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Thermaltake Pure Power PST 520W (Power Station)


Date
: 12/6/05 – 02:27:05 AM

Author
:

Category
: Power Supplies

Page 1 : Index

Manufacturer:
Thermaltake Technology Inc.

Price:
$135USD

I really don't think Thermaltake needs any introduction here, but for those that are unfamiliar with the company I will provide a small bit of info on what they provide. There really isn't a cooling product that Thermaltake doesn't produce. From simple heatsink and fan units that are designed to replace stock coolers, to full blown water cooling setups, Thermaltake has everything in-between. This includes some of the best designed cases available like the Armor super tower and the Tenor series taking the home theater market by storm. The award winning Bigwater just upgraded to the SE which now includes a 5.25" drive bay tank and the original golden orb has been further dwarfed by the monstrous Blue Orb II. All of these products are just examples of the innovation Thermaltake has brought to the cooling game.

Today, we look at another innovation by Thermaltake but not in the cooling department. The Thermaltake Power Station 520W is the first power supply of its kind, with a remote power station mounted in a 5.25" drive bay that is connected to the power supply to distribute the power through a massive array of modular connections to every component in your case. In theory, this is a fabulous idea that could really make cable management a breeze. It will be my job today to see just how well Thermaltake has implemented this unique and innovative power supply.

Page 2 : Package

A shrink-wrapped package is always welcome in my eyes. Reason for this is to keep retailers from dipping into the pile of goodies held inside. A power supply doesn't really have anything someone might be interested in, but it is still nice to buy a sealed product.

The front of the box gives us a good view of what is so unique about the TT Power Station. When I first saw the design features of this power supply, I wasn't completely sold on how useful it would be. Seeing the package in person, with the images and diagrams on the front, has started to relieve my doubts.

The design of the package is fairly subdued with not much more than a gradient shadow and black band around the bottom making up graphics details. The side panel here has a list of a few features and the output values that the power supply is rated to produce. The important specifications are listed here for those power junkies. This chart will be reproduced in the specifications section.

The opposite end is home to the markings that define exactly what power supply and options are inside the box. I received the W0073 model with Active PFC. The W0074 model comes without this feature, so be sure to check that when you are picking yours up.

The rear of the package provides further details on exactly how the Power Station works. There is a diagram of the power supply and Power Station installed with cables and inset images describing each feature. The back of the box also contains a photo and list of each cable that the Power Station comes with.

The top of the box caught my eye right away as there was a handle visible, but it's not really useful until you open the plastic shrink-wrap which kind of defeats the purpose. Once you get home and actually take the plastic wrap off, how much carrying of the box are you going to do? Either way, it is a nice touch. We will now jump into the specifications of the TT Power Station.

Page 3 : Specifications

Thermaltakes web site does a good job with providing features and specifications so there is no point in me writing them out again.

From this feature list it really looks like TT has done their homework and provided us with not only an innovative product but a well implemented one as well. I promised to reproduce the power output chart in an easier to read format so here it is now:

There is a nice distribution of Amps across all of the rails with a total of 30A on both of the 12v rails. This should be plenty enough juice for the power hungry DFI motherboard I will be using for testing. With the amount of overclocking I am doing with this setup it will be a good test for the TT Power Station. Here now is the last of the specifications provided by TT about the 520W Power Station:

The one most important aspect of this innovative power supply has gone almost un-mentioned and that is the implementation of the Power Station. Here is a chart breaking down the connections and how this system works.

If you are still a little unsure of how things are going to work, no worries, just read on and as we take a look at the unit it will become more clear.

Page 4 : Package Contents

Let's open up the package and get a look at the various components.

With the top flaps peeled away, we are able to see that the interior is tightly packed like a puzzle with every piece being safe and secure. It appears as though there are two boxes, the power station, and the instruction manual here on top.

First out of the package is the actual power station that will be mounted in a 5.25" drive bay. This power station is what makes this power supply stand out from the rest. A single cable will come from the power supply and provide this box with power. This power station will then distribute that power to the various devices in the case via the modular cables.

This is the rear of the power station where the modular cables will connect. With the massive amount of cables, it is no wonder there is a great number of connections at the rear of the power station. Most of the cables will have a single connection. This means managing the cables will be very easy and should allow for a clean setup.

The small box on the top of the package houses nothing more than the power cord supplied with the Power Station. It also states that the screws are in this box, but they are not so I am assuming they are in the next box.

Now that the power station and power cord box are removed, we get a brief look at the actual power supply that is wrapped in bubble wrap located at the bottom of the package.

