Thermaltake products are no stranger to us at Play3r, and today we look closely at their TOUGHPOWER SFX 1000W power supply. Coming from their TT Premium line, it has an 80PLUS Gold efficiency rating, a 92mm fan, and a massive 10-year warranty. Let’s take a closer look…
Thermaltake TOUGHPOWER SFX 1000w PSU: Specifications
| P/N | PS-STP-1000FNFAGx-1 |
|---|---|
| WATTS | 1000W |
| MODEL | SFX-1000AH2FKG |
| MAX. OUTPUT CAPACITY | 1000W |
| COLOR | Black |
| DIMENSION ( W / H / D ) | 125mm(W)x63.5mm(H)x126mm(D) |
| WEIGHT | 1.2 KG |
| PFC (POWER FACTOR CORRECTION) | Active PFC |
| POWER GOOD SIGNAL | 100-500 msec |
| HOLD UP TIME | > 17msec at 100% of full load |
| INPUT CURRENT | 15A Max. |
| INPUT FREQUENCY RANGE | 50 – 60Hz |
| INPUT VOLTAGE | 100V – 240V~ |
| OPERATING TEMPERATURE | 0°C to + 45°C |
| OPERATING HUMIDITY | 5% to 85%,non-condensing |
| STORAGE TEMPERATURE | -40°C to + 70°C |
| STORAGE HUMIDITY | 5% to 95%, non-condensing |
| COOLING SYSTEM | 12cm FDB Fan |
| EFFICIENCY | Meet 80 PLUS®Gold at 115Vac input. |
| MTBF | 100,000 hrs minimum |
| SAFETY APPROVAL | CE/FCC/UKCA/ICES/LVD/TUV/cTUVus/CB/CCC/BSMI |
| PCI-E 6+2PIN | 4 |
| PCIE 12+4PIN | 1 |
Product page: HERE
Thermaltake TOUGHPOWER SFX 1000w PSU: Unboxing and Closer Look
In keeping with Thermaltake’s Premium branding, the black and grey box can be seen here with a picture of the PSU itself taking up much of the front of the box with a feature list on the right-hand side and the name and 80PLUS Gold rating.
The rear goes into more detail about the efficiency, smart zero fan, low noise ripple design, strict voltage regulation, and connector and output specifications.
Opening the box, we see the PSU itself covered in foam, ensuring it survives the delivery in one piece. We can also see the SFX 1000w in a plastic bubble bag for additional protection.
Taking a first look at the SFX 1000w itself, it has to be said that it’s quite the aesthetic piece. Notice the large number of ventilation cutouts on the top and rear of the PSU, which should aid in cooling when the “smart zero fan” mode is activated. This works automatically with the SFX units, as the ATX units have a switch to enable and disable it.
On the rear side, we can see the power switch and the 3-pin power connector, which uses the C14 or kettle connector.
The TOUGHPOWER SFX 1000w is a fully-modular PSU, and the input bank is well-designed and clearly labeled here.
The TOUGHPOWER SFX 1000w comes with all the cables in a sealed plastic bag. The cables themselves are mostly low-profile flat cables and completely black providing more overall aesthetic, reducing clutter, and increasing airflow inside the case.
The PCIe Gen 5 14-pin power cable used to power NVIDIA’s 4000 series GPUs is also included and rated to supply 450w.
An SFX to ATX adapter plate is also included, along with two sets of mounting screws, the power cable, and several cable ties for cable management.
We were disappointed to see a short 30cm 24-pin cable here, as most ITX cases where SFX is mainly used will need cables longer than 30cm in length.
Thermaltake TOUGHPOWER SFX 1000w PSU: Performance and Load Testing
Since we don’t currently have access to an ATE load tester, a multimeter shows the PSU performance on the +3.3v, +5v, and +12v rails. Although we can’t do complete load tests, we can provide relative information regarding variance and fluctuation of current and ripple on the rails, which is integral and indicative of the quality of a power supply.
To perform the above tests, the components (Dave’s ITX VR PC) and methodology are as follows:
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X @ 4.5GHZ
ASRock B550M-ATX/ac
Asus NVIDIA RTX3080 TUF OC 10G
Corsair Dominator RGB 32GB 3600MHz
Voltages will be monitored via a multimeter, and the AC power draw will be monitored via a power monitor when drawn from the wall. For the idle test, the system will be booted up and let run into Windows 11, and after 5 minutes, the readings will be taken when the power draw has leveled out.
To load the power supply, a combination of Cinebench R23 multi-threaded and Furmark will be run to put as much strain on the power supply as possible. After 10 minutes, the readings will be taken, and to ensure maximum pressure, the CPU is manually overclocked to 4.5GHz at 1.3v.
ATX and Intel both specify that a fluctuation and variable of 5% is acceptable, so to number crunch, it means that:
+3.3V = 3.135V-3.465V is acceptable.
+5V = 4.75V-5.25V is acceptable.
+12V = 11.4V – 12.6V is acceptable.
Any readings outside of these figures will be an automatic fail!
Results
| Idle |
| 3.3V = 3.334v |
| 5V = 5.070v |
| 12V = 12.044v |
| Load |
| 3.3V = 3.343v |
| 5V = 5.071v |
| 12V = 12.096v |
Thermaltake TOUGHPOWER SFX 1000w PSU: The Verdict
From our limited testing, the Thermaltake TOUGHPOWER SFX 1000W excelled in our load testing.
Its fully modular design is not only pleasing to the eye. Still, it removes the need for additional cables, and what cables you need are flat and black, including the 14-pin PCIe Gen 5 connector, which is also braided as it’s likely to be the cable most on view when in a case.
The overall aesthetic is excellent, and there are plenty of ventilation cutouts on the top and rear to sure good airflow, especially when the “smart zero fan” mode is activated.
That said, it was quiet when the fan was on, so we couldn’t tell it was on!
In keeping with Thermaltake’s premium line of products, no RGB is found on the SFX, which seems to be a conscious choice, and we like it!
The TOUGHPOWER SFX 1000w power supply from Thermaltake is an 80PLUS Gold unit with the latest ATX 3.0, PCIe Gen 5.0 specifications, and enough power connections to even the most power-hungry high-end systems in the SFX format.
It has a beautiful aesthetic, excellent performance, great on-paper specifications, and features that truly make it a Premium product. It is undoubtedly worthy of your consideration for a high-end SFX build. Just be sure that the 24-pin cable is long enough to reach your motherboard in your build.
At the time of writing, the TOUGHPOWER SFX 1000w is available for £244.99, which makes this a good value against similarly priced competitors and worthy of our Gold award for its performance and features!
Thanks to Thermaltake for sending the TOUGHPOWER SFX 1000w PSU over for review.
