Thermaltake is diving into to the SFX PSU market with the new Toughpower SFX Gold line. The new Thermaltake SFX units come in two flavors, with 450W and 600W max power, respectively. Both of them feature a fully modular cabling design, which utilizes flat cables for increased airflow, and Japanese capacitors. Moreover, the provided accessories include, among others, an SFX to ATX bracket. There is a single +12V rail, and the provided warranty is pretty long, at seven years.
Based on the specifications, the only downside seems to be the small diameter (80mm) fan, which, however, is supported by a semi-passive mode, so at light loads the noise output will be minimized. Nonetheless, a larger fan with a 92mm diameter would offer increased airflow at lower speeds, keeping the noise output lower under higher loads.
According to Thermaltake's data, the passive mode is active only up to 10% load, whereas in ATX PSUs, the passive mode lasts much longer. You should keep in mind, though, that the mainboard of a high capacity SFX PSU is overpopulated with components, and there is no room for large heatsinks to cool down the parts with increased thermal loads (FETs).
Thermaltake claimed that in a worst case scenario, the fan makes less than 30 dB(A) noise.
Both units are made by Enhance Electronics, and they probably use the same platforms with SilverStone's ST45SF-G and SX600-G models.
| Line | Toughpower SFX Gold |
|---|---|
| Models | STP-0450F-G, STP-0600F-G |
| OEM | Enhance Electronics |
| Max. DC Output | 450W, 600W |
| PFC | Active PFC |
| Efficiency | 80 Plus Gold |
| Modular | Yes (fully) |
| Intel Haswell Ready | Yes |
| Operating temperature | 0°C ~ 40°C |
| Protections | Over Voltage Protection Under Voltage Protection Over Current Protection Short Circuit Protection Over Power Protection Over Temperature Protection |
| Cooling | 80 mm Fan |
| Semi-passive operation | Yes |
| Number of Connectors | STP-0450F-G / STP-0600F-G EPS: 1 PCIe: 2SATA: 3Peripheral: 2Berg: 1 |
| Dimensions | 125 mm (W) x 63.5 mm (H) x 100 mm (D) |
| Compliance | SFX 12V 3.3, ATX12V v2.4 |
| Warranty | 7 years |
Corsair are more expensive , and they dont include an SFX to ATX adapter in the box , and they dont offer more cables in the 600 watts version ... and short cables are very hard to find . They are not worth the price .
Go for silverstone and Lian li , with 120 fans ...
More expensive for a reason. Great Wall made a fantastic PSU and I doubt Thermaltake's unit will match it.
Maybe , but they need to add the ATX adapter and more cables to the set , short cables are hard to find , I have SFX-L Silverstone with 120 fan and it is working without problems. I am interested to see how good the lian li 750 watts SFX-L performs ..
What additional cables do you think they should add? Also, I can't understand why one would buy an SFX PSU for an ATX case in the first place. I guess if you upgrade to a larger case, but still.
more PCIE cables ...
as for why the ATX adapter , well to use the power supply inside itx cases with ATX mounts ... There are plenty , like the Fractal Design Core 500 for example , or any compact case with standard ATX power supply , freeing alot of space for cable management inside cube cases when you mount a much shorter PSU (120 VS 160-180 Length) . plus the short cables , AT power supplies dont come with short cables.
not really , micro ATX small cases Exist also , Example , Silverstone Sugo 10 ... it is very compact case there is not an inch not used inside , and for such case , Short cables are important and more space is welcomed ...