Inside of this box is where the amazing amount of cables are stored. With my first look at the cables I am initially quite impressed because the sleeving is nice and thick with the ends and heat shrink wrapped for a clean and tidy look. As I mentioned, there are more cables with the TT Power Station than I have seen with any modular power supply. We also have the accessory power hub and the mounting hardware for the power station.

I figured while we were looking at the contents I would show the cables that come included with the Power Station. The 8-pin is for connecting the power supply to the Power Station and the two 6-pin PCI-E cables come directly from the power supply.

The rest of the cables included are designed to come from the Power Station and go to the appropriate devices. We get a handful of SATA power cables, a couple single 4-pin Molex connections, a couple floppy connections, and a couple triple 4-pin Molex cables. This huge variety of cables will allow for a very neat setup and I really like that Thermaltake have gone with mostly single connection cables. This will insure that we only have the cables we need and that there will not be any un-used connections hanging around.

The only piece left in the package is the power supply itself so out it comes. The power supply, as with the Power Station, is wrapped in bubble wrap but there is no Styrofoam or protection inside the package at all. With the weight of power supplies taken into account, I want to see Styrofoam protecting anything inside because the likelihood of a drop increases with a packages weight. The bubble wrap won't do anything in a drop situation to help protect the corners or edges from denting.

The rear of the power supply is a honeycomb mesh. We can see a heatsink and a huge 120mm fan through this mesh along with some of the internals. Later on I will be pulling this guy apart and we will get a better look inside.

The opposite end of the PSU is where the 24-pin and 4-pin auxiliary connection come out. These two cables obviously won't be going through the power station and will plug directly into the motherboard. There doesn't appear to be any room for air to be sucked in from this end and so it appears that all the cooling will be provided by that large 120mm fan on the bottom.

This is where the rest of the power connections for the system will originate from. This little box is where the 6-pin PCI-E cables connect and the 8-pin extension cable that powers the power station. It really is a neat little design that TT has gone and in the installation page we will see what I can do as far as cable management goes.

Here is that massive fan on the underside of the unit. From this angle we can see a good sized aluminum heatsink inside and, looking closely, we can see LEDs at the corners of the fan. This power supply should glow nicely when powered on.

The top of the power supply sports nothing more than this sticker that provides the power distribution as well as the standard warnings and safety standard certificates. This chart was produced in the specifications section so I won't be explaining the breakdown of Amps that the Power Station power supply puts out.

The only way to get a look inside is to take the top off. After removing a few screws and a couple stickers, we were in. Not a lot to see here. The PurePower 520W looks like pretty much any other power supply. There are a couple small heatsinks and a handful of capacitors. I could not get to the writing on the one massive capacitor on the left side to identify it.

As we float around to the other side, we can see the circuit board which implements the safety features of the power supply.

While the 24-pin ATX power connection and 4-pin auxiliary connection come wired straight out of the power supply, the PCI-E and 8-pin cable going to the Power Station go through this circuit board into the bulge at the rear of the unit. This gives them the quick disconnect ability or what is known as a modular design.

There are no additional fans inside the power supply so it looks like the big 120mm fan is the only one being used. It, of course, is a Thermaltake LED fan, model number TT-1225A. Unfortunately I could not find any specifications on this fan as it doesn't seem to be listed on the TT site and Google was no help either.

Page 5 : Installation

Every power supply installation starts with a case, here is the one I will be using.

This will be my canvas, let me begin painting. Now you may be wondering why I am using my old, hacked up generic mid-tower better known as "Sheila" when I have done reviews on many nicer cases. I will explain that in a little bit. For now, go ahead and gaze in awe at the powerful beauty that is this beast of an air cooling case.

This little guy is what has caused me some frustration over the last couple of days and why I am ultimately using "Sheila" for this review. The Power Station is designed to fit into any 5.25" slot but unfortunately it doesn't fit in every 5.25" slot. The MGE Dragon could not stretch wide enough for the Power Station to fit and the layout of the Antec Take 4 would not allow for the power supply to fit. This is why I pulled "Sheila" out, because if it wouldn't fit, I would make it fit without destroying a beautiful case like the X-Cruiser of Dragon. As it was, not a lot of force was needed but I did have to fight with the Power Station to get it in place. Thermaltake needs to shrink the width of the Power Station by the smallest of margins.

With the Power Station finally in place in a 5.25" bay, I could now move forward and get the PurePower 520W power supply mounted in its location at the rear of the case. The power supply itself is the standard size and fits without issue in the given slot with all the mounting screws lining up well.

The 8-pin cable is the bridge of power between the power supply and the Power Station so that gets connected first. This image also gives us a better look at the slight damage the Power Station incurred while trying to get it mounted in the various 5.25" bays I attempted.

