When looking at the Seasonic Power Supply test results we see two values, wattage and volt-amps. Since it might not be clear what they measure, here's a brief overview.

The volt-amp (VA) value is how much real power is being consumed by the power supply being tested to provide the wattage (W) value. The higher the VA value is, the more electricity is being used by the power supply. Because no electrical device is 100% efficient, there will always be some loss when converting AC to DC. The closer the volt-amps and wattage figures are to each other, the more efficient a power supply is. This is called the Power Factor: wattage / volt-amps = PF.

Since we're testing with a 120W dummy load, the load on the power supply (W) should be as close to this figure as possible. Anything above this load in apparent power describes the overhead and wasted energy (given off as heat) for the particular power supply being tested.

For the unloaded tests, the Wattage and Volt-Amp figures should be as close as possible to one another. The lower the figures are, the less power is being used. For the % Efficiency values, 100% is the best, and 50% or less is quite poor.

Seasonic Power Load Tests
Power Supply	Wattage	Test Type	Loaded	Unloaded
Seasonic SuperTornado	400 W (A-PFC)	Active Power	177 W	6 W
		Apparent Power	182 VA	7 VA
Vantec iON2	350 W	Active Power	192 W	10 W
		Apparent Power	277 VA	21 VA
Antec TruePower 330	330 W	Active Power	195 W	22 W
		Apparent Power	289 VA	38 VA
Ultra X-Connect Green UV 500W	500 W	Active Power	193W	22 W
		Apparent Power	307 VA	40 VA
AOpen Silent Power AO400-12AHN	400 W	Active Power	179W	9 W
		Apparent Power	275 VA	18 VA
Seasonic S12-430	430 W (A-PFC)	Active Power	179W	6W
		Apparent Power	180VA	9VA
PC Power and Cooling Turbo-Cool 510 Express/SLI	510 W (A-PFC)	Active Power	200 W	29 W
		Apparent Power	202 VA	32 VA

As the only Active Power-Factor Correcting (A-PFC) power supply in the test results besides the Seasonic SuperTornado and S12-430, the PC Power and Cooling Turbo-Cool 510 Express/SLI turns in an excellent power efficiency from the point of view of power conversion. Active PFC really does make a huge difference in the amount of energy wasted by your computer, and consequently how much you end up paying in power bills later on.

In terms of actual power consumption though, the Turbo-Cool 510 Express/SLI is a bit of a hog. Its unloaded power consumption was 29W, and loaded power consumption was slightly higher than the rest of the field as well at 200W. It's not going to bankrupt you, but its worth noting that this PSU is better turned off when you leave for summer vacation.

Stable as a rock, heavy on the power

Once the heavyweight PC Power and Cooling Turbo-Cool 510 Express/SLI was pulled out of its packaging, we were expecting good things from it and it did not disappoint.

This power supply proved to be extremely solid and accurate in terms of the voltage it delivered across its various rails. As one of only four PSU's specifically approved by nVidia for use with SLI videocard systems, you'd expect solid power performance and the Turbo-Cool 510 Express/SLI delivers.

The PC Power and Cooling Turbo-Cool 510 Express/SLI is completely nondescript in appearance, though its nicely wrapped cables and the 14AWG duty AC power cable it ships with are both good indicators of the build quality PC Power and Cooling has put into this unit.

In terms of power use, the Turbo-Cool 510 Express/SLI takes a bit more for itself than most of the PSUs we've tested, especially when not under load. In light of its Active-PFC inspired 99.0% power efficiency and excellent voltage stability though, voltage regulating potentiometers for fine adjustments in overclocked settings, and twin 6-pin SLI power cables, that one small disparity is easily forgiven.

PC Power and Cooling offers a five year warranty on the Turbo-Cool 510 Express/SLI. Considering that power supplies are the most common cause of computer failure, this indicates a comforting degree of confidence in the product by the manufacturer.

At a price of $265CDN ($215 US) for the 510 Watt model, the PC Power and Cooling Turbo-Cool 510 Express/SLI power supply is anything but cheap. For hardcore overclockers and SLI enthusiasts, or anyone investing serious amounts of money into their computer hardware, the price of the Turbo-Cool 510 is well worth it for the performance delivered.

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1. Antec TruePower 330W Power Supply Review
2. PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 510-PFC Power Supply
3. Seasonic Super Tornado 400W Power Supply Review
4. Vantec iON2 350W Power Supply Review
5. Ultra X-Connect Green UV 500W Power Supply
6. Seasonic S12-430 430 Watt Power Supply