Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 750W PSU Review

Thermaltake is a company based in Taiwan that specializes in designing and manufacturing computer hardware components and accessories. Established in 1999, the company's product range includes thermal solutions such as CPU coolers and cases and power supply units, keyboards, and mice. Thermaltake operates globally and has a presence in multiple markets, serving a customer base that ranges from casual computer users to hardware enthusiasts. The company's products are subject to various industry certifications and standards.

Known for its diverse portfolio, ranging from cases and coolers to power supply units (PSUs), the company has a reputation for merging aesthetics with functionality. Among the lineup of their power supplies, the Toughpower GF A3 750W PSU stands as a prominent offering aimed at enthusiasts who demand a balanced mix of reliability, performance, and energy efficiency.

As PSUs are the backbone of any computing system, providing stable and efficient power is paramount. Designed to compete with the best power supplies at mid-range, Thermaltake's Toughpower GF A3 750W PSU, currently $90 in the U.S., aims to do just that while adding modularity and aesthetic appeal into the mix. It is designed to target the bulk of advanced PC builders, which means it will also have to compete against myriads of similar products for a piece of that saturated market pie. In this review, we will dissect this power supply's features, performance, and overall value proposition to determine whether it meets modern PC builds' demands.

Specifications and Design

In the Box

The Thermaltake GF A3 750W PSU arrived encased in a cardboard box of substantial thickness, with a minimalist yet elegant external aesthetic. The essential features of the power supply unit are presented clearly on the box's exterior. Inside the box, the unit is securely enveloped in high-density packaging foam, providing ample protection against potential transit damages.

The accessory bundle accompanying the Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 750W is basic but functional, consisting solely of the indispensable AC power cable, mounting screws, and a modest assortment of cable ties. Given the market segment this unit targets, the inclusion of the cable ties is a practical touch rather than an added luxury.

As the Toughpower GF A3 750W is a fully modular unit, a bundle of cables is supplied in a separate bag. All of the cables are black and most are made of flat, ribbon-line wires, with the exception of the 12VHPWR cable that features the traditional nylon sleeving. Note that Thermaltake declares that the maximum wattage of the 12VHPWR connector is 300 Watts for this model.

External Appearance

The external visage of the Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 750W PSU is distinctly marked by its matte black finish, lending the unit a stealthy and professional appearance. The chassis features a dashed line pattern, punched on all sides, that adds a layer of aesthetic complexity. With a 140 mm depth, the chassis dimensions conform to the ATX design guidelines, ensuring compatibility with ATX-compliant cases.

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Electrical specifications and certification details are displayed on a sticker located on the top side of the chassis. Decorative stickers embellish both sides of the chassis without overwhelming the design, maintaining the unit's sleek aesthetic. At the rear of the unit, in addition to the standard power cable receptacle and on/off switch, there is a zero-RPM fan switch. The connectors for the modular cables are featured at the front of the chassis. These connectors take less than half of the surface area and are situated adjacent to a printed, color-coded legend.

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Internal Design

Thermaltake is using one of its own fans for the cooling needs of the Toughpower GF A3 750W PSU. The TT-1225 (or BDH12025S) fan is a 120 mm model with a fluid dynamic bearing engine. It has a maximum speed of 1500 RPM.

The OEM responsible for the creation of the Toughpower GF A3 750W PSU is Great Wall, the designs of which we frequently find inside mainstream and high-end units as of late. We have not encountered this particular platform before. Considering the 300 Watt 12VHPWR rating, it would seem that Great Wall has specifically developed it to compete in the mid-range segment of the market while providing ATX 3.0 compliance.

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The filtering stage of the Toughpower GF A3 750W PSU is fair, with four Y capacitors, two X capacitors, and two filtering inductors. Two input rectifying bridges can be found with a small heatsink sandwiched in between them. Two Rubycon 420V/390μF capacitors and a fairly large filtering inductor are the passive components of the APFC circuitry. The active components of the APFC circuit, two MOSFETs and a booster diode, share the same heatsink as the primary stage switchers.

The two inversion transistors form a typical half-bridge LLC inversion topology. The two inversion transistors are WML28N65SF2 from WAYON, a manufacturer we have only recently encountered products of. Unfortunately, once again, there are no datasheets of these particular chips to be found online.

Six transistors generate the main 12V line after the secondary side of the transformer. The transistors are the 4NA1R4C-A from Jinlibo Electronics. DC-to-DC circuits generate the 3.3V and 5V lines, all of the parts of which are installed on the main board itself. This is atypical as the vast majority of the designs have the DC-to-DC circuits on a vertical daughterboard. Advanced Power Electronics Corp supplies the four main switchers (4024GEMT) that generate the 3.3V and 5V lines, with an ANPEC APW7164 controlling each. All of the secondary side capacitors, polymer and electrolytic alike, are supplied by CapXon, a highly reputable Taiwanese manufacturer.

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Cold Test Results

Cold Test Results (25°C Ambient)

For the testing of PSUs, we are using high precision electronic loads with a maximum power draw of 2700 Watts, a Rigol DS5042M 40 MHz oscilloscope, an Extech 380803 power analyzer, two high precision UNI-T UT-325 digital thermometers, an Extech HD600 SPL meter, a self-designed hotbox and various other bits and parts.

