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Thermaltake ToughPower Power Express VGA 650Watt

Author:	Michael Lynch
Date:	2008.09.04
Topic:	Audio
Provider:	Thermaltake
Manufacturer:	Thermaltake

Thermaltake ToughPower Power Express VGA 650Watt

Introduction:

Most graphic cards today pull a good two to three hundred watts while under load, and if you have two of these, then your current power supply might not be adequate. Instead of going out and purchasing a thousand watt or higher power supply, which can be very pricey, Thermaltake has introduced an add-on power supply called the Thermaltake ToughPower Power Express VGA 650Watt which slides directly into two of your 5.25" drive bays. With a maximum power output of 650 watts, this thing can handle two of the most power hungry cards on the market today.

Thermaltakes Take:

Thermaltake, the market’s most trusted brand name also produces the market’s most reliable Toughpower series power supply.  Built with the latest technological advances in circuitry design with industrial-grade components, Toughpower offers industry’s leading 87%+ efficiency, power protection and performance that today’s cutting-edge PC components demand.  Recognized for its highest level of performance, Toughpower power supply carries either Nvidia SLI Ready or AMD/ATI CrossFire certification that fully supports Nvidia 2-way and 3-way SLI configuration as well as AMD/ATI 2-way, 3-way and 4-way CrossFire configuration.

- Thermaltake

Thermaltake ToughPower Power Express VGA 650Watt

Features:

• Support NVIDIA SLI & other multi-GPU technologies
• TWO 6-pin & TWO 8-pin PCI-Express connectors support up to four graphic card setup
• Excellent and stable output maximize the performance of the graphic card(s)
• Share the loading and increase the lifespan of existing main power supply
• Money Saving: greatly increase the output wattage and no need to purchase a new high-end power supply
• Three LED display: red LED for power, two blue LED for 12V1 and 12V2.
• Great reliability: MTBF > 100,000 hours.
• Japan made capacitor promise the best reliability.
• Green power design that meets energy star, blue angel requirements
• Protections: Short-Circuit , Over Voltage Protection, and Over Current protections.
• Safety / EMI Approvals: UL, CUL, TUV, FCC, BSMI and CE certified.

	PCI Express x4
	Dual GPU Ready

Specifications:

Performance:

Thermaltake ToughPower Power Express VGA 650Watt

Packaging:

The Thermaltake Power Express 650W VGA Power Supply came packaged in an attractive looking box with an information sleeve over it. Located on the front of the box is a nice picture of the unit itself with very little other information except for its name, this gives it more of a professional and simplistic design. On the back of the box, is a list of features and specifications.

Upon opening the box we see that the power supply itself is properly secured in place with foam inserts, with the cables placed in a pouch that is placed between the power supply and the box.

Package Contents:

• Thermaltake ToughPower Power Express VGA 650 Watt PSU
• Modular Cords
• Power Cord
• PCI-Slot Bracket
• Screws

	Elegant Appearance
	3 LED indicate the single of power, +12V1, and +12V2
	AC power cord: connect through the PCI-Slot.

	24-pin adapter: to connect main PSU & MB & Power Express
	8-pin PCI-E Connector X 2
	6-pin PCI-E Connector X 2
	2-pin Connector: receive signal from Main PSU for synchronal Power ON/OFF.

A Closer Look:

Taking a closer look at the power supply, we notice that the structure and design of the actual device is different from our everyday power supply. You would expect some differences mainly because it is meant to be installed in two 5.25" drive bays, and not mounted to the rear of the case. The front of the device, noticeable from the front of the computer case, has a nice sleek looking gray matte finish with about 75% of the front being an open grill. Located on the front are three indicator lights, that will indicate if the power is on, if rail one is in use, and if rail two is in use.

Located on the back of the unit is an 80mm fan that pushes air across the power supply and out through the grill in the front. Having design of this type is superb for cooling. Also located on the back are several modular power plugs, there is the three pin main power plug that connects to your standard wall outlet, two pin motherboard power adapter, 2x six pin VGA cable, and 2x eight pin VGA cable. The two pin plug that connects to the back of the unit has an inline adapter that connects between your 24 pin power adapter from your motherboard and the connector; this will tell the VGA Power Supply when to turn on and off. The power cord that plugs into the 3 pin power to the back of the unit goes through an empty PCI-Slot in the back of the computer.

Thermaltake ToughPower Power Express VGA 650Watt

Installation:

The installation of the PSU is fairly straightforward, if you know how to install nearly any hardware into your computer then this should be rather simple. The steps of the installation are as follows:

1. Place the PSU into the 5.25" drive bay and secure it in place.
2. Route the power cord through the PCI-Slot bracket, secure the bracket in place, and plug power cord into the VGA Power Supply (not into wall).
3. Connect the motherboard adapter between the motherboard and current power supply.
4. Connect all graphics cards to the VGA Power Supply
5. Once everything is connected, it is now safe to plug the VGA Power Supply plug into the wall.

Testing:

The test system being used is:

For testing the Thermaltake Power Express 650W VGA Power Supply we used a multimeter to check the voltages.

Both rails ended up resulting in the same voltages when idle and under a full load and were very stable. Idle for a power supply that provides 12v is an output of 12v, although the atx regulations allow this figure to have a 5% variant allowing 12v to be within the range of 11.4V - 12.6V. But just because its within that range, doesnt mean its a good power supply. A general rule of thumb that I have, is if the voltage is plus or minus 1% then it is a good power supply, 2-4% its acceptable, 5% or higher is trash. So resulting in 12.12 idle and 12.05 underload, the power supply has a nice solid output.

In the image below you can see the fan speeds in relation to how much load you are putting on it.

Conclusion:

The Thermaltake Power Express 650W VGA Power Supply turned out to be a superb product. The sleek and stylish exterior will look great in nearly every case. Although, if your case has a solid door on the front, then the ventilation might become a problem. With a very acceptable voltage output, this power supply will not only last a long time but will help even make your components last longer because of not suppling too much or little voltage to the device. The installation of the power supply was quite simply and painless. Being priced at $98.99, you might be better off to just purchase a large enough single power supply if you are building your computer from scratch, but if you are upgrading your graphics cards and need more power than it is something to look at.