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PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW Power Supply Review
PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW Power Supply Review - PCSTATS
This power supply has the ability to deliver 1kW of power continuously, and has a peak rating of 1.1kW!
 95% Rating:   
Filed under: Power Supply Published:  Author: 
External Mfg. Website: PC Power and Cooling May 29 2006   C. Sun  
Home > Reviews > Power Supply > PC Power and Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW

120W Power Load Test & Conclusions

120W Power Load Tests Source: Seasonic

When looking at the Seasonic Power Supply test results we see two values, wattage (W) and volt-amps (VA). Since it might not be clear to everyone what they measure, here's a brief overview.

The volt-amp (VA) value is how much real power is being consumed by the power supply being tested to provide the wattage (W) value. The higher the VA value is, the more electricity is being used by the power supply. Because no electrical device is 100% efficient, there will always be some loss when converting AC to DC. The closer the volt-amps and wattage figures are to each other, the more efficient a power supply is. This is called the Power Factor: wattage / volt-amps = PF.

Since we're testing with a 120W dummy load, the load on the power supply (wattage) should be as close to this figure as possible. Anything above this load in apparent power describes the overhead and wasted energy (given off as heat) for the particular power supply being tested. For the unloaded tests, the wattage and volt-amp figures should be as close as possible to one another. The lower the figures are, the less power is being used.

Measurements were taken with an Extech 380803 Power Analyzer for the PC Power & Cooling 1KW unit.

Seasonic Power Load Tests

Power Supply Wattage Test Type Loaded Unloaded
Seasonic SuperTornado 400 W
(A-PFC)
Active Power 177 W 6 W
Apparent Power 182 VA 7 VA
Vantec iON2 350 W Active Power 192 W 10 W
Apparent Power 277 VA 21 VA
Antec TruePower 330 330 W Active Power 195 W 22 W
Apparent Power 289 VA 38 VA
Ultra X-Connect Green UV 500W 500 W Active Power 193W 22 W
Apparent Power 307 VA 40 VA
AOpen Silent Power AO400-12AHN 400 W Active Power 179W 9 W
Apparent Power 275 VA 18 VA
Seasonic S12-430 430 W
(A-PFC)
Active Power 179W 6W
Apparent Power 180VA 9VA
PC Power and Cooling Turbo-Cool 510 Express/SLI

510 W
(A-PFC)

Active Power

200 W

29 W
Apparent Power 202 VA 32 VA
HEC Ace Power 580UB

580 W

Active Power

183 W

12 W
Apparent Power 272 VA 26 VA
HEC Win 550UB 550 W Active Power 184W 10W
Apparent Power 263VA 22VA
Akasa PowerPlus AK-P550FF 550 W
(A-PFC)
Active Power 194W 38W
Apparent Power 197VA 40VA
AOpen Prima Power AO700-12ALN 700 W
(A-PFC)
Active Power 172W 3W
Apparent Power 181VA 9VA
Seasonic S12 600 600 W
(A-PFC)
Active Power 164W 7W
Apparent Power 173VA 9VA
PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW 1000 W
(A-PFC)
Active Power 205W 25W
Apparent Power 207VA 32VA

In the PFC tests the PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1kW power supply does pretty well overall. With no load, the power factor is only around 78% which is lower than what we would have expected however load PFC values are nice and efficient at 99%. Overall the PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1kW power supply does consume a fair bit of power, but it is not designed with such low load values in mind.

PC Power & Cooling Make an Insane Power Supply

When it comes to power supplies even among computer enthusiasts, the consensus is that the PC Power & Cooling brand is the best on the market. PC Power & Cooling's track record of consistently delivering the high quality products is largely responsible for this positive impression.

In the last year or so, power requirements of cutting edge PC's have shot through the roof and today, a quality 500W power supply would be the bare minimum an enthusiast should use. For those who want to be on the safe side, larger power supplies are readily available and the "baddest" power supply available is easily the PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1kW.

Once the heavyweight PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW was pulled out of its packaging, we were expecting good things from it and it did not disappoint. This power supply proved to be extremely solid and accurate in terms of the voltage it delivered across its various rails. It's a big and heavy unit, but it delivers excellently.

In terms of power use, like the Turbo-Cool 510 Express/SLI before it, the PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW takes a bit more for itself than most of the PSUs we've tested, especially when not under load. In light of its Active-PFC and excellent voltage stability though, voltage regulating potentiometers for fine adjustments in overclocked settings, and twin 6-pin SLI power cables, that one small disparity is easily forgiven.

PC Power and Cooling offers a five year warranty on the Turbo-Cool 1KW. Considering that power supplies are the most common cause of computer failure, this indicates a comforting degree of confidence in the product by the manufacturer. With a retail price of $538CDN ($489 USD, £260 GBP) for the 1000 Watt model, the PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW power supply is ideal for true hardcore enthusiasts and high-end SLI computer systems, or anyone investing seriously into an overclocking rig. You won't need a power supply like this for a small PC, but if you're running dual videocards and a pile of RAID'd hard drives with the latest CPU, this is as good as it gets!

PCSTATS Editor's Choice Award

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Here are a few other articles that you might enjoy as well...
- Seasonic S12 600W Power Supply Review
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- PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 510 Express/SLI Power Supply Review
- AOpen Prima Power AO700-12ALN 700W Power Supply Review
- Akasa PowerPlus AK-P550FF 550 Watt Power Supply Review
- HEC WinPower Win 550UB PSU Review
- HEC Ace 580UB 580 Watt Power Supply Review
- Seasonic S12-430 430 Watt Power Supply Review

< Previous Page © 2023 PCSTATS.com Power Supply Reviews...»

 

Contents of Article: PC Power and Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW
 Pg 1.  PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW Power Supply Review
 Pg 2.  A closer look at the 1000W PSU
 Pg 3.  Voltage Regulation, Noise Levels and Build quality
 Pg 4.  Testing the 1000W Computer Power supply
 Pg 5.  — 120W Power Load Test & Conclusions

 
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