Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 1050W Power Supply Review

Not long ago the process of picking a power supply was relatively simple you would first look at your projected system load and buy something that fell within that range.  Now days you need to consider things like 80 Plus ratings, multi gpu certifications, modular plug support, and Intel C6 State mode support?  Second generation Intel Core processors support a dynamic power loading system that can manage power consumption based on system load, or in some cases shut off power completely.  Of course for this to work properly you need a power supply that can support this and still remain efficient.

In this review we will be looking at the Toughpower Grand 1050w power supply from Thermaltake.  The Toughpower Grand is a new design aimed at providing the highest efficiency while still delivering clean and reliable power to enthusiast and gaming systems. 

Wattage 1050 Watts
Fan  140 mm Dual Ball Bearing fan / 1900RPM ± 10% / 99.6 CFM
Efficiency up to 93%
PFC Active PFC
Hold-Up Time 18 ms
Switches ATX Logic on-off additional power rocker switch (with light indicator)
Power Good Signal 100~500 ms
Input Voltage 100 VAC ~ 240 VAC
Input Current 13A Max
Input Frequency Range 50 ~ 60 Hz
MTBF 120,000
Form Factor Intel ATX 12V 2.3 & EPS 12v 2.92
Dimension 7.08 x 5.9 x 3.4 inch (L)x(W)x(H) / 180 x 150 x 86 mm (L)x(W)x(H)
Warranty 7 Years
Certifications ATI CrossFireX Certified / NVIDIA SLI Certified / 80PLUS Gold Certified
Protection OVP / OCP / OLP / OTP / UVP / SCP
Extra Cooling FanDelayCool Technology

The Grand 1050w is a two rail design that divides the 12v power rails so that one can deliver power directly to the cpu while the second, and much larger rail can supply power to secondary systems such as PCI Express, drives, and the 24 pin main power connector.   

Intel C6 State Mode is an important new feature found in current Sandy Bridge processors and allows the system to monitor and manage power consumption.   The Grand 1050w supports power loading from full load down to 1w power consumption on the CPU rail but can offer a Zero Load mode to graphics cards which will turn them off completely when not in use.  

This PSU carries an 80 Plus Gold certification which translates into and 87% to 92% total efficiency and power conversion for less heat production and lower power costs.  To help aid in heat dissipation the Grand series supports "FanDelayCool Technology" which allows the 140mm fan to continue spinning for 15-30 seconds after the system has shutdown and unlike other power supplies with this feature the fan will continue to spin even if you remove the power plug completely. 

When building up a gaming or enthusiast system your time and money is often concentrated on making sure you get the most powerful video card and processor you can afford.  This is natural considering those two items typically dictate total performance.  The thing many people forget is that performance cannot be realized unless you have enough power to drive everything, which means you need a quality PSU.

For more specific details related to the Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 1050w power supply please check out the image gallery photos.  Also for a complete list of specifications please consult the Thermaltake website.