Thermaltake Toughpower TF1 1550W Power Supply Review

Supplying an electrifying 1550W of power, the Thermaltake Toughpower TF1 1,550W is clearly not for the average user but is instead aimed at high enthusiast users who plan to overclock their systems to the limit. This is an expensive piece of hardware at $499, but still, its price is can be even lower than half of a high-end graphics card, and given that the PSU is your system's heart, it might be worth the investment if that GPU raises your energy needs. Performance-wise, it takes the lead from the be quiet! Dark Power Pro 12 1,500W by a small margin. However, it outputs much more noise at high loads, so we will keep the latter in our best PSUs article as an alternative option to the Corsair AX1600i, which remains at the top. 

We should note that high capacity power supplies are niche products, since most systems have been using single GPU configurations for quite some time now. For the average person, SLI and Crossfire are long dead. A stronger than 1,000W PSU only makes sense if you have a HEDT CPU and a high-end GPU, along with several other power-hungry parts (e.g., lots of HDDs, RGB LED strips, water cooling pumps, strong fans, etc.) But, even in systems with non-HEDT CPUs, your power consumption can go sky-high if you optimize your cooling to allow for high overclocks. While an over 1,500W PSU is overkill in most cases, if you find yourself in this situation, it might be worth it to you. After all, it's always a good idea to have (lots of) headroom available. 

Image 1 of 12

Product Photos

The Toughpower TF1 1,550W or TTP-1550AH3FCT has Titanium efficiency certifications by both 80 Plus and Cybenetics, and according to Thermaltake, its peak power output reaches 1,860W, so you won't have to worry about power spikes. This is a large PSU, measuring 180mm in length, and the input current can reach up to 18A in areas with 100-115V input like the US. You'll want to check that your wall sockets can handle such high amperage, as the common U.S. wall socket comes in both 15A and 20A flavors. Americans might want to look into a converter, though, since it's better to use 230V input for such strong PSUs. 

Image 1 of 7

Product Photos

Specifications

Power Specifications

Cables and Connectors

As expected, the Toughpower TF1 1,550W comes with loads of cables and connectors to allow for smooth delivery of the PSU's full power. All the PCIe connectors are on dedicated cables and the same goes for the EPS connectors. All the cables are long enough to give you enough space to wind them to their targets, although we would like to see even longer, 700mm EPS cables. This PSU is meant for large chassis, and the ideal distance between peripheral connectors is150mm. Finally, there are no in-cable caps and all the cables are flat and stealth. 

Image 1 of 8

Cable Photos

Component Analysis

If you're not familiar with how PSUs work, we strongly encourage you to have a look at our PSUs 101 article, which provides valuable information about PSUs and their operation, allowing you to better understand the components we're about to discuss.

Image 1 of 4

Overall Photos

This is the same platform as the be quiet Dark Power Pro 12 1,500W, provided by CWT. Digital controllers handle the APFC converter along with the primary switching FETs and the circuit that generates +12V. The minor rails and 5VSB use analog controllers. This is a modern platform, but still not as advanced as what the Corsair AX1600i and the Wentai Aidan T1,616 use. Hence, it cannot reach their performance levels. Hopefully, CWT will soon release a platform featuring Bridgeless totem-pole PFC and GaN MODFETS, for minimized losses in the APFC converter. 

Image 1 of 7

Transient filter

The transient/EMI filter has all the required parts to block incoming and outgoing EMI emissions effectively. 

Image 1 of 2

Bridge rectifiers

The pair of powerful bridge rectifiers can handle up to 50A. 

Image 1 of 6

APFC converter

This power supply uses an interleaved PFC converter, meaning that two APFC converters operate in parallel with a phase difference between them. This minimizes input/output current ripple and lowers conduction losses, increasing efficiency and doubling the effective switching frequency. 

There is no space on the APFC heat sink, and one FET had to be left out. This is why CWT used one beefy and two standard FETs in this converter. The main difference with the Dark Power Pro 12 unit is that the latter uses four FETs in total in its APFC converter, with one additional beefy FET. Thermaltake, for its own reasons, chose only to use three. Nonetheless, this didn't create any problems during our tests. 

The bulk caps have a high capacity, 2,110uF in total vs. 1,830uF of the Dark Power Pro 12 1,500W model. So we expect a pretty long hold-up time.

Image 1 of 4

Main FETs

The four primary switching FETs are arranged into a full-bridge topology. Typically, an LLC resonant converter is also used to boost efficiency through the lossless switching of the primary FETs. Lastly, the IC drivers that handle the primary FETs are two Si8233BD, provided by Silicon Labs. 

There was no room for one large, main transformer, so CWT used two smaller ones. 

Image 1 of 3

Digital Controllers

Texas Instruments provides the pair of digital controllers. Their model number is UCD3138A. One of them handles the APFC converter, and the other one the primary switching FETs and the 12V regulation circuit. One of these MCUs also takes care of the system's protection features, cooperating with the two analog supervisor ICs.

Image 1 of 3

12V FETs and VRMs

Twelve On Semiconductor NTMFS5C612N FETs regulate the 12V rail, the same number, and type as in the Dark Power Pro 12 1,500W. They are installed on vertical boards, which are right beside the main transformers, to minimize voltage drops and energy losses. 

The DC-DC converters that generate the minor rails are installed on the same daughter-board. In total, six UBIQ FETs are used, and a single PWM controller.

Image 1 of 3

Filtering caps

A PSU of this capacity uses several high quality electrolytic caps. Ripple filtering is mainly handled by the vast number of polymer caps, which are highly tolerant to high operating temperatures. 

Image 1 of 3

Modular board front

Many polymer caps are installed on the modular board alongside bus bars for minimized energy losses on power transfers. 

Image 1 of 4

5VSB Circuit

The 5VSB rail uses analog controllers as the minor rails. CWT could use a higher efficiency 5VSB rail in this unit. 

Image 1 of 5

Soldering quality

Soldering quality is strong. 

Image 1 of 2

Cooling fan

Although it has TT's logo, the fan is made by Hong Hua, and its model number is HA13525H12SF-Z. This is a high-speed fan using a fluid dynamic bearing, so it will last for quite a long time unless you operate it at high temperatures (above 40 degrees Celsius) for prolonged periods. 

MORE: Best Power Supplies

MORE: How We Test Power Supplies

MORE: All Power Supply Content