INTRODUCTION

    With NVIDIA and Intel having already released their latest graphics cards and AMD just days away from doing the same this is a very good time to look for a brand new power supply unit to go with one of them. Of course, power supply unit manufacturers are also keeping tabs of when new graphics cards models are getting released into the market and so lately, we've seen numerous high-wattage models by most of the leaders in the field. One such model is no other than the PRIME TX-1600 Noctua edition developed jointly with Seasonic and well, that's what I've been testing for just over a week now.

    Sea Sonic Electronics Co., Ltd was founded in 1975 by engineers. Since its early beginnings the company has rigorously maintained its focus on the research, development and production of technologically advanced, high-quality products. During its almost five decades of operations Sea Sonic became well-established in the production of PC power supplies to become one of the trendsetters in the design and manufacturing in this market.

    Designed in Austria, Noctua’s premium cooling components are internationally renowned for their superb quietness, exceptional performance and thoroughgoing quality. Having received more than 6000 awards and recommendations from leading hardware websites and magazines, Noctua’s fans and heatsinks are serving hundreds of thousands of satisfied customers around the globe.

    The fully modular PRIME TX-1600 Noctua Edition power supply unit by Seasonic is an 1.6KW PCIe 5.1 & ATX 3.1 compliant model that sports the 80 PLUS Titanium certification (94% efficiency at 50% load) and is equipped with two 12V-2X6 (600W) and six 6+2 pin PCIe power connectors. It also features a single powerful +12V rail (133.33A) capable of delivering 100% of the units’ total power output (1600W), peak power output of no less than 1746W (based on ATX 3.1 peak should now be up to around 3.49KW for up to 100ms - once again however this is not something I can test), full-bridge LLC converter with DC to DC design, Interleaved PFC, semi-passive fan control (fan spins after 50% load), high-quality Japanese capacitors certified for use up to 105 degrees Celsius and a full array of electrical protections including over-current (OCP), over-voltage (OVP), under-voltage (UVP), short-circuit (SCP), over-temperature (OTP) and over-power (OPP). What makes the PRIME TX-1600 Noctua Edition model stand out is of course the NF-A12x25 HS-PWM 120mm fan which is paired with a custom design highly optimized fan grill, a combination which always according to Seasonic and Noctua makes this model up to -10dBA quieter compared to the regular PRIME TX-1600 model. As for warranty the PRIME TX-1600 Noctua Edition is covered with a very generous 12-year limited one.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The PRIME TX-1600 Noctua Edition  model is shipped inside a very long brown and black box that has a product picture at the front, both company logos, 80 PLUS Titanium certification logo and the warranty.

On the left side we find the specifications table just over the electrical table and the available power connectors.

At the rear Seasonic and Noctua showcase the differences between the PRIME TX-1600 Noctua Edition and the regular PRIME TX-1600 model.

Both the electrical efficiency and the ATX 3.1 & PCIe 5.1 compliance are showcased at the base of the box.

Typically, the unit is placed between two thick foam spacers while the modular cables are placed inside a storage pouch.

Aside the PRIME TX-1600 Noctua Edition its power cord and its modular cables with their storage pouch inside the box you'll also find  a 90 degree 24pin adapter with its storage pouch and user manual (doubles as PSU tester), two case badges, bag with cable combs, 24 cable ties, 10 Velcro straps, 8 mounting screws, installation guide and the user manual.

PRIME TX-1600 NOCTUA EDITION EXTERIOR

The PRIME TX-1600 Noctua Edition power supply unit follows the classic Noctua color theme and that even includes the individually sleeved modular cables.

PSU testers is nothing new but a 90 degree one is certainly not something we see a lot.

210mm long, 150mm wide and 86mm thick the PRIME TX-1600 Noctua Edition is a large power supply.

As mentioned earlier the NF-A12x25 HS-PWM 120mm fan sits under an airflow optimized fan grill which also looks nice.

The brown part of the enclosure expands on both sides where it has the special edition name.

Typically, the electrical table is placed on a sticker located at the base of the enclosure.

All 19 modular power ports at the front of the PRIME TX-1600 Noctua Edition are tagged.

Turning the enclosure around we find the power port, on/off power switch, hybrid fan on/off button and the Noctua logo.

PRIME TX-1600 NOCTUA EDITION INTERIOR

The NF-A12x25 HS-PWM 120mm fan can spin up to 2400RPM but the fan curve Seasonic has used should be considerably less than that.

