We’ve reviewed a number of products from NZXT over the last few years, most of which were PC cases. However, today we’re going to take a look at one of the companies latest power supplies. What’s interesting about this particular line is that the company partnered with Seasonic to produce it. If you’re a hardware enthusiast, you know that Seasonic is known for making some of the best power supplies around. So right off the bat, you know that the HALE82 series has potential. Today we’re taking a look at the 850W model.

Features

The HALE82 series features an 80+ Bronze certification, and specifically operates at 82% 85% and 82% efficiency at 20%, 50%, and 100% loads, respectively. It also contains 100% Japanese Capacitors, which are the standard for high-end power supplies, due to their long lifespan and very low failure rate. You’ll also find a single +12V rail

First Look

When you take the HALE82 out of the box, you’ll find a rather hefty black power supply, which is mostly modular. I say mostly, because they have chosen to make the 20+4-pin and 4+4-pin motherboard connectors and a pair of 4-pin PCI-E connectors permanently attached. While I like the idea of having a completely modular PSU (mostly to make installation a bit easier), these connectors are going to be used in nearly every build.

You’ll also find a pouch containing the rest of the power connectors. What I like about these is that rather than going with round braided cables (like the ones permanently attached have), they have chosen to use flat cabling. This is very welcome, as it make routing them behind the motherboard a much easier task. It would have been nice to see the rest of the cables done this way. Here’s a full list of the included connectors.

Inside the unit, you will find a single 120mm two-ball bearing fan. This should provide quiet operation, while still keeping the supply nice and cool. Just make sure that you have a case that allows for airflow from the bottom of the power supply.

Performance

Power supplies can be one of the most difficult pieces of hardware, since you can’t run a few benchmarks, compare them to a different model, and show the results. In order to truly do that, a good bit of specialized equipment is required. Rather than attempting this, we ran the power supply on our test system for a few weeks, during which time it was ran for long periods both under load and at idle. During this, there were no issues to report. Unfortunately, that’s the way power supplies tend to go. Either they work, or they don’t. For those interested in numbers, we used CPUID Hardware Monitor to check the voltages both at idle and under load (using the standard Prime95 load test). Our test hardware is as follows:

CPU: Intel Core i7 950
RAM: 12GB Corsair DDR2
Mobo: Gigabyte X58A-UD3R
SSD: Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB
GPU: Visiontek Radeon HD 5750
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium x64

Warranty

One thing to heavily consider when purchasing a power supply is the warranty offered by the manufacturer. After all, if your PSU dies in a year and they won’t replace it, then your money was not well-spent. NZXT seems to be aware of this, as their new “Less Than Three” program looks to be one of the best in the market. So what does this mean? If, within the five year warranty, your PSU should stop working properly, you can go to their website and get a pre-paid label to send off your power supply. That very same day, NZXT will drop a brand new PSU in the mail, ensuring that you have it in less than three business days. You’ll be hard-pressed to find that kind of service elsewhere.

Conclusion

There are a lot of competitors in the power supply market, which makes it hard for one to stand out from the crowd. Knowing that NZXT has partnered with Seasonic on the HALE82 line does give them a nice edge. However, what I think really makes these a great buy is the warranty service. When your system is down, there’s nothing worse than wondering how long it’s going to take for the company to process your RMA and get a new unit back to you. With the new “Less Than Three” program, you know that you won’t have to wait more than three business days. At $140, there are few other Bronze-certified 850W supplies on the market that are going to beat that price. Add in the value of the warranty, and you’ve got a winner.

One of the most neglected components of building a new PC definitely has to be the power supply. In our modern day of two, three, sometimes even four graphics cards, selecting an appropriate power supply unit (PSU) requires much more attention. Though there are many different manufacturers of these vital PC organs, there is still great difficulty in comparing between power supplies. I have worked with many units throughout my PC enthusiast life, especially while working with the Geek Squad, so I do have a good baseline to work from. Let’s see what Thermaltake can bring to the table with its 1050W Toughpower Grand modular power supply.

Contents

The Toughpower Grand series actually has a few models, so depending on whether you purchased the 850W, 1050W, or 1200W models, you may have different contents; however, the 1050W that I am reviewing came with the following:

• 1 x 1050W Power Supply Unit
• 1 x 24pin Main / Motherboard Connector
• 1 x 4+4pin +12V CPU Connector
• 1 x 8pin + 12V CPU Connector
• 8 x 4pin Peripheral Connectors (Standard molex)
• 1 x 4pin Floppy Connector
• 12 x 5pin SATA Connectors
• 8 x 6+2pin PCI-E Connectors
• 1 x Standard Power Cable
• 1 x User Manual
• 4 x Velcro Attachment Bands
• 1 x Accessory Bag (includes rubber mounting pads for vibration reduction and cable clams)

Power Specifications

 

First Impression

The power supply itself comes shipped in a pretty largely sized box. The packaging, which includes a label for Thermaltake’s 7 Year Warranty that I will talk about later, gives the immediate impression that this is a premium power supply. The Toughpower Grand series reflects Thermaltake’s best and most expensive power supply units. Taking a look inside, everything, including the power supply, peripheral cabling, even the accessories for the unit, came with its own satin or polyester carrying bag. While nice to have for the additional connectors, I find that the extra carry bag for the PSU to be highly unnecessary. Once a power supply has been installed, I will almost never take it out unless it fails – point being that a carrying bag for the unit is completely useless.

