PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 860 Power Supply @ [H]

FrgMstr

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
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PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 860 Power Supply - PC Power & Cooling has been purchased by OCZ since our last review of its aging PSU infrastructure. Today PCP&C brings a new build to the table that sports an impressive feature set and hopefully that PCP&C build quality many enthusiasts love.

The PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 860 is a good power supply that does well in all our tests and everything about its build quality, voltage regulation, efficiency, and DC Output quality make us want to unabashedly recommend this unit. However, we are left with a bit of a conundrum as while the unit lived up to our expectations for the most part, the unit fails to live up to its own marketing spiel in regards to its voltage regulation and adjustable potentiometers.
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Nice review! PC Power & Cooling seem to be slipping up here lately on their quality. I'm still going for that BFG that was reviewed.:cool:
 
Interesting, well I see the price as being too high, considering that I am already seeing the Corsair HX1000w appear for around the same price.

Edit.......some sites are doing pre-orders.....think it won't show up till next month.
 
I also question the potentiometers on the PSU. I have (and recently buried) an Antec TrueControl 550. I have adjusted those potentiometers exactly once, when I installed it. (using a Fluke True RMS multimeter on the outputs for 5v and 12v, leaving 3.3 alone since I couldn't directly measure it.) It seems like it'd be a cool feature, but it really is useless.
 
Proxy said:
Nice review! PC Power & Cooling seem to be slipping up here lately on their quality. I'm still going for that BFG that was reviewed.:cool:
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Well the actual build quality here is a real step up in comparison to the 1KW-SR in that the secondary now has better capacitors and they are using either copper plated or copper heatsinks. The reason it may not seem that the unit is as big a step up has everything to do with the units advertising and PR.
 
Potentiometers are not useless. They are necessary for vmods that run directly off the rails. This PSU is considered to be a overclocker's unit so it is nice to see they added the functionality.
 
fldrice said:
Potentiometers are not useless. They are necessary for vmods that run directly off the rails. This PSU is considered to be a overclocker's unit so it is nice to see they added the functionality.
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I think you missed the part about how much you can adjust the pots (and in which directions) and the ability to actually monitor them.
 
I just bought one of these based off of Anandtechs review of one. That and I have been running a 510 Turbo SLI PCP&C PSU in my rig for 3 years with absolutely no issues so I decided to go with PCP&C again even though I almost got the Corsair 750 watter.

I don't know why you guys say the fan was so loud. True those damn deltas are not as quiet as say a 120 or 130 mm fan, etc.. but on my machine the fan on my 860 is actually quieter than it was on my 510, I suppose noise is subjective.

I only have 2 gripes about this supply and they are minor. 1. Price, 270 bucks is a ton of money for a PSU but I figure, 7 year warranty kinda helps make up for some of that, maybe... :p and 2. If I am paying almost three hundred bucks for a power supply why the hell can't you sleeve it all the way to the connectors and put black connectors on it instead of white ? :confused: I dont want to spend extra money for you to do what I think should be standard for a High end PSU.

Overall I'm pleased with my purchase. :D
 
Paul,

What's your opinion of PCP&C units in general? The impression I'm getting based on the reviews I've read here (and a few other sites) is that they're not bad, but they're not necessarily quite living up to their reputation as being the best of the best either.
 
Kangg said:
I don't know why you guys say the fan was so loud. True those damn deltas are not as quiet as say a 120 or 130 mm fan, etc.. but on my machine the fan on my 860 is actually quiter than it was on my 510, I suppose noise is subjective.
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Because it is?

Seriously, in the office I have the SM-8800 which is rated at ~50dBA, 2 IBM 1u servers, and an Intel 510T switch. At full load this power supply is the loudest thing in the room. So I can't really make actual quantifiable sound measurements but I know Lee at PcPer can and his results at less than full load I am sure will reinforce how loud this unit is (though it is a touch quieter than the 1KW-SR).
 
Kyle, did you check with your legal department before using the "MOAR POWR!!1" headline?

There's a fair chance that phrase is pwned by another company, or soon will be.
 
Nice review, I would agree that for the money though, there's definitely some equal or better options.
 
