ThermalTake has been constantly surprising me with their innovative releases of coolers, cases and power supplies. I believe it was their Butterfly power supply unit (PSU) that first really caught my eye and made me consider ThermalTake as a viable PSU manufacturer. That was one very unique power supply that not only showed me that style made all the difference in a PSU, but the functions of a PSU can extend beyond the box and cables themselves. Today, I am taking a look at their latest power supply, and one that shows that ThermalTake is determined to stay one step ahead of the competition. Their TWV500 PSU supports the latest ATX 12V 2.0 standard, has a modular cable management system, PSU fan speed controller and, the one thing that sets this unit apart, a Total Watts Viewer (TWV) which shows just how much power your system is using at any particular moment.
What's included in the box?
ThermalTake put in a few extras that I wouldn't have expected in a power supply package, but they are definitely welcome additions.
- ThermalTake TWV500 500W PSU
- Power Cord
- 4 screws
- 5.25?drive bay fan speed controller and TWV display
- 120mm case fan
- 1x 24-pin Main connector
- 1x 4-pin +12V power connector
- 9x 4-pin Peripheral Power Connector
- 2x 4-pin Floppy Drive Connector
- 4x 5-pin SATA Connector
- 2x 6-pin PCI Express Connector
Features of the PurePower TWV500 ATX 12V 2.0
Here are some of the basic features of the TWV500 PSU;
| P/N | W0057 | | Maximum Power | 500 Watts | | Switches | ATX Logic on-off additional power rocker switch | | Color | Black | | PFC (Power Factor Correction) | Active PFC | | Cooling System | Blue LED 12cm Fan: Speed: 1300~2800 RPM
Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 25 mm
Temp. Auto Control | | P.G. Signal | 100-500ms | | Over Voltage Protection recycle AC to reset | +5V trip point < +7.0V
+3.3V trip point < +4.5V
+12V trip point <+16V | | Dimensions | | Unit Size | 15cm(L)x14cm(W)x8.6cm(H) | | Net Weight | 2kg | | Noise | 17dBA at 1300RPM | | Input | | Input Voltage | 115 VAC / 230 VAC | | Input Frequency Range | 50 ~ 60 Hz | | Input Current | 10A | | Hold-up Time | 16ms | | Efficiency | > 70% |
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Technical Specifications
Knowing the power distribution of a PSU is fairly important when you are planning for a heavy load system such as an SLI configuration or dual processors. Let's take a look at the distribution on the TWV500.
| Output | | | +3.3V | +5V | +12V | +12V | -12V | +5VSB | | Max. Load | 30A | 30A | 18A | 18A | 0.5A | 2A | | Min. Load | 0.2A | 2.5A | 0.5A | 0.5A | 0.05A | 0.05A | | Load Reg. | +5% ~ -5% | +5% ~ -5% | +5% ~ -5% | +5% ~ -5% | +5% ~ -5% | +5% ~ -5% | | Ripple V(p-p) | 50mV | 50mV | 120mV | 120mV | 150mV | 100mV |
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While there are only two +12V rails in this power supply, they provide a total of 36 amps which has proven to be more than enough in other ThermalTake power supplies. With a maximum of 30 amps on each of the +3.3V and +5V rails, it doesn't look like a computer can run too low on power with this unit.
Taking a look at the ThermalTake TWV500
The TWV500 PSU is stylish in ways that are completely different from previous power supplies reviewed on Bytesector.
First of all, while it is of little consequence to many people, I must say that I like the label that ThermalTake put on the side of this unit. As you can see, all technical information is located on the top of the unit rather than the side. The back of this unit is also unique as it has a honeycomb styled grill for ventilation. This style of grill is much preferred over 1/16?slots carved out of the metal every sixteenth of an inch, as it allows for much more efficient cooling of the unit.
