Topower Tiger Series 1200W PSU

With multi-GPU configurations becoming popular in todays gaming rigs, quality power delivery has become a necessity. Being no stranger to PSU’s, we review Topower’s latest 1200W offering.

Introduction

If you happen to be new to quality power supplies (PSU’s), you may actually have no clue who Topower (AKA Epower) is. With brands like Antec, Thermaltake, PC Power & Cooling, and Corsair dominating the power supply market, Topower is easily overlooked. The fact is, Topower has been making quality power supplies since 1986 when the company first formed. Being no stranger to power supplies, Topower is definitely a brand to keep on your list when building that next rig. If your current rig or future rig will have a demand for 1000+ watts, Topower’s Tiger 1200W PSU might just be the PSU that fits your bill.

Topower’s Tiger Series 1200W power supply is an affordable 1200W 80Plus certified PSU that comes with plenty of unique features. The most notable features are the modular power connections and much needed SATA to Molex adapters. Along with a very nice modular system, Topower made sure to give plenty of length with their cables, a massive 26 inches of length per cable. Aside from those features, this PSU is Quad SLI ready, has an Active PFC, comes with six 12v+ rails and even has a rail switch to toggle between six and single rail modes. Considering this PSU goes for $259, its hard to see why you would look elsewhere when you see that price. With so much history behind Topower, we were curious to see how the Tiger Series 1200W PSU compared to Sapphire’s new 1250W PSU and Thermaltake’s TR2 1000W PSU. Before moving onto testing, lets check out the specifications to see what this PSU is capable of.

Features & Specifications
 

 

Patented ATX 20+4 slide-in socket for motherboards supporting Intel and AMD multi-processors. Patented +12V Single and Multiple Rail Switch Easily convert extra SATA connectors to 4pin molex connectors 12 Serial ATA power lead for SATA devices Patented EMI filter added to enhance video performance by stablizing the output current to video cards 6+2 PCI-Express pin design providing 300W power per rail. Active PFC (Power Factor Correction) – High PFC Rate at 0.99 Safety & EMI Thermally controller fan Silent Engine Technology (Sanyo Denki 120mm 2-ball bearing fan) High Air Flow and Pressure for heat dissipation Full Range AC Input Circuit Protection (Over volt, over load, over current and short circuit protection) Three Year Warranty Nvidia SLI Certified 80PLUS Certified Cables & Accessories Included ATX 24 Pin & 20 Pin (x1) ATX 8 Pin (x1) ATX 4 Pin (x1) PCI-Express 6+2 Pin (x2) PCI-Express 6 Pin (x2) SATA (x8) Molex 4 Pin (x6) FDD (x2) SATA to Molex Adaptors (x4) Four Screws for mounting Four Cable Management Straps Owner’s Manual

Dimensions: (W X H X D) 5.8″X 3.5″X 6.825″ (150mm x 86mm x 175mm)
Weight: 9lbs
Model Number: EP-1200W-P10-T2
100-120 Vac / 200-240 Vac 60 / 50Hz
Tiger 1200 XLR
Voltage	3.3V	5V	12V1	12V2	12V3	12V4	12V5	12V6	-12V	5Vsb
Max spilt current	30A	30A	20A	20A	20A	20A	20A	20A	0.8A	6.5A
Max combine Power	200W		1008W(84A)						9.6W	17.5W
Total Wattage	1200W

A specific feature to keep in mind about this PSU is it’s Nvidia SLI certification. To meet Nvidia’s standards, PSU’s are put through vigorous testing to ensure electrical, mechanical, and thermal compatibility. Receiving this certification is no easy task. If you look at this link, you can see that not many companies have products meeting this certification. Topower has proven to Nvidia that their Tiger Series 1200W PSU is capable of meeting their strict standards, which says a lot about the build quality & performance of the PSU.

Along with receiving Nvidia’s SLI certification, the Tiger Series 1200W PSU has an Active PFC allowing the PSU to maintain quality power delivery no matter the circumstance. If you happen have to have dirty power in your area, you can be rest assured that the Active PFC will do its best to keep the power clean without degrading power delivery in the process.

