INTRODUCTION

   Power supply units have come a long way compared to what we had in our disposal back in the late 90's early 2000's and so today if you're willing to spend just a fraction of the total cost of your new system you can find many high-performance and quality models (both fully and semi-modular) with numerous features and electrical protections. Performance, quality and features aside however looks seem to also be very important to some people (primarily gamers and enthusiasts) and so more and more models come ready with either plain or addressable RGB fans. To date Thermaltake has released a large number of RGB illuminated power supply units and after testing their quite good Smart BX1 RGB model (review here) today with us we have the Toughpower Grand RGB 750W RGB Sync Edition (also available in 650/850W) which also features an Riing RGB fan.

   The beginning of every myth and legend is about dreams and desire: the challenging, creative and combative features of Thermaltake Group create an exciting and fascinating user experience to share with everyone, while allowing users to enter a selfless state in terms of function and potential. Thermaltake Group's 3 main brands: Thermaltake, Tt eSPORTS and LUXA2 have been merchandising throughout the world, and have successfully established 6 business footholds in areas such as Europe, America, Oceania, Japan and China, with 95 regional distributors and over 4000 premium retailers. All product planning is orientated by observation of global PC peripheral market and understanding of consumer demands. Thermaltake creates direct contact opportunities with resellers and consumers by participating major global ICT exhibitions and trade shows every year, and develop innovative marketing strategies for the promotions of new products. Meanwhile, Thermaltake incorporates the composite marketing system by making branch offices and regional distributors both the distribution channel and technical support or service center to provide instant support; by maintaining close contact with end users, we manage to strengthen corporate competitiveness and create the momentum for the growth of accomplishments. With its outstanding wisdom and strength Thermaltake Group is recruiting creative talents to build a cultural brand for the enjoyment of entertainment, e-Sports, technology and lifestyle!

   The Toughpower Grand RGB Sync Edition 750W (TPG-750AH3FSGR) is a fully modular (thus future proof since you can always replace its power cables) power supply unit with a 80 Plus Gold efficiency certification (up to 90% electrical efficiency) and a maximum/peak output of 900W. Other features include a strong single +12V rail (62.5A and can deliver the entire output of the unit), 140mm Riing RGB hydraulic-bearing fan (5 selectable colors plus 256 RGB cycle mode via rear button - software compatible with ASUS Aura Sync, ASRock RGB LED, BIOSTAR Vivid LED DJ, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion and MSI Mystic Light mainboards), smart zero fan RPM mode (fan does not spin until the load of the unit surpasses 20%), 100% Japanese capacitors, flat modular cables and a large number of electrical protections including OVP (Over Voltage Protection), SCP (Short Circuit Protection), OPP (Over Power Protection), UVP (Under Voltage Protection), OTP (Over Temperature Protection) and OCP (Over Current Protection). Of course, just like with other models introduced lately Thermaltake covers the entire Toughpower Grand RGB Sync Edition line with a 10 year limited warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

As with its predecessors the box of the Toughpower Grand RGB Sync Edition model has a product picture and its main features at the front.

The Riing 14 RGB fan and its Sync Edition feature are showcased on both sides of the box.

At the rear of the box we find the product features, electrical table, available connectors and 4 graphs showcasing low ripple noise design, 80 Plus Gold Efficiency, fan noise levels and the strict voltage regulation.

Thermaltake has placed the unit inside two thick pieces of black foam and its cables inside a carrying/storage pouch.

Inside the box you will find the power supply with its fabric cover, power cable (EU in our sample), storage pouch with the modular cables, RGB mainboard cable, 4 cable ties, small plastic bag with 4 mounting screws, warranty information paper and the user manual.

THE TOUGHPOWER GRAND RGB 750W RGB SYNC EDITION EXTERIOR

Flat modular cables take less space behind the mainboard tray compared to regular ones so these are the primary choice by manufacturers.

The Toughpower Grand RGB 750W RGB Sync Edition measures 160mm in length, 150mm in width and 86mm in height.

Both sides of the enclosure have large stickers on which Thermaltake has placed their logo, model name, output wattage and the 80 Plus Gold certification.

Thanks to a smart zero RPM mode the Riing 14 RGB fan will not spin until the unit has surpassed 20% load.

The electrical table is once again printed on a sticker located on the belly of the enclosure.

At the front of the unit we find the modular connectors (both color coded and tagged), RGB header port and the RGB Sync switch (if you own a compatible mainboard you can connect it to the PSU via the bundled header).

Moving at the rear of the enclosure we find the on/off power switch, smart zero fan switch (you can choose between normal fan operation and operation once load hits 20%), manual RGB lighting button and the power plug.

THE TOUGHPOWER RGB 750W RGB SYNC EDITION INTERIOR

The Riing 14 RGB fan used in the Toughpower Grand RGB 750W RGB Sync Edition is not new to us so once again it's manufactured by Hong Sheng Electronics and can spin up to 1500RPM to produce up to 40.6CFM of airflow with 26.4dBA of noise.

I was actually hoping to see yet another CWT model but this seems to be from High Power (still no complaints, it does have a clean layout and quality is very good).

Primary capacitor is manufactured by the Japanese Rubycon and is certified for use up to 105 degrees Celsius.

Secondary capacitors on the other hand are manufactured by Rubycon and United Chemi-Con (again Japanese and certified for use up to 105 degrees Celsius).

Here you can see some of the available colors of the Riing 14 RGB fan (unfortunately at the time of this review it was very sunny outside so it wasn't pitch black in the lab).

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 computer. Certainly, limitations do apply and so you can't really test a 1000W power supply if your system only uses 500W at peak loads and that's why many years ago i put aside 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 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). 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.

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

   Due to their high performance and build quality the Toughpower series of power supply units by Thermaltake has enjoyed extremely high popularity among gamers, enthusiasts and professionals alike and the brand new Grand RGB Sync Edition line is certainly a worthy addition. Rail stability is very good, build quality is also very good, the 80 Plus Gold Efficiency certification is more than enough for the majority of users and as for the Riing 14 RGB fan it’s not only somewhat quiet even at full load (you should see significantly reduced numbers during normal use) it also looks great. Supporting all the major RGB synchronization technologies is also a good move by Thermaltake especially since RGB has expanded to most areas of the PC market.

   The Toughpower Grand RGB 750W RGB Sync Edition Power Supply Unit currently retails for USD106.15 in the USA (Amazon.com) and for 113.85Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which is very balanced for what you are getting in return. In conclusion we really have nothing bad to say about this particular power supply unit and although yes it’s far from the best model in the market with that output it’s still very good and for that it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Solid Rail Stability
- 10 Years Warranty
- 80 Plus Gold Certified
- Electrical Protections (OCP/OVP/SSP/OPP/UVP/OTP)
- Riing 140mm Fan (Manual Button And Compatible With ASUS Aura Sync, ASRock RGB LED, BIOSTAR Vivid LED DJ, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion and MSI Mystic Light Mainboards)
- Smart Zero RPM Fan Mode

CONS

- None