The road to the 1000 watt power supply was a long one. Through the years of increasing performance, hardware, and accessories, power supplies have stayed one step ahead of the demand. With the current trend of today’s technology, 1000 watts may hold up for awhile. CPU dies are shrinking but are growing in number of cores. Even current graphic cards can range from 1 to 5 cores (5 cores being, 2 7950 GX2’s and a PhysX CARD).

Even though the numbers grow, technology is improving on efficiency. CPU and GPU dies are shrinking, DDR 4 is here, and power supplies are getting more efficient. The down fall, to all of this, is the added features that are needed for the added efficiency. CPU dies have more cache, GPU’s are more complex, and chipsets are getting more advanced. All of this is just detailing with the system and not including any added peripherals. True enthusiasts always want the most to push the limits on their systems. Improved cooling, extra monitoring, and even added lights add to the overall wattage demands. One company has honestly listened to the enthusiasts, not just the power users, but modders and casual users as well. Cooler Master has observed these comments and actually improved their products to the consumer’s needs and demands. Cooler Master’s flagship PSU the Real Power Pro 1000w unit is here to take a stand on the podium, is it worthy though? Let’s take a close look.
The Cooler Master Pro 1000w comes in a simple designed box that labels all of the certifications, details, and features.

Specifications:
• Model # RS-A00-EMBA
• Type ATX Form Factor 12V V2.2 / SSI standard EPS 12V V2.91
• Input Voltage 90~264V (Auto Range)
• Input Current 15A@ 115 Vac / 8A@ 230 Vac
• Input Frequency Range 47~63 Hz
• PFC Active PFC(0.99)
• Power Good Signal 100~500 ms
• Hold Up Time >17 ms
• Efficiency >85% Typically
• MTBF >100,000 hrs
• Protection OVP / OCP / OTP / OLP / Short / Full Protection
• Output Capacity 1000 Watts Continuous
• Max. Output Capacity 1,200 Watts
• Dimension (inches) 150(W) x 180(L) x 86(H) (mm)
• Operation Temperature 0~50?(Nominal Input Voltage)
• Safety CE / cUL / TUV / NEMKO / BSMI / FCC
• UPC Code 870423004691

Features:
1. World’s first six +12V rails for better power distribution in Quad-SLI and 2 ways server system
2. Four 6 pin PCI-e connectors offer great future upgradeability
3. Two 8 pin PCI-e connectors are compatible with future graphic card upgradeability
4. Compliance with the newest Intel standard ATX 12V V 2.2
5. Compliance with the newest SSI standard EPS 12V V2.91
6. Ultra-silent operation with intelligent 135mm fan speed control (< 16dBA)
7. Eco-design for energy and money saving by Active PFC.(>0.99)/ high efficiency(>85%)
8. Higher reliability (MTBF > 100,000 hours)
9. Power Failure Detector will light up when Over-Voltage, Under-Voltage, Over-Temperature, Over-Current, Over-Loading, and Short circuit occur.

Couple of things that caught my attention here were the efficiency rating of 80+ and the 6 12 volt rails. Rail technology has greatly improved since its induction and is still under debate if it’s even needed. With individual rails on a PSU you need to make sure the AMP rating on the rails can handle specific needs for the system.
Inside the Box:
Once opened one is greeted with a well packaged unit, user manual, and some goodies from Cooler Master. The unit is well protected for (worst case scenario) a drop off of a desk with multiple layers of foam.

The manual is in 9 languages from around the world, nothing fancy but I have found that all of CM’s manuals are clean and well printed for reading.

The goodies I mentioned before are here. The housing on the unit is a smoked chrome finish and these black screws accent it nicely. The power cord is very thick and well insulated, and case badge and a bottle opener/ key fob round out the goodies list.

This 1000 watt unit is large and heavy, both are things to consider. With a large unit like this, one has to make sure it can be mounted properly. While this unit is on the heavy side, we can deduce that this thing is packed with components. The finish is immaculate with the smoked chrome finish, but seems to attract finger prints. The wire harness is one of the largest I have seen to date.

The rear of this unit has a small hex mesh backing to provide optimal air flow. Below the plug in there is a LED to show if there is a simple problem. It doesn’t turn different colors for diagnostic trouble shooting, only red (there is a problem) and green (power on).
If you notice this unit is active PFC, note the missing input volt switch. Active PFC has really helped with improved efficiency on today’s PSU units. Efficiency is a key feature to a good power supply and keeping it stable under the worst of conditions.

