Thermaltake Toughpower SFX 1000w Modular Power Supply Review

While the Toughpower SFX might be small it does come packed with some really great features and the most notable is the cooling system.  Here you will find a single 92mm fluid dynamic bearing fan that operates in a 30% semi fanless mode.  When the PSU is operating below 30% load the fan will remain idle.  Any load above 30% then the fan will spin up to keep the PSU cool.

The PSU is a single rail design and comes with the standard six bolt mounting system.  The four outer screws will work for most installations but, the SFX standard calls for an additional two so you'll find the extras on every version.

A fully modular PSU indicates that every cable can be physically removed from the PSU.  This can really help when it comes to building a PC and cable management.  Simply remove the cables you aren’t using to make running the required cables a breeze.  Of course, if you happen to upgrade your build and need another cable, pull it out of storage and away you go.

An important thing to note is that cables from modular power supplies are not universal and the cables for the Thermaltake Toughpower SFX 1000W Platinum may not work on other Thermaltake power supplies or PSUs from other manufacturers.  When upgrading it is best to consult the documentation before mixing and matching cable sets. 

PCI Express power can be delivered in several different configurations.  The popular method for ATX 3.1 power supplies is the 12VHPWR 12v-2x6 connection which is rated at 600w.  For those using older graphics cards you will have access to 3x 8-pin PCI Express power connectors supporting every major graphics card on the market.

8-pin PCI Express and CPU power connectors are basically the same thing.  12v power is delivered along one side of the connector while the other side is ground.  The Toughpower SFX has a total of four of these connections.  Two are generally reserved for high-end motherboards while the remaining two can be used for graphics cards.

You will get the following cables
1x 24-pin Main Power Cable
2x 8-pin CPU Power Cables
2x Dual 6+2-pin PCI Express Power Cables
1x 12VHPWR PCI Express Power Cable (600w)
2x SATA Power Cables with 4 Plugs per cable
1x MOLEX Power Cable with 4 Plugs per cable

Every cable included with this PSU is made from heavy gauge flat ribbon stock.  The 12VHPWR cable features a smaller 4-pin ribbon cable for the sense wires and is nicely sized for a uniform look. 

I am also glad to see that Thermaltake has included the SFX to ATX adapter bracket.  This adapter allows you to fit this power supply into any standard ATX chassis.  Keep in mind that the shorter SFF friendly cables may not work well in a full sized ATX tower but, the option is available.