Thermaltake Toughpower SFX 600W PSU Review

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Ripple Measurements

To learn how we measure ripple, please click here.

The following table includes the ripple levels we measured on the STP-0600F-G's rails. The limits, according to the ATX specification, are 120 mV (+12V) and 50 mV (5V, 3.3V and 5VSB).

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Test12V5V3.3V5VSBPass/Fail
10% Load30.3 mV14.2 mV13.0 mV12.1 mVPass
20% Load27.2 mV15.5 mV13.0 mV13.6 mVPass
30% Load29.5 mV16.6 mV13.8 mV15.1 mVPass
40% Load31.8 mV18.2 mV13.5 mV18.3 mVPass
50% Load36.1 mV19.7 mV13.5 mV21.2 mVPass
60% Load39.6 mV22.1 mV13.6 mV23.3 mVPass
70% Load45.6 mV23.5 mV15.2 mV26.3 mVPass
80% Load53.3 mV24.4 mV15.9 mV29.9 mVPass
90% Load61.3 mV27.4 mV19.2 mV32.7 mVPass
100% Load70.6 mV32.7 mV24.7 mV35.9 mVPass
110% Load511.0 mV157.6 mV126.0 mV106.0 mVFail
Cross-Load 133.0 mV17.7 mV15.3 mV20.5 mVPass
Cross-Load 268.6 mV30.2 mV22.6 mV31.5 mVPass

Ripple suppression is decent on the minor rails, though we'd like to see lower ripple (around 50 mV) at +12V under full load.

Most troubling is that, with only 110 percent load, ripple suppression goes south (even though Thermaltake claims that the peak power level of this PSU reaches 120 percent of its maximum-rated capacity). We measure over 500 mV at +12V, and way above the limit on the other rails. In addition, the STP-0600F-G generates a high-pitched noise during the overload test, a clear sign that it's working beyond its limits.

Ripple Oscilloscope Screenshots

The following oscilloscope screenshots illustrate the AC ripple and noise registered on the main rails (+12V, 5V, 3.3V and 5VSB). The bigger the fluctuations on the screen, the bigger the ripple/noise. We usually set 0.01 V/Div (each vertical division/box equals 0.01 V) as the standard for all measurements, however for the 110 percent load ripple measurements we were forced to use a higher scale. 

Ripple At Full Load

Ripple At 110-Percent Load

Ripple At Cross-Load 1

Ripple At Cross-Load 2

Aris Mpitziopoulos
Contributing Editor

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

  • Dark Lord of Tech
    Hard to compete with the SF Corsairs.
    Reply
  • Pixdawg
    Based on this review, I wouldn't buy the thing for half its listed price. How the devil did it get a Gold rating, anyway?
    Reply
  • Clamyboy74
    You would only need 2 pcie cables since these psu are designed for sff builds, with only 1 gpu since you also use a m-itx board.
    Reply
  • turkey3_scratch
    This power supply is a disaster. It does not have working protection circuitry and should be a 450W unit, not a 600W unit.

    This thing sucks.

    This unit is a 450W power supply IMO. Basically, Thermaltake probably took their 450W power supply, slapped 600W on it, kept the same amount of PCIe cables, and called it a 600W power supply. This power supply is stupid, I don't know who would buy it. That's just my opinion of course, but safety should be the most important thing of a power supply, and even thought it didn't blow up, if it had 510mv of ripple at 110% load, imagine what it had at 140% load before it shut off? Probably 2000mv of ripple. There goes the GPU. There goes the CPU. There goes everything!

    But Thermaltake knows that not a single person who purchases this thing will have done their PSU research, and therefore not a single person buying this thing will probably have a system that demands more than 250-300W. Thermaltake preys on the vulnerabilities of the uneducated, it's a disgrace, it's disgusting.

    18596603 said:
    You would only need 2 pcie cables since these psu are designed for sff builds, with only 1 gpu since you also use a m-itx board.

    You wouldn't need a 600W power supply with an SFF build period. It razzes my berries that the mere fruit of the existence of this thing is an example of an unethically engineered product that nobody needs but is designed for those who don't know what they don't need.
    Reply
  • jonnyguru
    18596603 said:
    You would only need 2 pcie cables since these psu are designed for sff builds, with only 1 gpu since you also use a m-itx board.

    Not until the Corsair SF Series was released while I was sitting behind a desk at Corsair did I realize just how many people use SFX power supplies in full size cases. Absolutely AMAZES me. So.. yeah...
    Reply
  • turkey3_scratch
    Dont know if a 300mm 24-pin cable could reach the board in a full sized case.
    Reply
  • cats_Paw
    As much as I give Tomshardware a lot of pain for many of their articles This one is a very solid test.
    The PSU is one of the most important parts of the PC (Id say its THE most important), so a good review of a PSU is always welcome.

    Well done toms.
    Reply
  • Dark Lord of Tech
    I commend Thermaltake for releasing into the SFX market , more competition is good for the industry. With very little to choose from , it's still a huge plus to have more SFX units out there on the retail market.
    Reply
  • turkey3_scratch
    18599544 said:
    I commend Thermaltake for releasing into the SFX market , more competition is good for the industry. With very little to choose from , it's still a huge plus to have more SFX units out there on the retail market.

    Yeah but this is not what I'd call competition... Nobody needs to compete against Thermaltake's product since it stinks.
    Reply
  • nem3s1s
    GOOD QUALITY as usual on Enhance but seems they need smart enginiers to up level to the designs. wireless etc
    Reply