factors like EMI for instance. Following the ATX guideline on using 0.1 uF output coupling caps will minimize this to a great extent.MrOblivious - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
You have to look at the sampling time on the readings to compare between sites. Different sampling times will make the traces appear a bit different.phaxmohdem - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
I just recently built a rig for a buddy using a Thermaltake PurePower (or ToughPower.. can't remember) 480W Unit and it works like a champ powering a Core2 Quad Q6600 CPU, 2GB RAM, 2HDD's, two Optical Drives, 8600GT, TV Tuner and a few fans. (Wish I knew about the Corsair PSU when I spec'd that system out).But yeah, Unfortunately most people equate Watts to overall quality.... not unlike the MHz war of days gone by. Power supplies are one of the hardest components to convince people to spend extra on for some reason. FFS, electricity is kind of the basis of the whole dam computer!
Eventually it ends up as "Oh well. Go ahead and get that 600W $30 power supply and let me know how that goes for ya. I could use a good laugh, and don't say I didn't warn you."
strikeback03 - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
Maybe Anandtech should go ahead and list the weight of each PSU. That has long been used as an estimate of quality.jonnyGURU - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
Not any more. Topologies have changed to the point where you can have very light quality units and very heavy crap. Weight is NOT a factor.