Thermaltake TR2 TR-500 500W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply

Pros: Out of the box, the power supply was easy to install and run.

Cons: Failed after less than 35,000 hours in climate controlled, always on environment at less than 75% of rated load will protected by UPS rated at double power supply rating. This product is "guaranteed" for an MBTF in excess of 100,000 hours. Manufacturer does not stand behind guarantee.

Contact with Manufacturer Customer Service Rep very unsatisfactory.

Other Thoughts: Thermaltake will no longer be a provider for us. We will not recommend them to anyone.

Pros: Works.. I think

Cons: A video card that I have had no problem for 3 years suddenly fried 5 minutes into the first intense graphic video game I played when connected to this new PSU.

And the light that comes on the video card now? It stands for insufficient power. Will sometimes boot half way up and just crash with that light.

Other Thoughts: It's likely this psu had something to do with this video card dying. How much? Inconclusive.

Pros: Its really built well ans very quiet

Cons: None at this time

Other Thoughts: simple installation and plenty of connection plugs, I am still baffled why they still make power connectors for floppy drives.

Pros: It was easy to install and is very quiet when running. The cable management system is a nice feature too.

Cons: Reliability isn't good at all. Dying after 3 weeks of use. The fan is starting to make a grinding noise and stops every now and then. I don't think I want to buy another Thermaltake product after this.

Other Thoughts: Hopefully I can just send it back and get some other brand of power supply.

Pros: This is the third time I've ordered a power supply from Thermaltake and I am very happy with all of them. They are reliable, the quality is good and they are very quiet, in fact, you may think that the unit is not running if you do not listen carefully or look at the fan.

My first one has been running in one of my computers since 2009 and it is still going strong. I expect the other ones to perform the same.

Cons: Label on only one side. Cannot see it on my computer since you access the inside from the right panel, not the left as most other computers.

Other Thoughts: I ordered this unit after buying a Corsair 430W power supply - which was a mistake. The unit was defective and I had to send it back for repair. Lessons learned. I should have paid a bit more for the Thermaltake and I would have saved a lot of time, money (for the return shipment) and the aggravation.

Pros: Has a lot of connections for its price range. For $30 its powering my old Q6600 overclocked to 3.2 ghz and my 5870 overclocked to 950 core 1250 memory and a ocz ssd and 2 wd 7200 rpm hard drives.

Cons: Light feel and a lot of reviews had problems with them dying.

Pros: worked, nice cabling,looked nice, was silent

Cons: purchased on 2/8/13 worked almost silent till 5/3/13, then all of a sudden terrible fan noise, disconnected all other fans in system,still horrible noise, only psu left. restarted system, quiet for 2 min.s back to the rattle. no hardware load changes on the system, and only checking email and writing this review when fan started faultering. 90 day failure is unacceptable!!!

Manufacturer Response:

Hi sd,
We at Thermaltake apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you. We can replace it through warranty service. Please contact our customer service team for RMA instructions.
Thermaltake USA Customer Service
email: ttsupport@thermaltakeusa.com
Toll free: 1-800-988-1088 M-F 9:00AM ~ 5:30PM (P.S.T)
011

Pros: Didn't take my mobo with it.

Cons: Lasted 20 seconds. Loud pop, tripped the breaker on the UPS. No more 5V thereafter.

Other Thoughts: The only good in this unit is that when it failed, it didn't take my setup with it. Returned and replaced with Corsair.

Manufacturer Response:

Hi spuwho,
We at Thermaltake apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you. We can replace it through warranty service. Please contact our customer service team for RMA instructions.
Thermaltake USA Customer Service
email: ttsupport@thermaltakeusa.com
Toll free: 1-800-988-1088 M-F 9:00AM ~ 5:30PM (P.S.T)

Pros: It's "cheap"--but not really see below.

Cons: 1) No need for 500+ wattts. With intel, amd and nvidia getting very energy efficient the need for power supplies over 400 watts is not there. The vast majority will not need A QUALITY supply over 300 watts, even most "gamers."

2) The "hidden" total cost of ownership is high. At the most this supply is ~75% efficient. (There should be no incentive to sell these very inefficient supplies--like CAFE for AUTOS). Say this costs you a dollar a month over a 80 PLUS gold or Platinum. In a four year period--that is at least $48 dollars. Then for the remaining life of the supply which for quality could be 10 years or more--that cheap supply costs everyone much more than the top rated units!

There are plenty of better options at newegg and quality used units on "auction sites."

Other Thoughts: 1) Buy the smallest unit that can accommodate you. SO you want to buy a supply that will function most of the time in the 40-80% load range. With the advent of the 28nm graphics cards you don't need massive power supplies unless you will spend hundreds of dollars on an dual or triple graphics card setups. Almost all "normal" users need a quality unit under 400 watts. A Sandy or Ivy Bridge without an external graphics card draws under 125W under all scenarios at full load. (Thats only 25% of a 400 watt rated unit.) With the relatively efficient latest generation of graphics cards under 200$ it will draw under 250W. (That's about 63% of a 400w unit.)

2) IF buying new, always buy at least 80 plus rated supplies. This can be tricky at smaller loads under 400 watts but you will see that several manufacturers that make them here on the egg but the search on newegg doesnt show them!!: a***c, S*****C sell great units below 400W. The latter company that sounds like "noise on ocean" has top quality durable, quiet, "bulk ATX" units in the 300-400w range (with no fancy paint) listed on their website and which newegg sells for under $50 (search for the exact model unit) which will serve you very very well and save you good money in the long run.

Pros: It's "cheap"--but no really see below.

Long warranty BUT it will cost you as much as you paid for it to ship it back!

Cons: 1) No need for 500+ wattts. With intel, amd and nvidia getting very energy efficient the need for power supplies over 400 watts is not there. The vast majority will not need A QUALITY supply over 300 watts, even most "gamers."

2) The "hidden" total cost of ownership is high. At the most this supply is ~75% efficient. (There should be no incentive to sell these very inefficient supplies--like CAFE for AUTOS). Say this costs you a dollar a month over a 80 PLUS gold or Platinum. In a four year period--that is at least $48 dollars. Then for the remaining life of the supply which for quality could be 10 years or more--that cheap supply costs everyone much more than the top rated units!

Other Thoughts: There are plenty of better options at newegg and quality used units on "auction sites."

1) Buy the smallest unit that can accommodate you. SO you want to buy a supply that will function most of the time in the 40-80% load range. With the advent of the 28nm graphics cards you don't need massive power supplies unless you will spend hundreds of dollars on a dual or triple graphics card setups. Almost all "normal" users need a quality unit under 400 watts. A Sandy or Ivy Bridge without an external graphics card draws under 125W under almost all scenarios at full load. (Thats only 25% of a 400 watt rated unit.) With the relatively efficient latest generation of graphics cards under $200 it will draw under 250W. (That's about 63% of a 400w unit.)

2) IF buying new, always buy at least 80 plus rated supplies. This can be tricky at smaller loads under 400 dollars but you will see that several manufacturers that make them here on the egg but the search on newegg doesnt show them!!: a***c, S*****C sell great units below 400W. The latter company that sounds like "noise on ocean" has top quality durable, quiet, "bulk ATX" units in the 300-400w range (with no fancy paint) listed on their website and which newegg sells for under $50 (search for the exact model unit) which will serve you very very well and save you good money in the long run.