Performance and Testing
As you know, I do not have the specialized equipment for PSU testing (which costs thousands of dollars). So the best way I could do test the PSU is by using what we’ve got. My testing method involves comparing the voltage and power consumption reading during idle and at full load. I know it’s not the most accurate method technically, but I think this simple method should provide some ideas of the performance of the power supply in terms of stability and power consumption.
Efficiency Requirements for 80Plus Certification
The main thing to watch out for, is the fluctuation on the +12V line. If the +12V line drops to below 12V during full load or large fluctuations in the V readings … then we’re in trouble. The system may unstable and you might also get random reboots.
Test Rig
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 9950X @ default clock speed |
| Cooling | Thermaltake Ultra 360 V2 AIO cooler |
| Motherboard | MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi |
| Ram | 48GB of Patriot Viper Xtreme 5 DDR5-8000 MPOWER |
| XMP/EXPO profiles | Yes XMP 3.0 Profiles |
| SSD/HDD | Crucial T700 1TB (PCIE Gen5x4) |
| PSU | Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 1000W 80 Plus Gold |
| VGA card | Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER |
| Drivers | Latest GeForce drivers from Nvidia (Graphics)Latest AMD Software Adrenalin (Chipset) |
| OS | Windows 11 |
We used AIDA64 and simultaneously ran both CPU and GPU stress test which produces 100% load. We then checked the voltage readings on AIDA64, we were able to read the sensor onboard the MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi motherboard. We were able to take the readings of the total power consumption of the CPU and GPU.
Idle
Voltage readings taken from ADIA64 at idle
- +12V : 12.072V
- +5V : 5.03V
- +3V : 3.32V
Load
Voltage readings taken from ADIA64 under load
- +12V : 12.024V (-0.048)
- +5V : 5.03V (no change)
- +3V : 3.316V (-0.04V)
Total power consumption (in wattage)
- CPU (Ryzen 9 9950X) – Max: 199.98 W
- GPU (RTX 4080 Super) – Max: 277.58 W
At full load, using the Ryzen 9 9950X processor along with the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, the system drew a total of around 477.56W … 199.98W for the CPU and 277.58W for the GPU.
The +12V line and was very stable at +12.024V, with only a slight drop from +12.072V (idle), so nothing to worry about. For those who don’t know, here’s something to be aware of… if the 12V line drops below 11V, the system will become unstable and most likely crash.
As for the +5V line, it was rock solid with no fluctuations at all, and remained a constant +5.03V. While the +3.3V line dropped ever so slightly from +3.32V to +3.314V. Based on our overall tests, the Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 Hydrangea Blue 1050W is a pretty rock solid power supply.
Now lets move on to the Conclusion and Verdict!
