FSP Hydro PTM PRO 1200W Power Supply Review

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Conclusion

The FSP Hydro PTM PRO 1200W is one of few high-powered PSU’s we have seen here at TheFPSReview to date. In addition to that, it is the second (and largest capacity) ATX12v/EPS power supply we have seen from FSP. However, FSP is not new to the PSU market as they are one of the largest PSU OEMs and they have been competing in the enthusiast space more and more aggressively over the years.

In addition, their Hydro G PRO 1000W was a seriously good power supply when we saw it not too long ago. So, while FSP is taking a leap up in capacity today, they have shown that they have the chops at the level just below this. This means we have to ask; will this prove to be just too much capacity from FSP to match the expectations enthusiasts have? Or will this be another real PRO? Let’s see.

Build Quality

Today’s FSP Hydro PTM PRO 1200W starts things off with a build quality that seems very good/excellent. Externally, the finish that this unit has is the same as the FSP Hydro G PRO 1000W. That also means that one downside to the branding is that we see stickers instead of some form of printing on the unit directly. Back on the high side, we see that the unit is equipped with flat FlexForce style cables and it has a rather unique fan guard.

When we move to the interior of the unit, we see generally a well-integrated modern topology and high-quality components. Among these components, we find Nippon Chemi-con and Hitachi standard capacitors coupled with Nippon Chemi-con solid capacitors. The soldering is overall decent but not quite as good as the last unit we saw from FSP. Moving on to the support side of things, we see that this unit is covered by a 10-year warranty and not great documentation.

Load Testing

Today’s FSP Hydro PTM PRO 1200W provides us with passing results overall. Indeed, we saw voltage regulation of up to 0.38v on the 12v rail, 0.02v on the 5v rail, and 0.02v on the 3.3v rail. This voltage regulation is certainly very good/excellent in absolute terms on the minor rails but less so on the 12v rail. On top of that, in a relative sense, this unit was mixed with the SilverStone ST1200-PTS. This unit also passed our Torture Test in fine shape.

Moving on to the unit’s efficiency, we see that it ranged from 89.96% to 92.47% at 120v and of 87.24% to 91.62% at 100v. On top of that, when we tested the unit’s 80 Plus performance we found that it met the advertised 80 Plus Platinum standard.

When we look at the Transient Load Tests results for the FSP Hydro PTM PRO 1200W today, we see results that are in specification. When directly loaded, the 12v rail showed a peak change of ~400mV, and the 5v rail had a peak change of ~60mV. During the 12v load, the unloaded 5v rail saw a peak change of ~50mV. In absolute terms, the 5v rail does fine. The 12v rail, however, does not do great and if you consider that this is a massive 1200W unit it looks a bit worse than that even.

DC Output Quality

The DC Output Quality results for the FSP Hydro PTM PRO 1200W were passing overall. In fact, that is putting it kind of mildly as we saw peak values that ranged all over the board in their relative performance metrics. However, in absolute terms, the 12v rail showed ~25mV of ripple/noise and the 5v rail did even better at ~10mV (peak). The 3.3v rail, however, was just mailing its performance today as it peaked at ~40mV of ripple/noise which is 80% of the ATX12v/EPS specification limit. In a relative sense, this unit was mixed with the SilverStone ST1200-PTS in this aspect of our testing. However, neither of these units are brilliant in this aspect of testing so that is not exactly a ringing endorsement.

Noise

Today’s FSP Hydro PTM PRO 1200W is a large power supply when it comes to capacity and that usually means that the noise profile is not as easy to manage. That said, today we see a unit with a hybrid fan controller and an FDB fan. With a bit of tuning this unit could be rather quiet for what it is. In the end, that would also happen to be the best way to put it. This unit was first noticeable during Test #3 and from there grew in noise intensity through the Torture Test and Test #4. By the end of testing, this unit was easily noticeable in our load test environment. Overall, this unit seemed to be a bit louder than the Hydro G PRO 1000W we recently reviewed. Then again, it is also 200W larger in capacity so there is that. That said if you are going to have a 1200W unit putting out 1200W you should probably expect some fan noise.

Final Points

The FSP Hydro PTM PRO 1200W is one of the few truly high-powered power supplies we have had in to review at TheFPSReview so far. So, we were very much looking forward to seeing how such a big hitter did in our testing today. The Hydro PTM PRO 1200W started off well as the build quality was generally excellent. After that, however, things seemed just a little off. The voltage regulation, DC Output Quality, and Transient Load Test results were all in the specification but they never made it too great. Good was even a bit of a stretch in certain examples. The noise profile was good, but with the caveat of “for a 1200W unit”. So, that brings us to the question of price.

Well, today, we find the Hydro PTM PRO 1200W coming in at $269.99. That price is the first in a long while that I will say is not bad as the comparable SilverStone ST1200-PTS was going for $261 last year when it released and this year things have been “wonky” in the market. That said, as I look at some other availability I am starting to see more units on shelves now and there are a number of less expensive 1200W units than this. So, this isn’t the best 1200W PSU on the market but it is competitive.

In the past, FSP has been fairly aggressive with pricing. So, going forward, when market conditions continue to normalize I would expect to see the price drop a good bit. If so, many of the units flaws can be overlooked for the right price.

Discussion

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Paul Johnson
Paul is a long time PC hobbyist and tech enthusiast having gotten his start when he broke his first C64 quickly followed by breaking his first IBM XT. Most notably however, for 12 years, he served as the Power Supply Editor for one of the truly early, groundbreaking, and INDPENDENT PC enthusiast sites ([H]ardOCP) until its mothballing in April of 2019. Paul now brings the same flair and style of his power supply reviews to The FPS Review.

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