Given the problems that surfaced with NVIDIA’s 12VHPWR adapters, the safest way to follow is with native PCIe 12+4 cables, which come with ATX v3.0 and PCIe 5.0 ready PSUs. The Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 1000 belongs to the new PSU generation and it is equipped with a 600W rated 12VHPWR connector, so it won’t have a problem powering a power-hungry RTX 4090 and a strong CPU, which won’t bottleneck it at high resolutions. 

I have already reviewed the Toughpower GF3 1200, GF3 850, and GF3 750, so it was high time to look at the GF3 1000. Like all other GF3 models, the 1000W member is ATX v3.0 and PCIe 5.0 ready, meaning that you won’t have to use 12VHPWR adapters with NVIDIA’s newest GPUs since a native 12+4 pin connector is provided, with a 600W rating. According to the ATX spec, a 1000W PSU should come with a 450W 12VHPWR connector, but no one has followed this rule so far. All brands and manufacturers provide 600W cables because it is easier to keep track of their inventories with only a single type of 12+4 pin connector. I can feel that. Imagine an error in the supply, bundling a lower rating cable, leading to performance issues and lots of RMAs. The worst thing that can happen if you have a 1000W or lower capacity PSU with a 12VHPWR connector informing the GPU that l the way up to 600W is to have a system restart under an extremely high load. This will be inconvenient,t it won’t damage the system or the PSU. It will be a warning that you need to lower the GPU power limit. To avoid such inconvenient situations and restarts under high loads, the ATX spec has equipped the 12VHPWR connector with Sense 0 and 1, which inform the GPU of the PSU’s power capabilities according to their settings.

The GF3 1000 uses a fully modular cable design, and thanks to its normal dimensions, with 160mm depth, it accommodates a large enough FDB fan provided by Hong Hua. Nevertheless, its noise output is pretty high, and the Cybenetics Standard+ noise rating shows that, since it means within 35-40 dBA average noise output, which is not low for a Gold efficiency PSU, even with 1000W max power. The GF3 1000 is also certified as Gold by Cybenetics and 80 PLUS. Lastly. with a 200-dollar price tag, you cannot call it affordable, but ATX v3.0 and PCIe 5.0 compatibility don’t come cheap. If you have already spent $2000 or more to get an RTX 4090, you should not cheap out on the PSU!

Cybenetics Report

Box & Bundle

The box offers good protection, and the PSU is also protected by a cloth, which is a nice touch. All modular cables are in a plastic bag, which you can use to store unused ones. The rest of the bundle includes some leaflets, fixing bolts, and some zip ties for cable management.

Product Photos

The PSU follows the typical Thermaltake PSU design, with small perforations on its inlet (fan grille) and exhaust. TT needs to revise the exterior design at some point to allow for better airflow and lower noise output.

Cables

The cables are long, and there is a 12+4 pin connector, but there are not many PCIe cables for the previous generation graphics cards or the upcoming AMD ones, which won’t use 12VHPWR connectors. It will be crazy, but we will see it, 12VHPWR to 6+2 PCIe connectors, because it is not safe to use piggy-tail PCIe cables, with both 6+2 PCIe connectors utilized, in power-hungry GPUs. Lastly, it is nice to see an adequate distance between all peripheral connectors.

Protection Features