INTRODUCTION
At first glance to most people power supply units may not seem to have advanced much compared to the ones we used to check almost a decade ago but in reality most of their interior components have, some just a bit and some quite a lot. Regardless of that however the same "principles" that applied even 10 years ago apply today (perhaps even more so due to the cost of multi-GPU setups) and so we always recommend using good quality power supply units to avoid any unpleasant issues for your hardware and of course to provide optimal stability (especially for overclocked systems). Now as many of you are well aware the safest and fastest way for consumers to "rate" a power supply unit is to check its 80 Plus efficiency certification and although the top of the line Titanium models offer the highest possible electricity savings currently and thus make use of the highest quality components they don't land far from the Platinum and Gold ones. The ToughPower DPS G 1050W model is one such 80 Plus Gold certified PSU and we have it with us today to see how it ranks in the market.
The beginning of every myth and legend is about dreams and desire: the challenging, creative and combative features of Thermaltake Group create an exciting and fascinating user experience to share with everyone, while allowing users to enter a selfless state in terms of function and potential. Thermaltake Group's 3 main brands: Thermaltake, Tt eSPORTS and LUXA2 have been merchandising throughout the world, and have successfully established 6 business footholds in areas such as Europe, America, Oceania, Japan and China, with 95 regional distributors and over 4000 premium retailers. All product planning is orientated by observation of global PC peripheral market and understanding of consumer demands. Thermaltake creates direct contact opportunities with resellers and consumers by participating major global ICT exhibitions and trade shows every year, and develop innovative marketing strategies for the promotions of new products. Meanwhile, Thermaltake incorporates the composite marketing system by making branch offices and regional distributors both the distribution channel and technical support or service center to provide instant support; by maintaining close contact with end users, we manage to strengthen corporate competitiveness and create the momentum for the growth of accomplishments. With its outstanding wisdom and strength Thermaltake Group is recruiting creative talents to build a cultural brand for the enjoyment of entertainment, e-Sports, technology and lifestyle!
The ToughPower family of PSUs by Thermaltake spans well over a decade now but the DPS G is the first line (available in 450/550/650/750/850/1050W) to reach our lab that packs a digital controller over its analog circuits allowing the user to monitor various data from the unit via the DPSapp software such as the watts used, rail voltages, amperage, unit efficiency, fan speed (you can also adjust the speed of the fan) and much more. The ToughPower DPS G 1050W has a peak output of 1260W and also features (as does the entire DPS G line) a fully-modular design (future-proof), single powerful +12V rail, low-noise 140mm PWM dual ball bearing fan and 100% Japanese electrolytic capacitors. It’s been a while since we last had a PSU by Thermaltake on our test bench so time to check it out.
SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS
As expected the front of the box has a picture of the product right beneath the company logo and above the main product features.
All of the available connectors are listed at the right along with the electrical specifications table and 6 small pictures showcasing its features.
The features list is also printed at the bottom of the box in 12 different languages.
The PSU is wrapped in a piece of cloth and placed between two black foam spacers while the modular cables are placed inside a storage pouch.
With the ToughPower DPS G 1050W PSU you will also receive the power cord, modular cables (and the pouch), anti-vibration rubber mounts, 4 cable ties, 4 mounting screws, USB cable, Molex to floppy power header, user's manual and a warranty paper.
THE TOUGHPOWER DPS G 1050W EXTERIOR
It's not the first time we've seen a unit come with flat modular cables but it's always something worth pointing out.
The ToughPower DPS G line features a nice black, red and gold color combination.
To cool the interior Thermaltake is using a 140mm PWM dual ball bearing fan.
The model name and 80 Plus Gold certification are printed on both sides of the enclosure.
Typically the electrical table sticker is placed at the bottom of the enclosure.
All of the modular connectors are different in size, tagged and color coded.
At the rear we find the power port, on/off switch and several vertical vents.
THE TOUGHPOWER DPS G 1050W INTERIOR
The 140mm dual ball bearing fan can spin up to 1500RPM (+_10%) but other than that we don't know much about it.
CWT (Channel Well Technologies) is behind the semi-digital DPS G line by Thermaltake.