Next up on the list was to get the motherboard mounted and hooked up to the 24-pin ATX and 4-pin power connections that stem directly from the power supply. The cables for these connections are sleeved and really nice to work with. The length is great and I was able to tuck the excess up above the Power Station and secured with a twist tie.

Following that connection, it was time to get the drives I was using installed and connected using the abundance of power cable options. With the DFI LanParty motherboard I am using for the review, I have to connect not only a 4-pin molex connection but also a floppy power connection. With any other power supply I have used that means unwanted cables dangling around the motherboard but not with the Power Station.

Everything is now connected on the front side of the case and all that was left was getting those four 120mm connected to a power source. I figured the backside would be a good spot to hide that mess so I connected the extra long 4-pin molex connection to the accessory power adapter and routed it to the backside. The top 120mm fan was connected to a header on the motherboard as the two 120mm fans would take up both 3-pin spots on the Power Station accessory panel.

The velcro strip that comes with the accessory kit could have been used here but I just wrapped a twist tie around the drive tower and unit to hold it in place. The Power Station accessory panel has four 4-pin molex connections, two 3-pin fan headers and the single 4-pin molex connection that provides power from the Power Station. This is another great innovative idea that Thermaltake came up with in this package and it seems to have worked out well for this setup. The only complaint would be that there are not enough 3-pin fan header connections. Give me four of those and I would have absolutely nothing to complain about.

For having four hard drives, a DFI motherboard that requires four power connections in total, and four case fans, this setup looks amazingly clean. The most impressive part about all of it is the fact that I never really had to work that hard to make the cables look neat and tidy. The Power Station and plethora of cable choices made it quite easy. We will now be looking at the performance of the power supply with my trusty multimeter.

Page 6 : Performance

To test the performance of the TT Power Station 520W, I will be measuring the voltages of the various rails using a calibrated two decimal multimeter. The measurements will be taken at three different stages of load that the power supply sees. Here is a complete list of hardware that the power supply will be running:

I also mentioned that the PSU looks to have some LEDs and indeed it does. Blue in color and four of them to be more precise as we saw from the photos when I took the power supply apart. The Power Station also has a few blue LEDs to provide the case with a nice soft blue glow.

I have done my best to break this power supply in by having it run 24/7 for the last couple of weeks at 100% load with the above setup. The true value of a power supply is hard to measure in a short two or three week period but the voltages can still tell an adequate story as to the quality of a power supply. As mentioned, the voltages will be measured with a 2 decimal digital multimeter. I will be taking readings throughout a four hour period for the load results and average them out. The system will be running two instances of Prime95 to keep the system under %100 load.

At the end of that four hour period I will be closing Prime 95 and letting the system idle for another four hours with four random readings taken and averaged out. For the 'power on' results I will be starting the power supply without any devices plugged in and taking a single reading shortly after the unit is turned on. Let's see what happened:

The voltages are quite stable going through the different load situations but there is some variation. All the rails are well within the 5% range and don't come close to venturing out of it. Throughout the two weeks that I had this power supply running, there were no random reboot issues or anything of the like. It definitely had no problem handling the massive power needs of the DFI LanParty motherboard and the highly overclocked CPU I am running.

Page 7 : Conclusion

The Thermaltake Power Station is a new idea and it is nice to see TT coming up with something other than a basic modular design. Did TT implement it well? I think they did. The cable selection that is provided with the Power Station is what really makes it work as well as it did. Had TT gone with the standard selection of multiple connections on a single cable instead of the single connections they did, then the unit would be a bust. The lengths of the cables were all spot on and really gave us the ability to build a clean case.

The one drawback is the fact that the Power Station was too wide for a couple of my cases 5.25" slots and that is rather unfortunate because the rest of the system worked really well. The 520W PurePower power supply that the Power Station is mated with proved to be a solid performer and worked really well throughout testing. The accessory power block proved to be quite a nice little touch as well allowing me to connect all my fans in a hidden central location.

If you are looking for the newest of new technology or a chance to clean up a relatively full case then the Power Station is definitely for you. I honestly think this idea may catch on and we will witness other manufacturers come out with similar products. I, however, really don't see how they could improve upon the design of what TT has done here with the 520W Power Station.

Advantages

• Innovative design implemented very well
• More cable selection than any other modular PSU
• SLI ready out of the box

  Disadvantages

• Power Station would not fit a couple 5.25" slots
• $135 for a 520W PSU is a bit pricey

  Overclockers Online would like to extend a thank-you to Thermaltake for providing the sample for this review.