Test: Einzeltest: Thermaltake Litepower 450W Power Supply
Zitat: The Thermaltake LitePower 450W is a prime example of a mainstream power supply that is good enough to serve in an entry-level gaming performance role. With two +12v rails, a single 6-pin PCIe and up to 450W of continuous power, the LitePower 450W is simply not going to handle a high-end video card. But since current spec dictates a maximum of 75W draw through the PCIe slot, plus another 75W via external 6-pin PCIe connector, pretty much any card rated at 150W or less can be used. This means an nVidia GTS 250 or 9800GTX+ or ATI HD 4850, all certainly respectable gaming cards, would represent about the max you could get away with without using adapters and taking chances. Thermaltake has used a couple different OEM power supply manufacturers in the past, typically ones with a good reputation. The LitePower series doesn´t disappoint, and according to UL rating is made by FSP Group, or Fortron Source Power as you may know them. It´s good to know that Thermaltake hasn´t skimped even on their mainstream power supplies, and the LitePower 450W can handle up to 24A on each of its +3.3v and +5v rails, with an additional 34A combined for the dual +12v lines. Certified 80 Plus Bronze for power efficiency and boasting Active PFC and an impressive five year warranty, the LitePower 450W should provide users with many years of faithful service. I do have a few gripes with the LitePower 450W, one of which is that the +12v cable is simply too short. We´re seeing more and more mid-tower and oversize mid-tower cases come to market with bottom-mount power supply locations, and the LitePower 450W barely worked in this configuration, or not at all if use of the other PCI slots were required. It´s also only a 4-pin +12v connector rather than the increasingly more popular 8-pin or 4+4pin type. I do realize that the EPS spec allows for up to 28A of current, which is more than the LitePower 450W can provide on one of its +12v lines, and actually leads me into my next point that being only a 450W power supply, it would probably be better to use a single combined +12v rail. With larger power supplies having three, four or even six individual +12v rails, they´ve got lines to spare, although they still run the risk of having untapped power "trapped" on other rails where it can´t be used. Another complaint is the use of a single SATA cable with four connectors inline, which probably can´t reach an optical drive and hard drive at the same time, at least not without some creative drive mounting. Thermaltake´s MSRP on the LitePower 450W is $89.99 which definitely places it higher up the price range for a mainstream power supply. Although I found it online for as much as $20 cheaper that´s still in the ballpark of most well-known, quality 500W, 550W and 600W power supplies, even those competing models from Thermaltake, the PurePower 600W for example. Once you take into account that these slightly higher-rated units also typically carry support for SLI/Crossfire, and have multiple PCIe cables, the LitePower 450W begins to look a bit outclassed. While the LitePower 450W is certainly a good power supply, and it handles a single 150W video card with ease, if it were my money I´d want a few more and longer cables, and a little more power in reserve to handle any possible future upgrades, such as a quad-core processor and a more powerful or second graphics card.
