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The Verdict.
Buying yourself a power supply these days is a harder task then you'll originally think. How much capacity do you need? What kind of system are you building? How much money are you willing to spend on a quality PSU? Should it be SLI/Crossfire capable with 2 12 volt rails? Should it be near silent? Should it be aesthetically pleasing? Would you like to invest in absolute stability? Do you hate "ordinary" wiring ? These are just a few factors in your decision and they are all related to the purchase of a PSU.
The PurePower 520w PST is designed to give you an opportunity like other modular PSUs to only use the cables you absolutely need. By itself this is nothing new but in this review you were able to find out how it performs and how well this modular design works out so much better compared to others.
Face it, it is a little gem. There are two minor things though that I have to mention. The first of those being the 15 AMPS 12 volt rails. If you construct a high-end SLI compatible PSU with two specific dedicated 12 volt rails (which by itself is fantastic of course) the 15 AMPS value is not a very high rating. I think 20 or 22 AMPs at the 12 Volts rails is appropriate if you offer a high-end SLI or Crossfire compatible PSU. None-the-less ... the PSU did survive our stress test perfectly though, an overclocked SLI system with two 7800 256Mb GTX cards. That was seriously amazing stuff. I think this had to do with the fact that we had the active PFC model. The second so-so has to be the 5.25" distribution box (power station). Fantastic idea, yet it's really not a nice-looking piece of material is it ? When you look at it from the front side I mean. A 100% internal solution would have been better. But hey .. tastes differ though, and I'm sure many of you will say that I'm wrong here.
But quite often the positives win, and they certainly do with the Power Station 520W. The PSU is magnificent and more than capable enough in many ways.
It's silent, so extremely moddable and then there is the power line distribution which by itself I think is just a fantastic idea to begin with. I can't understand that nobody thought of this earlier. Very clever stuff indeed. With this kit you'll receive more than enough cables, a very good PSU, the "bling" factor, and of course a lot of value for money. It cleans up the interior mess of your PC and will make it a really nice, tidy and lit up environment to look at. At roughly 130 EUR/USD it's not the most cheap PSU offered in that large market but also not a very expensive one. It really does stand out from the rest for sure. This is definitely recommended and very original idea.
I have to admit that I have been rather impressed by the quality products that Thermaltake is capable of delivering. First the Tai-Chi case we recently reviewed, now this PSU. Granted it's not the cheapest available PSU, but for sure it will be a worthy investment. PSU's are so important these days, if not for stability then in this case for the aesthetics and features it offers. The looks, well, it'll make your PC look simply gorgeous.
Our thanks go out to ThermalTake for the opportunity to study this power supply.
PurePower PST520W ATXModel: w0073 (active PFC)
Manufacturer: Thermaltake
Price: 135 USD/EUR
Info: website
