Purepower 500 W (W0100RU) is an entry-level power supply from Thermaltake. Is this a good pick for users on a tight budget? Let’s see.

This power supply is manufactured by CWT, being a rebranded PUF-405 from this manufacturer.

Analyzing the power supply label, something immediately caught our attention. In very small letters the manufacturer says that the maximum power from this unit is 405 W (which makes sense, as it is a rebranded 405 W unit, PUF-405 from CWT), with 500 W being the maximum peak power. We wonder why a well-known brand like Thermaltake would still use this sordid technique to deceive consumers.

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Figure 1: Thermaltake Purepower 500 W power supply.

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Figure 2: Thermaltake Purepower 500 W power supply.

Thermaltake Purepower 500 W is 5 ½” (140 mm) deep, using a 120 mm fan on its bottom. Although not having active PFC circuit, this unit is based on a modern design, as we will show later.

There is no modular cabling system and all cables have nylon sleevings that don’t come from inside the unit. All wires are 18 AWG, which is the correct gauge to be used. The cables included are:

• Main motherboard cable with a 20/24-pin connector, 19 ¼” (49 cm) long.
• One cable with two ATX12V connectors that together form an EPS12V connector, 20 7/8” (53 cm) long.
• One cable with one six-pin connector for video cards, 20 ½” (52 cm) long.
• One cable with four SATA power connectors, 19 ¾” (50 cm) to the first connector, 5 7/8” (15 cm) between connectors.
• Two cables with four standard peripheral power connectors and one floppy disk drive power connector each, 20 ½” (52 cm) to the first connector, 5 7/8” (15 cm) between connectors.

This configuration is not bad for an entry-level product, although we’d like to see the SATA power connectors separated in two different cables instead of being all combined on a single cable.

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Figure 3: Cables.

Now let’s take an in-depth look inside this power supply.