The 12v rails are split up pretty evenly across the board with the exception of rails 3 and 4. These rails are dedicated to the more power hungry 8 pin (PCI Express 2.0 standard) GPU units now showing up. I have only seen these on the new ATI Radeon HD 2900 XTX cards.

Pulling off the cover and the 135mm fan one can see this unit is loaded. The first thing to catch my eye inside was the 2 large transformers and 1 smaller one. Traditionally the larger ones handle the 12v rails while the smaller one handles the 5v and 3v rails. The heatsinks are quality made and not cheap looking bent aluminum bars. There are 2 thermal sensors attached to the heatsink in two different areas to control the large 135mm fan.

The wire harness starts at a solder reinforced board. The macro shot shows little metal clips that support the wires soldered into the board. The harness then leaves out the housing via a rolled edge. This has been a proven method over the years to prevent any wires from chafing. Then we come to my first complaint. It is minor but the sleeving looks so much better when it is finished inside.

Did I mention that there are a lot of cables?

The cable listing is as follows:
• Mainboard power cable with a 20+4-pin connector
• CPU power cable with a 4-pin connector
• CPU power cable with an 8-pin connector
• Two graphics card cables with 6-pin connectors
• Two graphics card cables with one 6-pin and one 8-pin connector on each
• Two cables with three Molex connectors and one floppy mini-plug on each
• Two cables with four SATA power connectors on each

The cables are sleeved in black but I wanted to point out another fine touch in detail. The entire cable is sleeved, even in-between each connector. This has been a pet peeve of mine for years and I am glad someone was listening. It makes the whole job look cleaner, clean enough for me to over look the sleeving not coming out of the housing.

Installation:
My flagship system right now contains:
• EVGA nforce 680i 775
• Intel E6600
• Crucial Balistix DDR2 1066 (not pictured due to RMA)
• EVGA 8800 GTX
• 4 HDD 2 74 gig Raptors and 2 320 WD Caviar SE16
• Lite-On SOHW-1633S
• Antec 900 with 3 120mm fans and the 200mm monster
• Zalman 9700 CPU cooler
• Linksys wireless adapter

With this system I have been able to hit 3.6 OC but I chose not to leave it there for the daily grind. During normal runs with Prime 95 and OCCT the voltages never dropped below their idle ratings. Now with the OC and loaded, the voltages dipped ever so slightly, I don’t even see a need for a graph but some people like to have a visual. I monitored the voltages for a half hour after a 1 hour warm up period. Every ten minutes I logged the rail voltages and used the average. The voltages never went below their specified voltage. I was quite shocked to see this. The only other unit I have seen more solid would be a PCP&C unit.

Conclusion:
With today’s common PC, is a 1000 watt unit really needed? If you do the research you find that even the highest performing PC’s don’t quite need it…. yet. Maybe an AMD FX-74 Quad core (2x2 dual socket) loaded with 2 8800 Ultras in SLI or the new ATI 2900 XTX in crossfire. I can’t say that for this unit though, it is not Crossfire certified….yet. While checking though, I notice the lowest wattage certified was a 670 watt unit? At least this unit is ready for today’s hardware and has enough wattage to push on through for tomorrow’s power demands.
Cooler Master has done an outstanding job with the Real Power Pro 1000w. The finish adds a touch of class to any system it would be installed in. The small added features they don’t even list are a clear sign of the confidence Cooler Master has towards their products. The performance, the looks, and the style all have this unit labeled winner. My only comment to Cooler Master would be, to make this unit at least semi-modular, anything to help out with the bundle of cables. Even though this unit can be found for just over $300 with a 3 year warranty, it is competitively priced with other high end units of this quality.

The Good Stuff:
• Clean Finish
• Stable Power
• Complete sleeving job
• Quiet even under heavy load

The Bad Stuff:
• Large bundle of wires to tuck away

Thanks go out to Cooler Master for this review. This has shown they do listen to the end users. I would complain about the price but this unit for enthusiasts that need the power and stability. Cooler Master offers less wattage units at competitive prices for midrange applications. I enjoyed reviewing this unit and award it a solid 9 out of 10 and defiantly recommend the Cooler Master Real Power Pro 1000w to anyone looking for a good high end power supply. And can’t forget the coveted Gold medal award!