Review: Geil, long known for it's high-end memory sticks, enters the PSU space with the Thortech Thunderbolt. Does it match up?
You probably haven’t heard of Thortech before, but it’s the newly minted Power Supply brand of stalwart RAM manufacturer GEIL. Its first foray into the power supply world is the Thortech Thunderbolt Plus 800W. This is an 80 Plus Gold certified PSU, which notably comes with a 5.25in front panel readout, designed to give you a close idea of how the PSU is faring.
This front panel includes such information as voltage and wattage draws on each rail, real-time efficiency and also provides for fan control and temperature monitoring. It attaches to a special captive cable running out the back of the PSU, which is all the configuration needed.
While the front panel is Thortech’s main point of difference over the competition, the PSU itself is also nothing to be sneezed at. It is of a modular design, shipping with the normal array of captive ATX and PCI-E power cables as well as a bag with separate cabling for drives and the like. Our only negative comment about this is that, for some reason, the sleeving used on the cables ends a few centimeters short of the actual plugs. This isn’t a problem from a technical perspective, mainly an aesthetic one, but we do wonder why GEIL didn’t sleeve the entire cable.
Our testing of the unit left us impressed. This is definitely a great performer – despite the fact that most of the salient information is displayed on the front panel we still double checked with a multimeter. Not only is the info pretty accurate, the unit itself was great. It delivered constant power on all the rails, and didn’t struggle under load.
At the time of writing local pricing was yet to be confirmed, but the US RRP for the Thunderbolt Plus was $240. This premium pricing will mean that the PSU isn’t for everyone, but Thortech has at least provided hardware that backs it up. Not only is the PSU a highly efficient performer, the front panel addition is pretty damn cool and fairly accurate. This is certainly a great debut in a crowded market from GEIL.
Issue: 137 | June, 2012