The primary capacitor is made by Nippon Chemi-Con while the secondary ones are made by United Chemi-Con (all are rated for use up to 105 degrees Celsius).
DPSAPP
As mentioned earlier via the DPSApp you can check several things like voltages, PSU temperature, power consumption (total and individually for the CPU and GPU), CPU temperature, unit efficiency and the fan speed which you can also adjust.
You can also check for new updates, share your results online and check the current software version.
TEST BED
TESTING METHODOLOGY
Using a dedicated measurement instrument such as a Chroma or a SunMoon to test power supply units is without doubt the most ideal and accurate way (not to mention the fastest) to do that currently. However it's certainly not the only way there is and so pretty much anyone can test a power supply unit just by using a computer. Certainly limitations do apply and so you can't really test a 1000W power supply if your system only uses 500W at peak loads and that's why during the past 5 years i have saved certain hardware components for the purpose of building a dedicated PSU test rig. True it may not be as accurate as the above mentioned solutions but it comes really close and is in fact closer to real world usage. So as always we ran several games with maximum graphic options enabled at a resolution of 2560x1600 in order to stress every hardware component and increase the overall power demands of the system. The Passmark BurnIn Test was also used to overstress the components in an effort to provide the most accurate results possible. As a final test we also used the latest OCCT 4.4 software and its dedicated PSU testing suite since it can really bring a power supply to its knees after inside a few minutes.
Rail stability was checked/measured with the CPUID Hardware monitor and a Metex multimeter which also recorded the system load in idle and in load. As always try to remember that the power consumption numbers listed in the graph are the highest (Peak) ones recorded during the entire duration of the tests and not the average ones. Noise levels coming from the fan were recorded using the high precision HD600 ExTech Sound dBA Meter from the rear of the unit and at a range of no more than 5-10cm. Readings under load are recorded the exact moment we manually switch the fans of all graphics cards from full speed to almost zero, that way the fan of the power supply does not have enough time to slow its RPM and so by doing this we get very accurate noise level readings. Needless to say in order to get 100% accurate readings you need to have a noise isolated room for that exact purpose, something which is quite impossible unless you are working inside a real lab (some people use very small noise insulated boxes but due to their size both heat and noise exceed normal levels and so the results can't really be considered to be 100% accurate). Also do take into account that since all noise measurements take place from just 5-10cm away the final noise levels to reach your ears will be considerably less.
TEST RESULTS
RAIL STABILITY
CWT is not one of the best OEM manufacturers for no reason at all and so the very good rail stability of the DPS G 1050W didn’t surprise us.
POWER CONSUMPTION
Once again our test rig was unable to max out the unit at hand but roughly 1030W is not far from that.
NOISE LEVELS (SPL)
At full speed set manually (performance mode) the 140mm dual ball bearing fan of the DPS G 1050W hit 44.2dBA (however when left on auto it didn’t go over 42.9dBA).
CONCLUSION
With the latest ToughPower DPS G line it’s clear that Thermaltake is willing to take on the immediate competition and the result is a very good PSU with a monitoring program which at least for us is the most user friendly in the market currently. Sure it could be even easier since to access/expand some parameters you need to click on specific icons but its layout and color set it apart from others. As for the unit itself well CWT is not just a random OEM supplier in the market since other leading manufacturers like Corsair are also using products made by them. Because of that the DPS G 1050W model offers very good rail efficiency and a peak output that almost goes all the way up to 1300W (1260W to be exact). The only thing we think Thermaltake could had done better was use a better fan although not going over 43dBA on auto is not really what I’d call bad (still we’ve seen better).
Features that you don’t usually find on other power supply units tend to come at a price and that’s why currently the Thermaltake ToughPower DPS G 1050W retails for USD198.83 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 220Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). Of course it goes without saying that this price tag will make things really hard for people who may want to try out the new model by Thermaltake and although I’m well aware that it may not be easy I hope that they can cut it down a bit. Leaving out the price however we can’t ignore the performance and features of the ToughPower DPS G 1050W which is why in the end it walks with our Golden Award.
PROS
- Build Quality
- Design
- Very Good Rail Stability
- DPSApp Software
- 7 Years Warranty
- 80 Plus Gold Certified
- Electrical Protections
CONS
- Price (For Some)