Paul_Johnson said:
Well the actual build quality here is a real step up in comparison to the 1KW-SR in that the secondary now has better capacitors and they are using either copper plated or copper heatsinks. The reason it may not seem that the unit is as big a step up has everything to do with the units advertising and PR.
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Paul, do you think that the BFG is still a better buy between the two then? I just want the most bang for my buck on PSU's, I plan on getting my new rig up when the 9800GTX's are out.
 
"From what is provided with this unit I am half tempted to check my receipt for a core charge!"
Thanks, now i have soda on my monitor. lol
OT the last master cylinder I replaced at least came with bleeding instructions.:p
 
when you build the best its hard to stay there...(510 FTW)

I must say I am really enjoying your reviews, excellent job [H]
 
I bought an 860 to give me more room in my new case modified for fluid cooling (Putting the longer 1KW in my air cooled case). Seems no louder than the 1KW and works well so very happy with it. Been Using PCP&C exclusively except for one OCZ I bought when they first came out with their own model a few years back. Really like dealing with the PCP&C people. They have made me special length and specialty wiring when needed so can't say enough about that option. Wish they would also have a case paint mod option too.
 
Proxy said:
Paul, do you think that the BFG is still a better buy between the two then? I just want the most bang for my buck on PSU's, I plan on getting my new rig up when the 9800GTX's are out.
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Well the thing is the BFG isn't available, yet. Once it is, the BFG offers a few features that really do work as advertised, will be cheaper, has better overall efficiency, and is quieter. That isn't to say that the Turbo-Cool isn't good as it has slightly better voltage regulation (but outside of what it is advertised as having), offer custom wiring harness', and is well built. In the end it is a tossup for the user to decide based on what is most important to them.
 
Proxy said:
Paul, do you think that the BFG is still a better buy between the two then? I just want the most bang for my buck on PSU's, I plan on getting my new rig up when the 9800GTX's are out.
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Silverstone and Corsair/Seasonic are better price/performance than most PC Power & Cooling units anymore.
 
Thanks for the review guys!

I can't see recommending the PCP&C 860 to any of my customers until they fix the loud fan noise.
 
Paul_Johnson said:
I think you missed the part about how much you can adjust the pots (and in which directions) and the ability to actually monitor them.
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From the review:
These holes allow users to adjust the output voltages on the 12v, 5v, and 3.3v rail as they please. However, this feature is something of a mixed bag in our assessment. While this does give the user fine control over their DC output voltages there are two issues with this idea. The first being, the DC output voltage regulation on this unit is supposed to be 1.5% so why do users need to be adjusting their potentiometers?...Second, the feature is going to be misused...So how accurate, or prudent, will it be to allow users to adjust their potentiometers when so many adjustments will be based on these extremely popular and extremely inaccurate methods of checking voltages?
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Based upon the principle that this psu is targeted towards the more extreme overclocker, these points loose their validity as anyone who uses vmods will tell you a digital multimeter is neccessary for accurate readings.
 
fldrice said:
From the review:


Based upon the principle that this psu is targeted towards the more extreme overclocker, these points loose their validity as anyone who uses vmods will tell you a digital multimeter is neccessary for accurate readings.
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Ok I think you may not quite understand what you are saying. Lets think about this for a second here. What rail is your vmod running at 3.3v? or 5v? or 12v? Well lets just say its 3.3v just for arguements sake. Now your contention that they (user adjustable potentiometers) are neccesary to run your vmod "that run directly off the rails" is flawed in this case because of a couple of things. The first being ALL power comes "directly off of the rails" for all peripherials that are connected to the power supply. Now if what you meant say was you are splicing the wiring here then you still have a problem. The Turbo-Cool 3.3v rail can only be adjusted down (I don't really consider trimming the pot up 0.01v to be up that significant a change) which would allow you to drop the voltage. This is great for exactly what, since while you are trimming that 3.3v rail down you are ALSO trimming the voltage to the memory down. Now far be it for me to suggest that if you are an "extreme overclocker" you might NOT want to undervolt your RAM. This same principle goes for your 5v rail or your 12v rail. All you can do is DROP the voltages and the problem is those rails are still feeding other componenets which by DROPPING the voltage (if that is what you are attempting to do in your "extreme overclocking" vmod) will be dropping your voltages to EVERYTHING fed by that rail which generally isn't the best idea to maintaining a stable system.

