FSP Hydro PTM PRO 1200W 80+ Platinum Power Supply Impressions – Aiming The High-End Segment

FSP, the manufacturer of high-end PSU (Power Supply Units) currently offers its flagship design as a part of its Hydro series. The company has a vast array of options starting at 500W & all the way up to 1200W. The family branding is interesting since it reads 'Hydro' however, there's only one high-end unit within the family that actually supports hybrid cooling as part of a collaboration with the manufacturer of the custom-loop kits, Bitspower.

FSP Hydro PTM PRO 1200W 80 PLUS PLATINUM PSU Specifications

The rest of the Hydro lineup sticks to the traditional air cooling design. So starting with our unit, we have got the FSP Hydro PTM PRO 1200W unit which is an 80+ Platinum compliant power supply. It's a fully modular design like the rest of the Hydro PTM PRO series and comes with conformal coating that adds to its durability, preventing it from carrying dust, strains, or corrosion from humidity.

Coming to the specifications, the FSP Hydro PTM PRO unit we got offers a maximum DC output of 1200 Watts and an active PFC. It's an 80 PLUS PLATINUM unit with efficiency rated at 90-92% (230V). The PSU is fully compliant with Intel's C6 & C7 power states and has an operating temp of 0-50C. The PSU is fully IEC62638 certified.

Some protection features that you get on the FSP Hydro PTM PRO series PSUs include:

• Over Voltage Protection
• Under Voltage Protection
• Over Power Protection
• Over Temperature Protection
• Over Current Protection
• Short Circuit Protection

As for the design of the PSU unit, it comes in an ATX form factor and measures 150 x 85 x 190 mm while weighing in at 2kg or 4.41 lbs. The cooling is provided from a top-mounted 135mm fan which features semi-passive fan operation. There's a switch on the back of the PSU reading 'ECO' which is used to disable the fan operation, leading to slightly lower power consumption. The fan itself is a non-PWM and fluid dynamic bearing design. FSP ships the Hydro PTM PRO 1200W PSU with a 10-year warranty and is priced at $289.04 US at Newegg. It can also be found cheaper on Amazon for a price of $254.88 US. In Europe, the same unit is available for a price starting at €216.

Some main features of the FSP Hydro PTM PRO series include:

• Intel Latest CPU ready
• Global Safety Approved
• High efficiency ≧ 92%
• Powerful +12V single rail design
• Quiet and durable cooling
• Full Japanese electrolytic capacitors
• Compliance with newest ATX 12V V2.52 & EPS 12 v2.92 standards
• Intelligent fan speed control circuit design
• Full protections OCP,OVP, SCP,OPP,OTP, UVP
• High Wattages with 80PLUS Platinum Certification
• Unique product ID with changeable side stickers for DIY enthusiasts and gamers

FSP Hydro PTM PRO 1200W 80 PLUS PLATINUM PSU Unboxing & Close Up

The unit we received comes in a large blue and black colored package with a picture of the PSU on the front. The front also lists down several features such as its 0db Zero Noise 'Eco' mode, use of Japanese E-Capacitors, support for triple CPU connectors and offering support for the latest CPUs.

The backside also offers a list of features which we have detailed above and we will get to more details in our tear-down in a bit.

Opening the package reveals an interesting label that reads 'Power Never Ends' which is the main motto of the FSP Lifestyle brand. Within the package, the PSU unit is held between foam packaging to protect it during shipping while the cables are supplied in their own separate pouch. There are also several stickers that can be placed on the sides of the PSU and a Hydro PTM Pro series guidebook. There are also four screws supplied with the PSU for installation within your casing.

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The PSU itself is packaged in a plastic cover.

Looking at the PSU, we can see the use of conformal coating throughout the interior. The PSU also has a lot of weight to it which gives you a hint of the quality components features within it.

On the back, you can see the power plug, the power switch, the Eco mode switch, and a large mesh panel that acts as an exhaust vent.

Now depending on how you use the PSU, the bottom panel reads the specifications and power ratings. The PSU is rated to output a maximum of 100A and 1200W through the 12V rails.

The sides of the PSU have a nice FSP Hydro PTM Pro logo which can be replaced with stickers within the packaging.

Coming to the connectors, there are two 8-Pin CPU connectors, four PCI-e 8-pin connectors, an ATX 24-pin (14+10 pin) ATX connector, and four 5-pin connectors for peripherals.

The cables within the packaging pouch include the ATX 20+4 pin, three 4+4 pin CPU connectors, 8 PCIe 6+2 connectors, 14 SATA connectors, 5 MOLEX connectors, and a single floppy connector.

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Opening up the unit, we are greeted with a very high-end design making use of Infineon FETs and a mix of both Chemi-con & Rubycon capacitors. There are also dual bridge rectifiers that can handle up to 50 Amps of current. The PFC controller is an ICE2PCS02G IC. There are also four FETs installed in a full-bridge topology which are controlled by the Champion CM6901T2X IC. As mentioned above in the features, the PSU utilizes Japanese-grade capacitors which are a mix of both electrolytic and polymer designs. The whole unit has high-quality solder. There are also several heatsinks within the PSU that provide adequate cooling.

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Lastly, we have the fan which is an MGA13512XF-A25 design from Protechnic Electric with a 12V 0.38A design and features a fluid bearing.

FSP Hydro PTM PRO 1200W 80 PLUS PLATINUM PSU Final Impressions

We are at a point of time in the PC hardware market where the power demand is rising consistently and from what we are hearing, things aren't going to stop. Enthusiasts PC builders and high-end gamers are constantly aiming for the highest-end products with CPUs sipping in an average power of around 200 Watts and GPUs now ending up around the 250-350W range. This along with all the combined hardware in one high-end rig is going to set you close to 800-1000W power requirement.

This is where PSUs such as the FSP Hydro PTM PRO 1200W come into play. The FSP Hydro PTM PRO 1200W was able to run our test rig which comprises an overclocked Intel Core i9-12900K CPU and an MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Ti SUPRIM X graphics card that sips in almost 500 Watts of power.

One strong suit of this PSU is that like all high-end 1000W+ designs, it comes with four independent PCIe power connections. Why is this important? Well, future graphics cards are going to resort to the new Gen 5 connectors and you'd either need to get a proper Gen 5 PSU or a PSU that has at least 3 connectors to meet the demand for next-gen high-end cards. The RTX 3090 Ti requires 3x 8-pin connectors to adapt to the 16-pin connector it has on its PCB. Next-gen cards are expected to be 600W designs so anything above 450W will require a quad 8-pin connector array. Now you can either go the route of buying an existing high-end supply such as the FSP Hydro PTM Pro 1200W & adapt to the new standard or you can get a proper PSU with Gen 5 connectors. Good thing for you, the FSP PRO PTM PRO series is being upgraded and a new variant will soon be launching with a PCIe Gen 5 connector. That eliminates the need to go for a quad 8-pin to 16-pin adapter & is much better for cable management.

Overall, I believe the FSP Hydro PTM PRO 1200W PSU is a very solid unit, one that handles our test rig without any issues at stock and overclocked. Buying a 1200W PSU is always an investment that'll last you a long time and you can't go wrong with a solid design such as the FSP Hydro series which currently costs around $260 US at retail outlets.