Asus 1200W Thor PSU
Asus takes a hammer to the PSU market.
Along with a pair of new ROG AIO CPU coolers we’re reviewing from Asus, there’s now a power supply unit in the company’s stable. The Thor 1200W is the first Asus ROG power supply and like all ROG products, it has some interesting innovations that differentiate it from its competitors.
Asus is clearly looking to leverage the prestige of its ROG brand by expanding into components beyond its traditional motherboard and graphics card portfolios. Making a PSU from scratch is not an easy undertaking though, so Asus partnered with Seasonic to provide the platform for the Thor. The Thor is a 1200w rated power supply, though there’s also an 850W version too.
The 12v rail can supply up to 100A, which is enough for all but the craziest multi GPU systems. It carries an 80Plus Platinum rating. We’d like to have seen a Titanium rating, but alas it’s not to be.
It’s hard to describe a PSU as ‘attractive’, but the ROG Thor is exactly that. It’s black stylised casing looks great, and as you’d expect from almost any gaming product these days, there’s a few splashes of RGB lighting that are tastefully implemented.
The unique standout is the inclusion of a small OLED readout that shows how much AC power the PSU is drawing from the wall socket. This alone could be the deal maker for users weighing up purchasing one, as power consumption information is important to a lot of users. Of course you need a windowed case without a PSU shroud to make use of it, however. The little display is a good first step but we think it could be improved by adding detailed DC monitoring. For example you could select the PCIe rails or the EPS power connector to see how the power is being used. Perhaps a small detachable readout would be beneficial for those who cannot see the PSU panel itself.
Unfortunately we don’t have the expensive equipment to properly test power supplies, which is why we rarely cover them. Our test system with an i7-8700K and GTX 1080 Ti is a breeze for a high powered unit like this. It remained quiet and cool, a hallmark of highly efficient PSU models these days.
The Asus ROG Thor is no doubt a very high end PSU that looks fantastic, has a great spec and was completely inaudible throughout our testing. Like a lot of ROG products though, you really do have to pay a premium as it comes in at $549. At this price it’s up there with the flagship Titanium models from the likes of Corsair and Cooler Master. However, it’s not exorbitant for what you get. No other model has the good looks that the Thor has. While we think Asus could have done a little more with regards to the OLED display, the Thor is a solid first attempt from Asus. Throw in a 10 year warranty and the Thor 1200W could well power through many upgrades.