Thermaltake Toughpower DPS G RGB 1500W PSU Review

Early Verdict

A very strong and rich featured PSU which however costs a bomb, so it cannot compete with Corsair's AX1500i which costs less. With such a high price tag we expected a fully digital platform and not an analogue one which just uses an MCU for handling the digital bridge between the PSU and the system.

Pros

  • +

    Full power at 49.5 °C

  • +

    Monstrous capacity

  • +

    Ripple suppression at +12V

  • +

    Low inrush current

  • +

    Quality caps

  • +

    RGB fan

  • +

    Fully modular

  • +

    SPM Platform

  • +

    Remote shutdown/restart feature

  • +

    Warranty

Cons

  • -

    Tough competition in this price range

  • -

    Noisy under stress

  • -

    Performance of the 3.3V rail

  • -

    Hold-up time

  • -

    Inaccurate power good signal

  • -

    Not as efficient as other Titanium PSUs

  • -

    Short USB cable

  • -

    Comes with 10x PCIe cables but only has 8x PCIe sockets

Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Thermaltake TPG-1500D-T Power Supply Review

We recently had the chance to review Thermaltake's Toughpower DPS G RGB 1250 W, which demonstrated good performance and earned our "Editor Approved" award. Naturally, you'd expect an even better showing from the family's flagship DPS G RGB 1500 W. That remains to be seen, though, since the TPG-1500D-T uses a different platform. While the TPG-1250D-T utilizes CWT's CST design, the TPG-1500D-T is built by Enhance Electronics, which uses a micro-controller (MCU) only for facilitating communication between the PSU and host PC. For all vital functions, classic analog controllers are used. Thus, the MCU's only advantage is the option to choose between three fan profiles.

When it comes to monitoring, the provided options are rich. But what matters the most in fully digital platforms is that all major circuits are digitally controlled, allowing for tighter control and increased adaptability according to the operating conditions. On top of that, digital control makes it possible to improve the PSU's performance through simple firmware updates. This is a major advantage you don't get from classic analog platforms. So far only a handful PSUs employ fully digital platforms, using an MCU to control all major circuits and converters. The biggest hurdle to overcome is the price premium those digital designs bear. That's the future though, so any manufacturer wishing to remain competitive must go down this path eventually.

Despite its analog foundation, the TPG-1500D-T is one of the most expensive PSUs available, and it sits atop Thermaltake's power supply portfolio. Clearly 1.5 kW of power isn't for everyone, so this unit mostly addresses high-end enthusiasts, miners, and hardcore overclockers who need a single +12V rail that delivers up to 125 A without sweating.

Specifications

The specs of this unit are top-notch, including 80 PLUS Titanium efficiency, a 50 °C temperature rating for full power delivery, a complete protection set, and a long-life HDB fan. No wonder Thermaltake gives you an extra-long ten-year warranty with this product. The only downside is a very high price that puts the TPG-1500D-T in a difficult position against competitors like EVGA's 1600 T2 and Corsair's AX1500i. In this segment, a PSU has to register unmatched performance in order to offer decent performance per dollar, and there is no room for design flaws.

Power Specifications

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Rail3.3V5V12V5VSB-12V
Max. PowerAmps252212530.3
Watts1201500153.6
Total Max. Power (W)1500

The minor rails have enough capacity for any modern system, while the +12V rail can deliver an amazingly high number of amperes. On the other hand, we expected a stronger 5VSB rail in such a high-capacity unit. Nonetheless, the OCP triggering point at 5VSB is way higher than 3 A, providing lots of room for any transient loads.

Cables And Connectors

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Modular Cables
DescriptionCable CountConnector Count (Total)
ATX connector 20+4 pin (610 mm)11
4+4 pin EPS12V (610 mm)22
Eight-pin PCIe (570 mm)44
6+2 pin PCIe (570 mm)66
SATA (550mm+150 mm+150 mm+150 mm)520
Four-pin Molex (560 mm+150 mm+150 mm+150 mm)312
FDD Adapter (+110 mm)11
USB cable (+450 mm)11

Ten total PCIe connectors are provided, with eight of them available at the same time along with two EPS connectors. If you want this power supply for a GPU mining rig, more PCIe connectors might have been nice. There are only eight PCIe modular sockets though, so with the current cable configuration, you cannot feed more than four high-end graphics cards with this PSU. Ideally, there should be an extra PCIe connector provided, yielding an odd number of relevant connectors since some high-end motherboards have a PCIe socket for providing extra juice to the corresponding slots.

