INTRODUCTION

   Whereas 15-20 years ago power supply units for the PC were all pretty much identical both in terms of features and specifications (not to mention looks) today there's at least one for every single consumer in the market. Still the fact that there are countless models available in the market today also makes things harder for some people especially the ones on tight budgets looking for both performance and of course quality (features usually come 3rd in such price categories). You see it's always easy to find an expensive high-end PSU model that ticks every single box including performance, quality and features but when it comes to affordable models things become a lot harder and this is where people like us come in. Today with us we have one such model from our friends over at Thermaltake and more specifically the latest Toughpower GX1 700W.

   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 GX1 700W (840W peak output) may not be among the top PSU models by Thermaltake (also currently available in 500/600W) and so it has all of its power cables hardwired into its chassis (which for units with outputs up to 700/750W is not really a bad thing) but still it does pack quite a few interesting features. These include an 80 Plus Gold electrical efficiency certification, single strong +12V rail (58A) capable of using up to 99% of the units total power output 696W), active PFC, primary Japanese capacitor (105 degrees Celsius), 120mm fluid dynamic bearing silent fan and a rather sufficient suite of electrical protections including OVP (over voltage protection), UVP (under voltage protection), SCP (short circuit protection) and OPP (over power protection). Last but certainly not least Thermaltake covers the entire GX1 line of power supply units with a 5-year limited warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

A large product picture is located at the front of the box right next to the main product features.

Another product picture is printed on both sides of the box.

The product features are also listed at the base of the box in 12 languages.

At the rear of the box we find the electrical table, available connectors, features list and the efficiency graph.

Packaging could be better but the unit did arrive in our lab without issues.

Along with the Toughpower GX1 700W PSU and its power cord Thermaltake also bundles 4 cable ties, 4 mounting screws, warranty information paper and the user manual.

THE TOUGHPOWER GX1 700W EXTERIOR

The chassis of the GX1 700W measures 150mm in length, 140mm in width and 88mm in height.

Thermaltake has placed their logo on top of the unit right over the 120mm fluid dynamic bearing fan.

Two stickers located on both sides of the chassis have the company logo and product name printed on them.

As always, the electrical table is printed on a large sticker located at the base of the chassis.

All of the power cables are sleeved and hardwired into the chassis.

The rear of the unit features the same perforation as the top plus the on/off power switch and the power port.

THE TOUGHPOWER GX1 700W INTERIOR

The 120mm fluid dynamic bearing fan is manufactured by Hong Hua (2050RPM) and we've actually seen it quite a few times in past reviews.

Interior layout is clean and has two aluminum heatsinks that divide the unit into 3 areas. Also judging by its layout this is probably a CWT (Channel Well Technologies) unit.

The primary capacitor is manufactured by the Japanese Nippon Chemi-Con and is certified for use up to 105 degrees Celsius.

Secondary capacitors are manufactured by the Taiwanese CapXon and Janicon (all are certified for use up to 105 degrees Celsius).

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 many years ago i put aside 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

CONCLUSION

   At first glance the Toughpower GX1 700W may not look the part but it’s actually a very good unit, for its price range that is. Rail stability proved to be very good during all our tests and the same can be said for noise levels since we never recorded anything over 40dBA (something which we’ve encountered with several other models with similar outputs). Not being 100% modular (or at all) may seem like a bad thing but as we’ve pointed out many times before this isn’t a crucial feature for units with outputs up to 700-750W since you will end up using most available connectors. Sure the “future-proof” feature is always good to have but to date it’s never been used so you shouldn’t worry about that. The only thing that had us worried are the secondary Taiwanese capacitors but with a 5-year warranty that shouldn’t be a problem either.

   Currently the Toughpower GX1 700W PSU by Thermaltake retails for USD72 inside the USA (Amazon.com – click on Gold instead of Gold RGB), and for 84.96Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which is fairly balanced for what you’re getting. At the end of the day the Toughpower GX1 700W may not be award winning material but thanks to its very good rail stability, 80 Plus Gold efficiency certification and overall quality it does come highly recommended from us to people looking for an affordable model.

PROS

- Overall Build Quality
- Very Good Rail Stability
- 80 Plus Gold Certified
- Peak Output (840W)
- Electrical Protections (OVP/UVP/SCP/OPP)
- 5 Year Warranty
- Current Price (USA)

CONS

- Not Modular (For Some)
- Secondary Capacitors Quality
- Price (EU)