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The Toughpower GF A3 750W PSU delivers good energy conversion efficiency, with no surprises for what the company markets as an 80Plus Gold certified product. It has an average conversion efficiency of 90.4% with an input voltage of 230 VAC, which drops down to 89.4% if the input voltage drops to 115 VAC. The efficiency curves would easily allow the PSU to receive an 80Plus Gold certification for an input voltage of 115 VAC but it would not be able to receive the same certification for an input voltage of 230 VAC as it could not reach an efficiency greater than 92% at half load. We should also mention that the efficiency certification of the Toughpower GF A3 750W cannot be found published in CLEAResult’s website.

The cooling profile of the Toughpower GF A3 750W with the “Smart Zero Fan” mode enabled is relatively mild. It keeps the fan completely disabled until the load is almost 300 Watts. Once the fan starts, it maintains fairly low speeds at first but its speed quickly ramps up when the load is greater than 500 Watts, even though the internal temperatures of the unit are not high at all. It keeps increasing its speed as the load increases but it never reaches its maximum speed, not even at 100% load. The noise levels are very low while the load is lower than 500 Watts and endurable when the unit is heavily loaded.

Hot Test Results

Hot Test Results (~45°C Ambient)

The Toughpower GF A3 750W PSU is an atypical product because Thermaltake claims that its performance is rated at 45°C. Typically, PC PSUs are either rated at either 40°C for low-end and entry-level mainstream units or 50°C for quality mid-tier and high-performance products. This alone would suggest that Thermaltake is somehow trying to wedge their way in between these two worlds.

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Nonetheless, the performance of every PC PSU will degrade once the ambient temperature rises, with the magnitude of the drop primarily affected by the design and quality of the unit itself. While the average energy conversion efficiency drop of the Toughpower GF A3 750W PSU is 0.75%, a relatively high figure for a quality 80Plus Gold unit, it is uniform across the entire load range, with no significant change when the unit is heavily loaded. These results suggest that the thermal stress on the active components is mild to low.

Despite the high ambient temperature, the Toughpower GF A3 750W PSU still kept its fan off while the load was low. The high temperature does force the fan to start earlier than before, with the fan constantly increasing its speed in order to keep up with the unit’s cooling demands. It reaches its maximum speed when the load is just over 500 Watts, after which point the fan cannot do anything more to help with the unit’s rising cooling demands, resulting in climbing temperatures.

We had the OTP protection kick in when the unit was operating at maximum load for about three minutes, which is both good to see that the OTP works normally and protects the unit if necessary and troubling because clearly the unit could make use of a more powerful fan. Nonetheless, the Toughpower GF A3 750W did operate without electrical issues even at maximum load, where the temperature of the secondary side went unnervingly high. The PSU is undoubtedly not designed to be stressed like this for prolonged periods of time but it is good to find out that it can withstand it for short periods if it has to.

PSU Quality and Bottom Line

Power Supply Quality

The electrical performance of the Toughpower GF A3 750W is as good as Thermaltake advertises, which is very good overall for a mainstream product. We measured a voltage ripple of 28 mV on the 12V line at maximum load, which is exceptional for a product of this class. Filtering on the 3.3V and 5V lines is very good, too, with a maximum ripple of 16 mV and 20 mV, respectively. Voltage regulation is just above average, at 1% on the major 12V line and slightly worse on the 3.3V/5V lines. What is worth mentioning here is that the voltage on all lines is a bit higher than usual but within the ATX 3.0 design guide specifications.

As part of our standard testing, we test the primary protections of all PSUs we review (Over Current, Over Voltage, Over Power, and Short Circuit). All of the Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 750W protections engaged as they would normally. It is worth mentioning that the OCP protection kicks in very quickly for an ATX 3.0 design, almost immediately if the 12V rail current reaches over 75A. Due to the expected power excursions, we were used to seeing much more lax settings with ATX 3.0 designs. Still, considering the 300W power limit of the 12VHPWR connector here, the sharp OCP protection will not cause any problems and is safer for both the PSU itself and the powered components.

Bottom Line

In conclusion, the Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 presents itself as a robust contender in the PC power supply market, offering a judicious blend of performance, quality, and aesthetics. The build quality is commendable, featuring a premium all-black exterior, fully modular cables, and high-grade Japanese APFC capacitors. The secondary capacitors from CapXon also maintain a high standard. However, it's worth noting that the active components from lesser-known Chinese manufacturers raise a modicum of concern due to the lack of publicly accessible datasheets.

From an electrical engineering standpoint, the power quality stands out. The unit adheres to the ATX 3.0 design guide requirements and showcases praiseworthy voltage filtering capabilities, ensuring voltage ripple values below 30 mV even under significant stress. While the voltage output is marginally high, it stays within acceptable limits. The unit ostensibly meets 80Plus Gold energy conversion efficiency requirements at an input voltage of 115VAC, although formal certification for this model remains unpublished.

Thermal performance is one area where compromises have been made, seemingly to prioritize low-noise operation. While the unit runs at high operating temperatures, there is minimal evidence of thermal stress, which attests to its well-engineered design. Noise levels remain impressively low, making the PSU a viable option for those who require a quiet working environment. However, this comes at the cost of elevated thermal readings, primarily due to the small and slow fan.

The Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 offers a fair proposition in terms of overall value. Currently priced at $90 on Amazon, the PSU provides an attractive quality, performance, and aesthetic appeal package. It suits mid-range gaming systems and workstations well but is in a fiercely competitive market segment. Thermaltake's own advanced PSU series, which is priced only slightly higher, serves as formidable competition.

In summary, this unit is a persuasive option that offers a balanced blend of key performance attributes, making it a viable choice for those seeking a quality, efficient, and relatively quiet power supply unit. A slightly lower retail price would tremendously help the Toughpower GF A3 find its rightful place in the market.

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