Thermaltake 1350w PSU with 80 Plus Silver rating announced

Faith December 26, 2010 Power Supplies

If you're considering running a pair of GTX580 cards or maybe even 3-way CrossFireX with Radeon HD 6970 cards, then you're going to be placing quite a strain on your system's PSU. While large power supplies have been around for ages, they have generally been very inefficient. KitGuru casts its wizened eye across a new offer from Thermaltake.

Imagine you're running a PSU at 500w and there is 20% wastage. You've basically installed a pair of halogens in your room which give off no light at all (but you might get a little warmth).

Given that we've all gone out and left a light or two on, this is not such a crime against computers, the environment or your wallet.

Crank the output of that supply to a hefty 1,500 watts and the same 20% wastage would cost you around 6 bulbs. Now that's something you might notice.

While the Thermaltake 1,500w PSU was a regular choice for ground breaking machines by Armari and others, it was never that efficient. The world famous Armari XCP was powered with this kind of technology – but then again it did weigh in at 150Kg.

Armari XCP — Armari's submerged monster weighed 150KG and cost $150,000 - so 'fuel efficiency' wasn't really part of the specification

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Thermaltake has completely overhauled its high-end PSU designs and has now launched the ToughPower 1350.

With 8 full PCI-Express connectors, it's certainly got enough connectors for all of the likely high-end graphics set ups you're likely to want to try. It's also modular, so you won't need a crowbar to shut the chassis when you only have 2 cards installed.

Thermaltake Toughpower 1350 public shot kitguru — Seems to be better looking than recent efforts at Thermatake design under the 1kw limit

More importantly, the company is claiming efficiency around the 91% mark, even when you run the unit on a 24×7 basis in a room at 50 degrees Celsius. For the hardcore/nutter Folders among you, this could be good news for your electric bill (but only by a handful of halogens).

That design/component efficiency seems to have been enough to early the unit an 80 PLUS Silver rating from the certification bodies that be.

Thermalake Toughpower 1350 DC DC Inside KitGuru — Lift the 1,350w PSU's skirt and you're likely to see something like this

Doing some basic maths, pulling 1,500w out of a unit at 80% efficiency would deliver 1,200 watts. Using the same, simple calculation, pulling 1,350w from a unit at 91% would deliver a halogen more. Nice.

This kind of calculation won't be born out 100% in the real world, but it's definitely a step in the right direction for hard core enthusiasts who need graphics power comparable to a mini-Deathstar before they're happy. You know who you are!

KitGuru Says: We will get a sniff on pricing over the next few days and the KitGuru Labs will grill the unit early in the New Year for your delight and delictation (and perverse attraction to component torture).

Is a 1,350w PSU the stuff of dreams, nightmares or simply the next step down the road to uber-computing perfection? Let us know, below!

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Thermaltake 1350w PSU with 80 Plus Silver rating announced

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