Thermaltake disappointment

simon11 · 17 Nov 2007 at 19:49

After researching a power supply for several weeks to run two 8800 gtx cards I decided on the Thermaltake 1000w. It had great reviews and two seperate rails for the video cards at 36amps each rail and two 20amp rails for other stuff. Wow I thought this will last a lifetime.
Eagerly I awaited the arrival over the weekend. Exitedly put it in the case and switched on. Windows booted and there I was new power supply. My first task was to boot up some software to see what the voltages on the rails were. Before I could do this the computer shut down never to light up with this power supply again. It had lasted a couple of minutes. I bundled it up and spent £20.00 to send it back where it was confirmed faulty.
What a joke!!
I now have no faith to buy another power supply. If this can't run five minutes what chance have the others with 18amp rails. I may now stick with one card and the power supply I have. At least it works.

Thumbs down to Thermaltake for not testing them before it leaves the factory!!!

Massive Attack · 17 Nov 2007 at 19:51

if i were you i would edit your post and read the FAQ

simon11 · 17 Nov 2007 at 19:59

I have read the rules and I can't see any I have broken!

Any Hints?

Thebug · 17 Nov 2007 at 20:00

Remove the competitors

simon11 · 17 Nov 2007 at 20:13

Thebug said:
Remove the competitors

Thanks. I was just pointing to reviews. Never thought of them as competitors at it was an american site in dollars.

Is there a power supply manufacturer with less than a 10% failure rating that Thermaltake seem to have? Is there a reliable power supply that is likely to work for a few years?

Thanks for any reply.

Yiuca · 17 Nov 2007 at 20:26

I personally think you should be mad & complain after you've hit that result twice in a row... You had 1 which was faulty from the start, sure it worked for some minutes but it was faulty from the start, I would try again it is possible for you to have a faulty PSU in your lifetime, just 1... Try a 2nd, if that also fails try something else... It's not always a case of "If that doesn't work the others have no chance" you said it were confirmed as faulty, so what makes you think the other PSU's have no chance? If this were the case, wouldn't every 8800Gtx SLI owner be complaining their SLI setup isn't working cause of continuous power failure?

With that said, I have had 2 thermaltake PSUs fail on me in the past, I think they were thermaltake anyway... I also went with other company PSUs... After the 2nd one failed!

Thebug · 17 Nov 2007 at 20:44

simon11 said:
Is there a reliable power supply that is likely to work for a few years?

Thanks for any reply.

Corsair or enermax

Nullvoid · 17 Nov 2007 at 20:50

I realise it's a complete pain in the behind, but all components can arrive faulty. It seems a shame to write the company off completely as a result. RMA it and see how the replacement performs?

Minstadave · 17 Nov 2007 at 20:59

Are you 100% sure its the PSU thats causing the problems?

simon11 · 17 Nov 2007 at 21:58

I did list in my first post links to lots of complaints about thermaltake power supplies being DOA or lasting a very short time. I was advised to remove these links which I did.
I did get some of my postage back but the experience cost me about £17.00 for nothing. I would not trust buying another Thermaltake as they get two many bad customer reviews.
I am now looking at a single rail PCPower 750 Quad which gives 60amps. It appears to come from a reliable company with no gimmicks just plain reliable power. And this costs about £60.00 less than the Thermaltake. I am now thinking that modular supplies with several rails probaly have too much to go wrong.
This is nvidia certified for two 8800gtx cards and it has a three year warranty.
.

Rackerz · 17 Nov 2007 at 22:08

My Thermaltake Toughpower takes a beating from me sometimes, I'm always adding odd bits and it hasn't failed yet. It could just be that type of power supply that isn't so good.

balth_dire · 22 Nov 2007 at 01:38

Sorry to hear of your woes!

I've recently used 2x 1200w thermaltakes (in seperate systems). Was hugely impressed with the low noise level, even at high load - so many companies insist their PSUs remain quiet under stress - well, this one genuinely does.

That said, I did have an issue with both units in getting my systems to resume from S3 standby (STR). Sometimes they would do so successfully, but around 50% of the time, I'd just get a blank screen and have to reboot.

Tweaking BIOS voltages helped a little, but not definitively. However, upon replacing with a PC P&C 1kw SR, the problem ceased immediately. If only the latter didn't have that "thrumming" tri blade Delta fan!

It has been reported some Thermaltakes have compatability issues with certain motherboards - the Striker Extreme being one - I don't believe these problems affect overall stability or are potentially hazardous to any components, but they may be worth researching.