The Thermaltake Toughpower PF3 850W is a Platinum certified power supply, featuring ATX v3.0 and PCIe 5.0 compatibility. It is way more expensive than the Toughpower GF A3 850W which, but does it worth the extra money? Read the full review to find out, sorry no spoilers!
The Thermaltake Toughpower PF3 850W is included in my best ATX v3.x & PCIe 5.x PSU picks article.
I have already evaluated two members of the Toughpower PF3 family:
All PF3 units (and GF A3) are made by HKC, which looks to have made a very good offer to TT to change OEM for its new lines. Wherever this will be for good, it will be shown soon. The fact is that the PF3 line is way more expensive than the GF A3 one, offering higher efficiency. In this review, I will check whether it is worth investing 174 dollars for the PF3 850, or you could save lots of money and get the similar capacity GF A3 model instead, which at the time of the review costs $110.
The PF3 850 is Platinum certified by Cybenetics, and it has a Cybenetics Α- (25-30 dB[A]) noise rating, meaning that its fan doesn’t generally spin at high speeds. Regarding the cooling fan, TT speaks of a fluid dynamic bearing, which might be true, but the fan is not from a known OEM, which is a shame considering the PSU’s stiff price. I expected to find at least a Hong Hua fan in this price range, but HKC probably doesn’t have a good relationship with this fan manufacturer. Please note that the capacitors and the cooling fan are two of the most important things inside a PSU. If the fan dies, everything else will be highly stressed and can even fail, depending on the operating conditions. Only over-temperature protection can save the day from a fan that stopped operating, along with fan failure protection, which is not present in 99% of desktop PSUs.
- Manufacturer (OEM): HKC
- Max Power: 850W
- Cybenetics Efficiency: [115V] Cybenetics Platinum (89-91%)
- 80 Plus Efficiency: Platinum
- Noise [115V]: Cybenetics Α- (25-30 dB[A])
- Compliance: ATX v3.0, EPS 2.92
- Operating Temperature (Continuous Full Load): 0 – 40°C
- Alternative Low Power Mode support: Yes
- Power 12V combined: 849.6W
- Number of 12V rails: 1
- Power 5V + 3.3v: 100W
- Power 5VSB: 15W
- Cooling: 120mm Fluid Dynamic Bearing Fan [TT-1225 (BDK12025MS)]
- Semi-Passive Operation: ✓ (Selectable)
- Modular Design: Yes (Fully)
- High Power Connectors: 2x EPS (single cable), 4x PCIe 6+2 pin (2x cables), 1x PCIe 12+4 pin (450W)
- Peripheral Connectors: 8x SATA (2x cables), 4x 4-pin Molex (single cable)
- ATX Cable Length: 600mm
- EPS Cable Length: 650 (+150mm)
- 6+2 pin PCIe Cable Length: 500mm (+150mm)
- 12+4 pin PCIe Cable Length: 590mm
- Distance between SATA / 4-pin Molex: 145/150mm
- In-cable capacitors: No
- Dimensions (W x H x D): 150 mm x 85 mm x 140mm
- Weight: 1.54 kg (3.4 lb)
- Warranty: ten years
- Street price (excluding VAT): $174
Power Specifications
| Rail | 3.3V | 5V | 12V | 5VSB | -12V | |
| Max. Power | Amps | 20 | 20 | 70.8 | 3 | 0.3 |
| Watts | 100 | 849.6 | 15 | 3.6 | ||
| Total Max. Power (W) | 850 | |||||
Hello, I am now faced with choosing a power supply. I’ve been looking at your tests for a long time because I’m interested in it, but I want to choose a certain unit for my computer. Previously, I had a Bitfenix Whisper M 750W, but unfortunately its fan failed and I had to send the power supply back under warranty and received a refund.
I’m aiming for 750w/850w,
I care about low ripple, Japanese capacitors, quiet fan operation and two wires on a single pcie cable to the GPU (I have rtx 2070).
I don’t know whether to go with old units or ATX 3.0.
My unit under full load (prime95 + furmark) consumes 400W from the socket.
I have a maximum of EUR 140 to spend, I live in the EU.
Can you recommend something to me?
I would say go for an ATX v3.x unit to be future proof. Take a look at my best ATX v3.x PSUs in the 750W category, which ones fells into your budget.
Thanks for the answer. You’re doing an amazing job. I think I’ll go with the RM750x/850x shift.
Will there be a review of XPG Core Reactor II? I see it in the table, but there is no separate article.
I’m still considering Deepcool PX850G and XPG Core Reactor II 850W. They are available in my country at an affordable price. Which one will be the best idea?
How serious “problem” is the single cable for the 2 eps connectors? Do you think that the combination of a 7700x (or 7950x) and an asrock x670e steel legend would set this on fire? (No overcloking, only standard operation voltages. If it is an actual problem, then the next candidate is the rmx850 shift, are they equal? they seem so)
In a single 12V rail it actually is. When both connectors can deliver more than 450W and take from a single PSU socket, all hell can break lose if something goes wrong.
hm, I see
I’m wondering if this is the same unit as “PS-TPD-850FNFAPE-3”, as sold by Scan UK here: https://www.scan.co.uk/products/750w-thermaltake-toughpower-pf3-native-pcie-5-fully-modular-80plus-platinum-single-rail-708a-120mm-f
It’s only £130 in the UK at the moment and seems like a good deal. Thanks – Nick
Yes, it looks to be the same unit.