Performance and Testing
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.
Unfortunately, due to chip shortage/scalpers/overpricing I was not able to test the PSU with a high-end, power hungry graphics card such as a GeForce RXT 30-series or Radeon RX 68xx XT. So the results shown may not reflect the full power consumption of the system. Yes, I’m stuck with a Radeon RX 6500 XT … *sigh*
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 you’ve got trouble. The system may unstable and you might also get random reboots.
We used AIDA64 and simultaneously ran both CPU and GPU stress test which produces 100% load. We then checked the voltage readings on AIDA64.
Idle
Voltage readings taken from ADIA64 at idle
- +12V : 12.096V
- +5V : 5.06V
- +3V : 3.328V
Load
Voltage readings taken from ADIA64 under load
- +12V : 12.096V (0 change)
- +5V : 5.060V (0 change)
- +3V : 3.312V (-0.016V)
At full load for both CPU and GPU, the system is drawing a decent amount of power so the voltages should dropped slightly. But as you can see above, both the +12V and +5V did not drop at all. This is amazing.
The thing to watch out for, is to make sure that the +12V reading don’t drop to below 12V. If it does, then the system may become unstable.
In this case, the Thermaltake Toughpower PF1 ARGB 1050W Power Supply is holding steady at a rock solid 12.096V under full load with no fluctuations at all.
Now lets move on to the Conclusion and Verdict!