And your general 3 1/2 digit multimeter is only barely better than software.
 
Yeah, i'm not sure I see the value in the adjustable pots, either. My OCZ 520W PSU came with them on the back, with little LED's over each one (green is within spec, yellow slightly out, red OMFG) which makes it a little more useful, I suppose.

I have never touched them, though, since I'm fully aware I don't have the hardware to adjust them in a way that would benefit me.
 
My PC Power & Cooling 510 has them externally. They are fun to play with. Voltage up, down,up,down up,down...;)
(kind of like when my mom used to tell me to stop playing with the power windows)
 
Seems like a solid power supply. I just don't understand the point of adjustable voltage potentiometers. Doesn't make sense to me and seems completely unneeded and hardly useful in any positive way. But with or without them, a very nice piece of equipment.

- Joey
 
I sure wouldn't give this thing a Silver star just because of the noise. I don't know what the attraction is to some who think it's natural for a computer to sound like an airplane. If I want noise, I can go outside and get it anywhere. On my computer, I don't want any, other than what's coming from the speakers. When I sit in front of my computer, I want to do things on it, not put on a helmet and goggles and fly around the airport. When I hear the word "Delta", I lose all interest. Give me something that pushes a sufficient amount of air at the slowest speed possible. No need for this turbo crap anymore.
 
from the looks of things here it looks like i should stay away from a PC Power & Cooling psu....bummer i usually hear pretty good things about those guys
 
reaperr said:
from the looks of things here it looks like i should stay away from a PC Power & Cooling psu....bummer i usually hear pretty good things about those guys
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I don't see any reason why you should stay away from PC Power and Cooling. I do see things that should be considered when buying one and things that could/should be done better but not anything that screams flaming pile of dog poo.
 
in your power chart on the second page, it reports the combined rating of the 12v rails as 900watts, which is clearly higher than the totality of the PSU rating itself... what's up with that?
 
BloodyIron said:
in your power chart on the second page, it reports the combined rating of the 12v rails as 900watts, which is clearly higher than the totality of the PSU rating itself... what's up with that?
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It is a typo. I'll correct it tonight. I was going to split the column because PC Power and Cooling claims a continuous and a peak rating on the unit...but when I didn't I ended up apparently not formating the image correctly. Sorry for the confusion.
 
Yeah, I think by 900 he means 768W (12v @ 64A).

According to the label, though, the thing can do 70A peak on the 12v rail, which gives it 840W peak on the 12v rail. 840W+150W on the 3.3 and 5v = 990W compared to the label stating 930W peak, so obviously all of that peak power isn't available at the same time. Interesting that taking the 768W plus the 150W for the 3.3 and 5v nets you 918W, though.

Where does 860 come from?

Anyway, I think he means 768W on the 12V rail, not 900.

edit: he beat me to it
 
Actually the testing paper that came with mine showed 866 watts continuous output for what it's worth.
 
Now that I own a PCP&C, I will never buy a $50 PS ever again. And I would have to read something phenomenal for me to ever switch to another brand.
 
I'm sure going from $50 PSU to PCP&C would seem phenomenal. ;)
 
I came soooo close to going with the Corsair TX750, But I've not owned a Corsair psu before so I stuck with PCP&C this round. Not been disapointed so far ....... :D
 
Just picked up one of these for my CrossfireX (soon) system and this is one nice PSU. I'm happy with my purchase.
 
Uberbob102000 said:
Just picked up one of these for my CrossfireX (soon) system and this is one nice PSU. I'm happy with my purchase.
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As you should be of you are not a noise fanatic. ;)

Regarding the pots, people must remember that there is no free lunch in the world of electronics. I'd be curious to understand what do these POTS actually do to give the "voltages" a small boost? If it is used to change the time-constant of a duty-cycle controlling mechanism, the effects of this may be felt elsewhere (like efficiency or EMI). Given the location of the POTS, it is not wrong to speculate that this ties in with the PWM/PFC daughter-board. I dunno how else this can be accomplished.
 
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