Other than certifications and a wonderful modular design, the Tiger Series 1200W PSU also packs a total of six 12V+ rails. Having multiple 12V+ rails ensures stability when overclocking, using multiple graphics cards or doing a combination of both. Power delivery across the rails is very, very important. Lets move on to the next page to get a better understanding of why quality power delivery is vital when powering expensive hardware.

WHAT ABOUT THEM RAILS?
 

 

Pictures & Impressions

Topower used a very nice packaging setup with the Tiger Series 1200W PSU. From the pictures above you can see Topower used a drawer style box which houses everything needed to utilize the PSU. The PSU itself was neatly tucked into the top drawer while the accessories, cables and manual were stuffed into the bottom drawer. The material used to construct the box itself is similar to the material used on synthetic leather jewelry boxes. On the exterior of the box the typical specifications are listed on all sides. Very nice packaging from Topower.

Bundled with the PSU is an owners manual, cable management straps & zip ties, screws for mounting, patented SATA to Molex adapters, and a very thick & beefy power cable.

The Tiger Series 1200W PSU has a nickel mirror finish that is certainly pleasing to the eye. Before receiving our review sample, we didn’t think the PSU would look as good as it did in person. After unboxing it and seeing the PSU first hand, we were surprised at how good it actually looked. The pictures don’t do the PSU justice, you’d really have to see it in person to fully appreciate it aesthetically.

Topower paid a great deal of attention to detail when making this PSU. The modular design of the power connections is fantastic. The cables, which you can view below, are simply awesome. Instead of using traditional plastic clips to seat the cables into the PSU, Topower decided to use a screw on method which works very well. The cables screw on with ease and aesthetically it looks and feels very nice.

Above you can see the patented 20/24-pin switchable motherboard power cable, 4/8-pin CPU power cable, and the very awesome 6-pin & 6+2-pin PCI-Express power cable. The 6-pin with 6+2-pin PCI-Express power cable allows you to power a card requiring 6-pin and 8-pin PCI-E power with a single cable. Powering a multi-GPU setup requiring 6 & 8-pin PCI-E power per card would need only two cables unlike most PSU’s which would require four cables. This helps cable management greatly. Topower is managing to cover every area with this PSU. Aesthetics, cable management, power delivery, and build quality. It’s time to test this Tiger out.

Testing Methodology
 

For testing, a Kill-A-Watt wall socket meter was used to measure the total wattage consumed and a Ideal Multimeter was used to measure the voltages. To stress the hardware, we used Prime95 for voltage measuring and Crysis Warhead for system load stressing.

The current ATX 2.2 specifications allow for the following variation in voltage outputs:

• 3.3 Volt Rail:   3.135 – 3.465V
• 5 Volt Rail:      4.75V – 5.25V
• 12 Volt Rail:   11.4V – 12.6V
   

RESULTS

From the results you might guess that we possibly goofed up our testing. No power variations except on the 5v readings, not possible? Well, believe us, its possible. We ran our tests multiple times to make sure we weren’t crazy, but the same results were reported. Not only did the Tiger Series 1200W PSU compete well, it had almost no power variation whatsoever. Only on the 5v readings did the power delivery change, a measly 0.01v increase when under load. We would have liked to see lower a little lower idle readings but the full load readings look fantastic. Considering the variation is basically null, we can’t really complain about how this PSU performed. Power delivery doesn’t get much better than this.

Conclusion

Topower has without a doubt, created a competitively priced 1200W PSU that is worth every dollar of the $259 asking price. Touting 1200 watts, a very modular design, an Active PFC, useful SATA to Molex adapters, quiet operation and killer looks. There isn’t much to dislike about the Tiger Series 1200W PSU.

It performs like a Topower PSU should, its priced lower than its competitors, and its even backed by a three year warranty. The only reason not to recommend this PSU is if you don’t need 1200 watts of power. The fact is, no quality 1200W PSU is going to be ‘cheap’ but Topower has managed to build a high quality 1200W PSU that is affordable and has many features that its competitors don’t have. If you’re looking for a 1000W+ PSU that won’t empty the bank account, look no further.