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!