Thermaltake GF1 SNOW 650W Power Supply Review

How Much Does it Cost?

Although exact UK prices were not available at the time of this review, Thermaltake lists the GF1 Snow 650W PSU with an MSRP of around £119.99/$124.99. A price which, if we’re being honest, is a little higher than we might have hoped. – Put simply, for a white aesthetic and admittedly substantially upgraded cabling, this costs around £30 more than the original ‘black’ version.

Yes, ‘white’ products nearly always cost more than their black counterparts. A factor largely due to a slightly more costly manufacturing process, and, of course, the need for significantly higher QC to ensure that the casing stays blemish-free (a scuff on white is a LOT more notable than one on black). – On the whole, though, I think I would’ve been happier, on a more generic level, had this been around £10-£20 less expensive.

Performance

On the whole, the results provided in our testing were a positive mixed bag. While some of the results were about what we were expecting, it’s hard to deny that others were exceptionally impressive. With this in mind, we are clearly placing a key focus on its efficiency performance which was massively higher than the official ‘Gold’ certification this has.

Our efficiency testing provided results suggesting that this PSU definitely fell more within the higher ‘Platinum’ territory and came very close (borderline) to the top-spec Titanium rating. And trust me when I say that if this PSU had one of those ratings, you could easily expect another £30-£50 to be added to the price tag (if not more!).

Overall, while some results were better than others, the Thermaltake GF1 SNOW is an excellent power supply!

Practicality & Functionality

With its white colouring, in terms of practicality, this is largely going to boil down to what the end-user is looking to achieve aesthetically. While this PSU could undoubtedly work in any system, you’re predominantly going to want to pick the ‘white’ variant to specifically work within a colour schemed setup. – Put simply, it might look a bit off plumped in a predominantly black chassis.

With its fully-modular cabling, that’s actually white, however, if you’re going for a clean and slick presentation, the Thermaltake GF1 SNOW offers plenty of practical and functional features. Albeit, with those upgraded cables, they are a little thick and terse, so for ultra-clean setups, you might want to have a small pile of white zip ties on stand-by.

The only mild question mark we have over functionality is with that ‘Smart’ fan functionality. Put simply, in our testing, it barely made any difference to a fan that was hardly noisy in the first place. I mean, this mode is there if you want it, but in truth, I don’t think Thermaltake needed to bother.

Should I Buy One?

This is honestly a tricky question to answer as it will predominantly lie within the needs and/or wishes of the consumer. With the black ‘standard’ version, you know you’re getting a quality PSU and one that has clearly been excellently translated into this ‘SNOW’ edition. A variant that has undoubtedly seen a few upgrades and improvements here and there. – With the extra cost of the ‘SNOW’ variant, however, the value and requirement/need of picking this particular design is, ultimately, going to boil down to how much you value the aesthetic of your finished system.

In terms of a power supply, the Thermaltake GF1 SNOW is excellent. There’s no doubting that whatsoever. As to whether this is worth the extra cost when compared to the original black version, however, will have to come down to you! – This ‘SNOW’ variant has undoubtedly seen upgrades, both in terms of design and aesthetics, for the extra cost though, this is surely only going to truly appeal to those going for brilliant white system designs.

Some will love this as an amazing option to really cap off their system. Others will see the additional cost as not being worth it. Any way you look at this though, black or white, you’re getting an amazing PSU!