The unit itself looks very impressive. The matte black power supply is much heftier than most standard units, and you can really get a good of idea of the durability of the unit just by picking it up. In the rear of the unit you will find the standard power input connector. The I/O switch in the rear is noteworthy because there is an LED that illuminates to let you know that the unit is on, which is rare and seemingly useful. The rear also has a small faux-screen that displays the Thermaltake brand name.

On the front panel of the unit, the cabling is sleeved with the common black color that you will find on the majority of units today. The 6 red PCI-E express ports are located directly about the 4 available SATA and peripheral connector inputs. With regards to the overall impression of the unit and packaging, it is obvious why these units are considered to be the top of the line units.

Functionality

Functionality of power supply units is a broad subject, so I will break it down to two general areas when dealing with functionality. First, power supplies must do their job, and do it properly – meaning that the power supply unit must actually give you enough juice to run your quad core, multiple GPU behemoth. Of course, 1050 watts is overkill for most computers, but the unit was manufactured with SLI or Crossfire in mind. Looking at the power specifications from above, this baby has no problem with two or three graphics cards. Quad SLI is a bit of a different situation. The unit only comes with 6 PCI-E input connectors. Of course that translates to only having at a maximum of 3 PCI-E cards requiring 2 x 6 or 8 pin power connectors. If you are looking for a serious quad GPU set up, 1050 watts may not be enough anyways, so for all intents and purposes this unit definitely powers the overwhelming majority of setups.

Second, we must not overlook the ease of use, form factor, and as well as modding potential. As with any modular power supply, cable management becomes a much easier process as you only have to use the cables that you need. For some reason though, the unit comes with not only an 8 pin motherboard connector, but also a 4+4 pin connector as well. As motherboards come with either an 8 pin or a 4 pin, having both non-detachable cables forces you to have an unused cable regardless of your setup. As mentioned previously, the LED on the I/O switch is nice convenience to have if you are wondering whether or not the computer is still powered on. I can remember many times where I have had to look for switches and ports on the back of the computer, where the sun never shines. Having an LED is always nice.

Warranty

The warranty deserves a special mention. Not only being Thermaltake’s longest offered warranty protection of 7 years, but the warranty covers probably the least lasting component of a PC. Always, the first thing to die in my PCs with enough usage is the power supply unit. I really cannot imagine a situation where someone would need to void the warranty of a PSU unit as even most modders stay away from modifying the PSU. I could imagine that a big part of the cost of the unit resides in its ability to provide such a warranty.

Conclusion

While I would have loved to have had this unit while building my new PC just this summer, normally I would say that I cannot justify the $269.99 price tag on Newegg at the time of the review. The unit itself has a few minor flaws, but overall I can safely say that Toughpower Grand 1050W has been one of the most thought through units that I have personally used. There are some areas that I think Thermaltake has tried too hard to differentiate this unit from an entry level PSU – specifically adding a carrying bag for the PSU. Unfortunately these additional features such as having an LED for the I/O switch does not make up what you must compensate in price; however, with that being said, the warranty is a game changer for me. The 7 year warranty is fantastic to have, but its importance will vary between users.

When building a gaming computer, each component is important in its own way. Most people focus on their motherboard, CPU, RAM and video card. However, things like your case, hard drive and power supply also play a vital role in things. We’ve covered cases and hard drives, but haven’t really touched on power supplies. These are rather tricky to properly review without specialized equipment. We currently have an Ultra X4 850W Modular Power Supply, and I thought I’d share at least my initial thoughts with you.

Modular power supplies are nothing new, but they are something I would recommend to anyone building a new system (or just replacing their old PSU). I’m very picky about cable management, and having a lot of extra unneeded wires lying around drives me insane. Of course making the inside of your case look better is only one of the benefits, it also helps to maximize airflow thus keeping your components cooler.

The X4 has more cables than most people will ever have a need for. Here’s a breakdown of total connecters:

• 1x 24-Pin Motherboard Power Connector
• 1x 8-Pin Motherboard Power Connector
• 1x 4-Pin Motherboard Power Connector
• 9x 4-Pin Molex Power Connector
• 2x 4-Pin Floppy Power Connector
• 11x SATA Power Connector
• 6x 6-Pin PCI-E Power Connector
• 3x 8-Pin PCI-E Power Connector
• 2x Case Fan Power Connector

Other accessories include a silicone vibration dampener and a carrying case to store all of your unneeded cables. You’ll also find thumbscrews and Velcro ties to make the installation process that much easier.

In addition to providing your gaming rig with the power it needs, the X4 also promises to protect your other components. One of the easiest ways for your computer to get damaged is from a power surge. The X4 actually has integrated short circuit protection which will keep your parts safe in the event of a power surge or brownout. It can also sense dangerous temperatures and cut off power to prevent your computer from overheating. Lastly, the included lifetime warranty means that no matter what happens, you’re going to have an awesome power supply that works.

I’ll admit, this isn’t my most in-depth review, and we are currently working on a new method for testing power supplies in the future. I’ve been using this particular unit in our primary gaming rig for several weeks now, without any issues. With the built-in surge and thermal overload protection, I do feel a little better knowing that I’ve got one more line of defense when it comes to my PC’s safety. At $249 you are going to be able to find other 850W power supplies, but the peace of mind is worth the money.

[ Ultra Products ]