Pros, Cons And Final Verdict
Thermaltake took Enhance's SFX platform, which is also utilized by SilverStone's SX600-G, and equipped it with better-quality caps. It also added a double ball-bearing fan in order to back the STP-0600F-G up with a seven-year warranty. But given that this design is on the edge with 600 W of maximum capacity, we aren't sure it'll last seven years if you push its limits on a daily basis.
Although Thermaltake claims that this PSU's peak power is 720 W in short bursts, we discovered that anything above 105 to 107 percent of its maximum rating causes increased ripple on every rail, putting the PSU and your hardware in danger. For such a physically compact PSU, 600 W is already too much. This is why Enhance only provides a couple of PCIe connectors along with a single EPS one, limiting the ways you can pull wattage from it in real-life applications. Normally, a 600 W PSU should be equipped with at least four PCIe connectors and a couple of EPS ones, all available at the same time. But this clearly isn't the case for Thermaltake's STP-0600F-G and SilverStone's identical SX600-G. In our opinion, there is no point to a 600 W PSU with so few PCIe and EPS connectors, so get the 450 W version instead and save some money.
The STP-0600F-G's negatives, beyond too-few bundled cables, also include mediocre load regulation, increased ripple at +12V, average transient response, and very high inrush currents. When it comes to protection features, OTP is notably missing, and over-power protection is set at a dangerously high level. So far, things don't look so good...
We did spot some positive aspects to call out, though. You get quiet operation (under normal operating conditions, at least), higher-quality filtering capacitors than what the SX600-G uses, modular cabling, and a good fan. To make this PSU more appealing, and to match Corsair's warranty, Thermaltake offers a seven-year guarantee. Considering the lack of over-temperature protection and the loose over-power protection threshold, this seems like a huge gamble. However, only time will tell.
In the end, we believe that this Enhance platform needs some serious modifications in order to compete aggressively with Corsair. It is weird to see a modern PSU registering less than 6 ms hold-up time when the ATX specification's minimum is 17 ms. Moreover, ripple goes way out of control when the PSU is pushed beyond its nominal capacity, which is made more egregious by the manufacturer claiming that peak load can reach 120 percent of the maximum power rating.
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