In the beginning of this year when nVidia was promoting their ESA (Enthusiast System Architecture) technology they sent to selected media a Thermaltake Armor+ ESA case, a Thermaltake BigWater 780e water cooler and a Topower TOP-1100P10 power supply, and that is how we got the product we are reviewing. This power supply, however, never reached the market, but it is basically a Tagan ITZ1100 power supply with ESA support, so on this review we will be also indirectly evaluating this model from Tagan.
So during this review everything we are saying for Topower TOP-1100P10 is also valid for Tagan ITZ1100 but ESA support. ePower Xscale power supply series are also based on the same design, though they don’t carry any 1,100 W model, only 1,000 W and 1,200 W.
Topower TOP-1100P10 does not have a modular cabling system and it uses two 80-mm fans instead of one 120- or 140-mm fan on its bottom. As you know, 120-mm or bigger fans on the bottom of the power supply is preferred as they provide a higher air flow and a lower noise level.
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Figure 1: Topower TOP-1100P10 power supply.
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Figure 2: Topower TOP-1100P10 power supply.
This power supply is a little bit deeper than regular power supplies, with a depth of 6 57/64” (17.5 cm) instead of 6 19/64” (16 cm) or even 5 ½” (14 cm). It is, however, shorter than several products on this power range, like Corsair HX1000W, which is 7 7/8” (20 cm) deep.
It has six auxiliary power cables for video cards, two using 6/8-pin connectors and four using 6-pin connectors. Four of them use a nice cable with a ferrite bead at one end for filtering, but the other two connectors share the same cable. It would be better to see all six connectors using individual cables and ferrite beads on their ends.
Since very high-end video cards require two auxiliary power connectors with Topower TOP-1100P10/Tagan ITZ1100 you can power up to three very high-end cards directly. If you want to have a fourth very high-end video card you will need to use adaptors to convert peripheral power plugs into video card power connectors.
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Figure 3: Four of the five cables for video cards.
Topower TOP-1100P10 has six other cables for peripherals, one with just one standard peripheral power connector, two with three standard peripheral power connectors each (no power connector for floppy disk drives) and three with four SATA power connectors each.
The unit also has one EPS12V connector and one ATX12V connector using individual cables and the main motherboard connector uses a 20/24-pin connector.
The reviewed power supply has also a ground connector (which should be connected to any metallic point of your case) and one USB connector for the ESA feature (connector not available on Tagan ITZ1100, of course).
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Figure 4: Grounding and ESA connectors.
On the aesthetic side all cables use a nylon sleeving that comes from inside the power supply housing.
Several wires used on this power supply are thicker than usual (16 AWG instead of 18 AWG), which is terrific for a product on this power range. The only 18 AWG wires are the ones used on the cables shown on Figure 3. All the other wires are 16 AWG, including the ones on the main motherboard connector.
This power supply has active PFC, so it can be sold in Europe, and because of that it also features auto voltage selection. Tagan says its ITZ1000 unit has 80% minimum efficiency. Of course we will measure efficiency during our tests.
Let’s now take an in-depth look inside this power supply.
