The Montech Titan Gold 1200W PSU Review: A Capable Contender for the ATX 3.0 Club

Hot Test Results (~45°C Ambient)

The Montech Titan Gold 1200W PSU displayed good resistance to high ambient temperatures, especially considering its efficiency certification. We calculated an average efficiency degradation of 0.7% across the nominal load range. The degradation is very high while the unit is heavily loaded, peaking at 2% when the unit operates under maximum load, suggesting that the components are getting thermally stressed.

With its massive 1200W power output in mind, the aggressive cooling profile of the fan keeps the internal temperatures of the Titan Gold PSU relatively low while the unit operates at low-to-medium loads. When the unit is heavily loaded, the very high thermal losses (which peak at about 160 Watts at maximum load) are becoming a bit too much for the cooling system to handle and the temperatures rise sharply. The temperatures do not get high enough to force the unit to shut down but they are uncomfortably high and definitely not good for the longevity of the unit. The high component temperatures also cause a significant efficiency drop at very heavy loads due to component stress.

The speedy 135 mm fan does a good job keeping the internal temperatures of the massive 1200W PSU relatively low – however, when the ambient temperature is high, the fan reaches its maximum speed when the load is about 950 Watts. After that point, the temperatures will rise sharply, as the cooling system cannot do anything more to combat the high thermal losses. When the Titan Gold 1200W unit is operating inside a very hot environment, it will stay relatively quiet only while the load is lower than 300 Watts. As the load increases beyond 300 Watts, the fan’s speed will increase linearly and will reach its maximum speed when the load is between 900 and 1000 Watts, at which point it will be generating more than 57 dB(A).