Thermaltake recently upgraded their Toughpower line of power supplies to the new and improved XT series.  The XT series power supplies come in 575, 675, 775, and 875 watt varieties, all of which feature a modular design.  Today we will be taking a look at the Toughpower XT 775 watt version.

Company Profile

“Since the beginning of Thermaltake in 1999, it has been at the forefront of creating new and exciting products at a time where most computer users were provided little to no choices for components that may seem irrelevant, but in reality crucial to the performance of a PC.

With its comprehensive line of products available, it enables Thermaltake’s core customers to enjoy a one-stop-shop experience, reduce product design-in evaluation period and most important of all, flawless integration process. Each of Thermaltake’s strengths enables its customer to focus on their core business while taking advantage of the skills and efficiency of a single thermal management solution partner.”

Lets first have a look at the features and specifications of the Thermaltake Toughpower XT 775 Watt Power Supply. Some of the highlights include 80 Plus Bronze Certification, Fan Delay Cool Technology, a 64 amp +12v rail, and both SLI and Crossfire certifications.

Pretty impressive list of features and specifications, read on as we take a more in-depth look at the Thermaltake Toughpower XT 775 watt power supply.

As is customary with most Thermaltake products, the box is made up with a black and red theme.  The front of the box has the product brand, series, and wattage printed on it. The main picture is a blowup of the fan area and the bottom right corner has the 5 year warranty, 80 bronze certificate, and the eco friendly logos. The back of the box is loaded with product pictures, connector information, rail wattage and amperage information.  At the bottom is a list of product features. The side of the box has a sticker next to the different wattage options, this one is labeled 775 watt, and labeled US for country location.  “Toughpower XT – High Quality, Performance, Quiet” is the slogan printed on the box.

Opening the box you are confronted with a warranty information card along with the users guide. There is adequate styrofoam to keep the contents protected and held tight in the box.  Under the styrofoam is the power supply completely wrapped in an anti-static bubble wrap bag, a nylon bag filled with the modular power leads, and a box with the power cord and other accessories.

The nylon bag containing the modular cable set was opened next, here is a list of the included leads:

• 2x PCIe 8 pin (6+2)
• 2x PCIe 6 pin connector
• 2x Sata (4 connections on each cable)
• 2x Molex (1 cable with 3 connections – 1 cable with 3 connections + 1 floppy connection)

Next lets take a tour of the exterior of the Thermaltake Toughpower XT 775 watt power supply.  Starting with the top of the unit you see a large label attached containing wattage/amperage information, the part number, and other basic information. The bottom of the unit is where the 140mm fan assembly is located.  The rear of the power supply has the on/off rocker switch along with the connector for the power cord.  Also the rear is full of ventilation holes which should provide excellent air flow through the unit.

Looking at the front area we see all the modular cable connection points, there are four PCIe connections and four molex/SATA/FDD connections available.  The 24 pin main power lead and the 8 pin ATX 12v leads are hardwired. Having those two leads hardwired makes sense as you will always need to use those connections on any modern system.  The left side of the unit is where you find the S.P.T. indicator light set, the lights are marked standby/PG signal/temperature. These lights allow for a quick status check of the power supply and that it is working as intended. The standby light indicates that you have power available to the unit.  The PG (Power Good) signal light indicates that voltages on the different rails are within specifications.  Finally, the temperature light remains green as long as the power supply is operating within the specified temperature range.  The right side of the power supply has additional ventilation holes.

Finally, the cover was removed to inspect the inside of the power supply.  The inside is neat in appearance and all solder joints appear to be well done.  The heatsinks are quite large and should do a very good job at keeping the components cool.  There is two DC to DC converter boards on-board which take the 12v power and convert it to +3.3v and +5v respectively.  Thermaltake claims these converters provide enhanced dynamic response and greater system stability.  While the feature set listed by Thermaltake claims Japanese capacitors are used, not all of them are indeed Japanese.  The big black primary capacitor is a Nippon Chemi-con (Japanese) product but the rest of the capacitors are a mixed bag, including Teapo branded units which are made in China.  Reading the listed specs and features provided by Thermaltake, they do not claim 100% Japanese capacitors but it would have been a nice addition.

You might be wondering why this article is called a “Test Drive” instead of a review.  Quite simply put this is because we do not have the load testers and oscilloscope needed to test under extreme conditions.  We have learned through some research that the original Toughpower series power supplies had voltage ripple issues, but these issues seem to have been addressed with the new XT line that we are looking at today.  Other reviews around the internet confirm the improvements using the equipment needed to fully test those functions.  Confident in the results published by those with the high end testing equipment, we will test the unit by putting it under as much system load as possible and view the voltage readings through a digital voltage meeter, the ambient temperature was 72 F (22C).  We overclocked a i3-540 (3.06 GHz Stock) processor to 4.07 GHz and checked the voltages while in the BIOS screen.

The Toughpower XT seems to have no problem providing strong voltage outputs for the +12v and +5v at this point.

Next we booted to the desktop and took another reading while sitting idle on the desktop, the readings were the same as what we viewed while monitoring from BIOS.  We moved ahead and started a LinX stress test and ran that for 30 minutes before taking the readings, which allowed the unit to reach it’s full operating temperature relevant to the load we put on it.

Again the Thermaltake Toughpower XT 775 watt power supply handled this load with ease showing only a drop of .01v on each rail from idle readings

So, what do these test results mean?  By no means, given our test method, do these results show what the power supply is capable of at 100% load on each rail.  We’ll leave those test results to the ones with the proper equipment to provide them.  What these results do show is that this power supply can easily handle a higher end system overclocked quite substantially, and provide strong voltage to the +12v and +5v while doing so. Our test system consisted of a HD3870 Crossfire setup, a couple of hard drives, optical drive, and 4 Gb of memory, no slouch of a system obviously.

Lets run down a list of Pros and Cons:

Pros

• 80 Plus Bronze Certification
• Modular Design
• 140mm Cooling Fan
• Stout Single +12v Rail at 64 amps
• Fan Delay Cool Feature
• Lots of ventilation
• Strong rail voltage outputs
• S.P.T. indicator light set

Cons

• Not 100% Japanese Capacitors

The Thermaltake Toughpower XT 775 Watt Power Supply is loaded with unique features like the S.P.T. light set, the fan delay cool down, and the color of the unit is pretty unique as well. Sporting a strong single +12v rail of 64 Amps makes it even more appealing in our eyes.  This power supply handled everything we could throw at it and from researching other articles around the internet, passes more sophisticated testing methods with flying colors as well.  The intent of the Thermaltake Toughpower XT power supplies was to improve on previous designs and performance, we think it can be safely said “Mission Accomplished!”

If your looking for a power supply that is more than capable of powering a demanding system, looks great, and is packed with features, then the Thermaltake Toughpower XT 775 watt power supply should be on your short list.  Coupled with our test results and terrific results others have had with this unit, it’s easy to give this unit a 9/10 and a gold award.