Thermaltake Toughpower PF3 1200W PSU Review

Epilogue

The Thermaltake Toughpower PF3 1200W achieves a high overall performance thanks to its good transient response at normal loads, the low ripple on all of its rails, and the within 1% load regulation on the main rails. There are other units with way tighter load regulation at 12V, but I cannot call mediocre a within 1% deviation on this rail. The build quality is good, with my only complaint regarding the fan, which looks out of place in a PSU with a $220 price tag. Moreover, the ATX v3.0 transient response is not good at 12V, with the same rail registering high voltage drops once the transient load is applied.

Given that the Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 1200W is close in overall performance, someone would wonder why not prefer it over the PF3 1200W and save 40 dollars. There are two main reasons: the higher quality caps used in the PF3 and the better transient response in ATX v3.0 transient loads, where the GF A3 1200W drops its 12V rail close to the lowest allowed limit. If you care about noise output, both the GF A3 and PF3 units are noisy, and Thermaltake should look into this along with HKC. Despite its large heatsinks and high average efficiency, the PF3 1200W is one of the noisiest PSUs I have evaluated in this category. The small and overloaded PCB doesn’t help keep noise output low; the same goes for the fan speed profile, which needs tuning. The fan grille is also too restrictive. I would advise TT to use a larger casing for the PSU with larger perforations and a larger fan, preferably by Hong Hua, and try to implement a proper fan speed profile that won’t require users to use earplugs at high loads.

The high output noise prevents me from providing a “recommended” badge for this product. It is time for manufacturers to start caring about noise output and improve their products to output the lowest possible noise without affecting reliability and performance.

To check all alternative PSU offerings, read my Best ATX v3.0 PSUs article before investing in a new power supply. You help me a lot by using my affiliate links, which don’t increase the product’s price. I get a commission from Amazon every time you do it, which can make a difference for me, especially now that I am on my own, working exclusively for my media and not for someone else.