Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 850w Overview

[section_title title=Conclusion]Conclusion

With a power supply being the staple component of your system, it’s important to get one not only suited to your needs but if you plan on upgrading in the future, one with ample head room.  Now of course there are tons of options available including the Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 850watt power supply I had on the test bench today but it begs the question, what were my experiences like with it and more importantly, does it represent good value for money?

Performance is a hugely important factor because let’s face it, the power supply is the most important part of your system as if that pops, a “cheap” one will probably take half the components it is connected to with it to silicone heaven which is certainly much more expensive in the long run than shelling out for a decent one.  Moving back to the Toughpower Grand 850watt, it performed adequately but was let down a little by the 3.3v line.  It was however within the ATX specified regulations so it certainly isn’t bad and the multi-meter recorded fairly consistent results; especially not bouncing around or heavily fluctuating like some.  If noise is an issue to you, then you can take my word for it that this power supply is fairly quiet and shouldn’t be audible even when under load; certainly not over any other fan in your system which is certainly bound to please people but like some of the newer models on the market, no passive option is available.

The general aesthetic is good overall with a nice sleek black finish and a subtle red trim around the majority of the power supply; although the gold will conflict with a lot of colour schemes. That isn’t too much of a problem though as the grill will 99% of the time face towards a case panel anyway but overall, it’s a pretty good looking power supply and the addition of red and black connectors makes it that much easier to install.  That being said, the rear features text to indicate which cable goes into which socket so even if you are colour-blind!  So to sum it up, the aesthetics could probably be improved upon, perhaps with versions that offer an alternative to a red trim which is surely going to look out of place in a blue build but all in all, it looks pretty swish.

As for the price, that is where things get pretty interesting as usually fully modular power supplies fetch a large premium for the ability to disconnect a cable which is needed in all PC builds; yes, I went there!  Now for around £107, you can take one of these home/order online or however you wish to obtain one; it isn’t a bad price at all! The power supply market is pretty saturated and many different brands have their showing firmly implanted such as Corsair, Super Flower and Antec but does Thermaltake really have more to offer?  Not so much more but it is certainly a great option to have as more choice is better than no choice!

Overall the Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 850watt power supply might not be as grand as the name suggests but it certainly packs a weighty punch and for users looking for a well-built power supply with a fantastic 7 year warranty, you certainly can’t go wrong with the Toughpower grand although if it was sub £100, it would be a bargain and compete a lot more aggressively!

As always, huge thanks to Thermaltake for the sample and I look forward to seeing more in the future.