This is a massive power supply unit, so the interior is quite populated (the three primary capacitors do stand out).

Primary capacitors are manufactured by Nippon Chemi-Con and are certified for use up to 105 degrees Celsius.

Secondary capacitors are manufactured by Nippon Chemi-Con and rubycon and are again certified for use up to 105 degrees Celsius.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

     Using a dedicated measurement instrument such as a Chroma or a SunMoon to test power supply units is without doubt the most ideal and accurate way (not to mention the fastest) to do that currently. However, it's certainly not the only way there is and so pretty much anyone can test a power supply unit just by using a test rig. Certainly, limitations do apply and so you can't really push a 1000W power supply to its limits if your system only uses 500W at peak loads and that's why over the years we saved certain hardware components for the purpose of building a dedicated PSU test rig. True it may not be as accurate as the above mentioned solutions but it comes really close and is in fact much closer to real world usage. So as always, we ran several games with maximum graphic options enabled at a resolution of 2560x1600 in order to stress every hardware component and increase the overall power demands of the system. The Passmark BurnIn Test was also used to overstress the components in an effort to provide the most accurate results possible. As a final test we also used the latest OCCT 4.4 software and its dedicated PSU testing suite since it can really bring a power supply to its knees after inside a few minutes.

   Rail stability was checked/measured with the CPUID Hardware monitor and a Metex multimeter which also recorded the system load in idle and in load. As always try to remember that the power consumption numbers listed in the graph are the highest (Peak) ones recorded during the entire duration of the tests and not the average ones. Noise levels coming from the fan were recorded using the high precision HD600 ExTech Sound dBA Meter from the rear of the unit and at a range of no more than 5-10cm. Readings under load are recorded the exact moment we manually switch the fans of all graphics cards from full speed to almost zero, that way the fan of the power supply does not have enough time to slow its RPM and so by doing this we get very accurate noise level readings. Needless to say, in order to get 100% accurate readings, you need to have a noise isolated room for that exact purpose, something which is quite impossible unless you are working inside a real lab (some people use very small noise insulated boxes but due to their size both heat and noise exceed normal levels and so the results can't really be considered to be 100% accurate, nor realistic for that matter). Also do take into account that since all noise measurements take place from just 5-10cm away the final noise levels to reach your ears will be considerably less.

* After well over 10 years of testing PSUs the Intel Core i7-920 CPU of this rig failed and so we replaced it with a Xeon X5660 (we also swapped the GA-X58A-UD7 for the G1. Assassin).

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

    There are 4 takeaways from today's review, first that by using the NF-A12x25 HS-PWM 120mm fan by Noctua the Seasonic PRIME TX-1600 is the only unit I've gotten my hands on that's really inaudible even while over 1KW load (still do remember that this is an 2400RPM fan so if you do manage to get near or even over 1600W noise levels will increase - during my tests it never surpassed 1000RPM and well, my dBA meter doesn't really record anything under 25-27dB), second that rail stability is nothing short of impressive (I doubt this will change even at 1600W load), third that build quality is pretty much superb and fourth that this is currently the only unit in the market that has the classic Noctua color theme (so you'll either love or hate it). The last takeaway also means that eventually Seasonic and Noctua may make a chromax.black power supply unit and well, I think that would be a good thing. How about drawbacks, however? Honestly the sole drawback I can think of is size since at 210mm the PRIME TX-1600 Noctua Edition is among the longest power supply units out there (so it will not fit inside every case out there).

    The Seasonic PRIME TX-1600 Noctua Edition power supply unit keeps selling out, but if nothing changes it should be available soon for USD569 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 499Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). Yes, it’s not really an affordable model but it’s priced just USD30/30Euros over the “regular” PRIME TX-1600 so if you’re a Noctua fan, you like their color theme, or if you’d just like inaudible noise levels the Noctua Edition is the clear choice. High performance, excellent build quality and inaudible even at load the PRIME TX-1600 Noctua Edition excels at everything and for that it gets the Platinum Award.

PROS

- Excellent Build Quality
- Impressive Rail Stability
- 1600W
- 80 PLUS Titanium Certified
- Electrical Protections (OCP/OVP/SSP/OPP/UVP/OTP)
- Inaudible At Load
- Micro Tolerance Load Regulator
- Two 12VHPWR Connectors (2x600W)
- Hybrid Fan Mode
- Powerful Single Rail (133.33A)
- 12 Year Limited Warranty
- Noctua Color Theme (For Some)

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Availability