ASUS ROG Thor 1000W Platinum II (1000W PSU) review - Introduction

Asus ROG THOR 1000W PLATINUM II  power supply

Today we’re putting the new Asus ROG THOR 1000W PLATINUM II power supply on our test bench. The company is not so much known from their PSUs (as they’re rather associated with the motherboards, graphic cards, monitors, or peripherals). Still, we had a chance to check the first Thor at the end of 2018, when the 1200W version was reviewed (priced 329 EUR/USD), earning the “Best Hardware” award. Will the new version be as successful? The first information about the new series came out at the beginning of the year. One of the new things introduced in the Thor II is the PCI Express® 5.0 compatible 12-pin power cable, borrowed from the NVIDIA MicroFit design that can only support up to 40W of power. Unfortunately, it’s not the 16-pin capable of providing up to 600 W (which requires four additional pins), like in the upcoming Asus Loki series. So what does it mean exactly? Geforce RTX 30 Founders Edition will work with Thor II PCIe Gen5 connectors simply because they do not need more than 450W. Why’s that done that way, Asus? Strange, but maybe there will be a new Thor II revision?

Let’s begin with non-standard things. You can find here an OLED display that monitors power draw in real-time. Additionally, the Aura Sync compatibility lets you customize and sync lighting effects with other compatible hardware. And the most important info - the Asus ROG THOR 1000W PLATINUM II is an ATX power supply with a semi-passive mode. Under the hood, we have a Seasonic platform with the highest quality and reliability that distinguishes this brand. This time, it’s an 1000 Watt model (in black), with an 80 PLUS® Platinum certificate, which means that it’s 92% efficient at 50% load @ 115 V, and 94% efficient @ 230 V. It is crucial because less consumed energy goes to waste (at least not in a significant amount), and that should affect your energy bill. It is essential in these wicked times, where energy prices skyrocketed recently. Speaking of fan – it’s a 135 mm Axial-tech fan with PWM control that allows lower noise and keeps thermals in check. It’s possible to disable the fanless mode; then, the fan RPM is 400-450.

ROG THOR 1000W PLATINUM II is a fully modular PSU, even the motherboard connectors are not attached permanently to the housing, but you still have to use most of them anyway. Nearly all cases have a power supply shroud now (at least ATX-sized ones do), so the unit and the cables will be hidden in most scenarios. There are no colour variants, the only one available in black, but that’s typical for this kind of product. Despite that - the visual side of this PSU was essential for the Asus, and it looks great thanks to the OLED screen and the used materials. There will be other wattage versions available; 850 W, 1200 W and even 1600 W.  We can agree that there’s nothing left to be desired in the department of wattage choice. The 1000 Watt available in the reviewed unit should be more than enough for most users; even an i9 12900K combined with the Geforce RTX 3090 shouldn’t be a problem. The ROG THOR 1000W PLATINUM II is built with 100% Japanese capacitors and other premium components to achieve 80 Plus Platinum Certification; thus, that provides enhanced reliability and durability. The unit is not compact, as it measures 190 mm x 150 mm x 86 mm. The MSRP is 359 EUR for the 1000 W, and other models will still be introduced in Q1/Q2’22. A 10-year warranty backs Asus’s ROG THOR 1000W PLATINUM II, but the OLED screen and RGB implementation have 3-years (which is rather strange). Ok, let’s check out this PSU from Asus, shall we?