The number of SATA connectors is increased, and the same goes for the four-pin Molex connectors. Thankfully, the single Berg connector is provided in adapter form, instead of being fixed into one of the peripheral cables. The USB header cable that connects the PSU to the PC's motherboard is too short, unfortunately, and we had to use an extender to work with our hot box. Inside of a case, the board's USB headers are closer to the power supply, so you shouldn't have a problem. Still, we'd like to see Thermaltake provide a longer USB cable.

Power Distribution

Since this PSU features a single +12V rail, we do not have anything to say about its power distribution.


MORE: Best Power Supplies
MORE: Power Supplies 101
MORE: How We Test Power Supplies
MORE: Picking The Right Power Supply: What You Should Know
MORE: All Power Supply Content

Aris Mpitziopoulos
Contributing Editor

Aris Mpitziopoulos is a contributing editor at Tom's Hardware, covering PSUs.

  • spat55
    So basically a poor performing PSU at this price point and the only good thing is a RGB fan I won't see because my PSU is always face down and preferably under a PSU cover, okay got it.
    Reply
  • g-unit1111
    What's the point of having an RGB ring on a bottom mounted PSU where nobody will see the fan anyways? :??:

    Also those cables - the word "eyesore" comes to mind! I would be replacing those with some custom ones ASAP! :ouch:
    Reply
  • spat55
    18628558 said:
    What's the point of having an RGB ring on a bottom mounted PSU where nobody will see the fan anyways? :??:

    Also those cables - the word "eyesore" comes to mind! I would be replacing those with some custom ones ASAP! :ouch:

    Yeah it's just a crap unit which is hoping the kids orgasm over those RGB lighting, it's doing my head in but I'm sure it'll soon become mainstream then die.
    Reply
  • powernod
    Extremely dissapointed by Thermaltake.
    Only at the TPG-1250D-T they used the new & excellent CST platform by CWT.
    For all the other wattage models so far, ( 850 & 1500watt ) they used mediocre platforms by Enhance.
    I had high expectations for Tt's new line of PSUs, but they were proven futile.
    Reply
  • Virtual_Singularity
    Thanks for another thorough, excellent, psu review, great job Aris. Disappointed by TT, as well. That is one flawed, less than mediocre (esp for the price) unit, OEM'd to Enhance by another predictable 3rd party company. Some pretty lights on the fan and it's 1600 watt helm of their "flagship" series moniker is supposed to justify that $430 pricetag? Fails to meet minimum atx specs in several areas, hold up time for such an expensive unit is also unacceptable. Similar to the MasterWatt Maker, it can't hope to compete with similar units from their competitors, which are lower in price, better in efficiency and overall specs.
    Reply
  • vc9966
    almost every performance below average, but cheaper than CM 1200 worker
    Reply
  • Nuckles_56
    The 12V CL1 was certainly one of the more interesting waveforms I've seen in a while. But overall I'm pretty disappointed in Thermaltake for producing such a over priced under performing PSU
    Reply
  • Br1414
    Typo? 16 amps is the max legal load on a 20 amp 120v plug, thus option A apparently. Option B appears to be the old wall A/C style 20 amp 240 volt plug. Both a t slot styles. So maybe you rig something, but more or less you need an electrician just to use this thing safely! I guess you got the money...
    Reply
  • Valantar
    Individually sleeved cables in the traditional "ketchup and mustard" colours? Wow, that made me laugh. Out loud. Might be suitable to some kind of early 2000s retro theme build?

    Also, I love the pixelated 8-bit-ish thing you've got going on with the ripple graphs on page 9. Perhaps

    Otherwise, this was pretty much as expected. A useless product (the world does not need more 1000W+ PSUs), with useless features (RGB in a place where it'll be invisible in 90+% of modern cases), at a useless price point. That it performs badly as well just adds icing to the turd.
    Reply