Date: December 11th, 2006
Article by: Joe Anderson (Hardware Reviewer)
Edited by: Nathan Glentworth (Owner / Head Editor)
Product was submitted by: Thermaltake
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PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES
The Toughpower Cable Management 850W targets the extreme high-end system builder and is available at quite a few online retailers and careful shopping can get you one for around $250 US. While this is a princely sum compared with some high-powered PSUs, let's explore what the Toughpower 850W has to offer before we make any hasty value judgments.
The specifications and output tables (from the Thermaltake website) are impressive to say the least. Active PFC is always good to find in a PSU, and a 140mm thermally controlled cooling fan should keep things quiet. The Toughpower 850W will process input voltages from 100V to 240V AC and has a very good efficiency rating. Measuring 6.3 X 5.9 X 3.4 inches, the 850W is not overly large by today's standards, and it weighs in at a satisfying 5.3 pounds.
The output table shows some departures from earlier Thermaltake PSUs in the Toughpower class. Two of the 850W's +12V rails are rated at 18A, while the remaining two have a 30A rating. With a combined output of 62A on the +12V rails, the 850W has plenty of power for even the most demanding systems. Load regulation is specified at +/- 3%, well below the ATX requirement and should provide excellent stability.
The features list is equally impressive with modular cable design and EPS (8-pin) support. Once confined to the server realm, 8-pin connectors are showing up on high-performance mainstream boards with increasing frequency. One way that some manufacturers “enhance” PSU specs is to rate the output at a ridiculously low operating temperature well below what one would find in even a well-ventilated enclosure. It's refreshing to see Thermaltake rating the 850W at 50C (122F). Let's face it, if your case temps approach these values, you've got some serious issues that need to be addressed.
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