Introduction 

Apart from the processor and graphics card, one other PC component is often over-looked, but vitally important ... and that is the power supply. With today's demanding computer hardware, a decent power supply is required to satisfy the needs of the consumer, from your average everyday user to the more extreme enthusiast. Having the wrong power supply, not only be enough to power all the necessary components, but could potentially damage your computer hardware. 

We've seen numerous power supplies that often state their maximum wattage, when then truth is ... it's much much lower. For example, in past we've tested some power supplies which was meant to handle 750W. But as it turns out, it may not be a "true" 750W power supply. In fact it more like 600W. The 750W was actually its "peak" output, which is never a good idea to reach. Having said that, there are a number of manufacturers that do produce power supplies which offer a "true" wattage figure. And Thermaltake is one of them.

Thermaltake have been producing power supplies for many years, and they're pretty well known for doing so. They were one of the first manufacturers to release a 1000W PSU, which at that time was eye-poppingly crazy and an astonishing achievement! So as far as producing power supplies, they're pretty much on top of their game. However, they're not alone in this market. Over the past few years, the PSU market have been extremely crowded with companies like Antec, Corsair, Coolermaster, OCZ, Tagan, and numerous others ... all trying to compete for market share.

In this review, we'll be taking a look at the Thermaltake ToughPower XT 875W power supply. According to Thermaltake, the Toughpower XT series of power supplies are meaner, badder and much more robust. The 875W model features a powerful +12V single rail at 72A, with a peak of around 975W, as well as offering Active PFC support. It also comes with an advanced double-forward & DC to DC converter design, as well as high-grade Japanese capacitors & solid state capacitors for enhanced stability and durability. Furthermore, the PSU is based on a modular cabling managment system, which is great for increased air-flow due to less cables being used inside the chassis.

Other features include a large ultra-quiet 140mm fan and the S.P.T. Indicator, which monitors PSU status monitor with 3-mode LED ( standby / PG signal / temperature). The whole PSU feels weighty and pretty solid thanks to its excellent build quality. To satisfy the high-end users and enthusiasts, the ToughPower XT 875W fully certified 80Plus Bronze, as well as multi-GPU ready. And finally, there's a massive 5-year warranty offered by Thermaltake. All these great features mentioned above makes it an extremely attractive PSU ... let's see how it performs in load tests.

It will be interesting to see if the Thermaltake ToughPower XT 875W fully 80Plus "Bronze" compliant. Remember a minimum of 80% power efficiency at FULL load is required for 80Plus certification. However, there are varying levels of the 80Plus standard, as listed below (taken from 80Plus.org).

• 80Plus Gold = 87% Power Efficiency
• 80Plus Silver = 85% Power Efficiency
• 80Plus Bronze = 82% Power Efficiency
• 80Plus (Minimum) = 80% Power Efficiency

Thanks to HKSTP - Science Park, we able to use their industrial labs for testing our power supplies. We will be using 3 test modes ... standing gaming (320W), enthusiast gaming (650W) and PSU maximum (875W). It will be interesting to see how well it will under the 3 different load conditions.

Right, let's take a closer look at the specifications of the Thermaltake ToughPower XT 875W power supply ...

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