Thermaltake Dr. Power III Pro tests PCIe 12+4-pin power connectors for ATX 3.1 PSUs
Thermaltake has listed the Dr. Power III Pro, a new power supply tester for modern ATX power supplies. The device supports ATX12V v3.1 units and includes a dedicated PCIe 12+4-pin connector input for modern GPU power cables.
The main point is SENSE0/SENSE1 detection. According to Thermaltake, Dr. Power III Pro can read the sideband signals on the PCIe 12+4-pin connector and identify 150W, 300W, 450W, and 600W power levels.
PCIe 12+4-pin SENSE detection
The manual confirms that the 12+4-pin readout appears only when a PCIe 12+4-pin connector is plugged into the tester. In both manual and automatic modes, the display can show the SENSE0/SENSE1 signal result during the PCIe test stage.
Source: Thermal Take
Tester is useful for checking whether a PSU or cable reports the expected GPU power level before it is used in a system. What’s important, this is not a GPU load test. The company explains this is a voltage and connector diagnostic tester, not as a sustained load validation tool.
Voltage checker, not a PSU load tester
Dr. Power III Pro also supports 24-pin ATX, CPU 4/8-pin, PCIe 6/8-pin, SATA, and peripheral connectors. The color display shows +12V, +5V, +3.3V, and +5Vsb output rails in real time. The listed measurement ranges are 11.0V to 13.0V for +12V, 4.60V to 5.40V for +5V and +5Vsb, and 3.04V to 3.56V for +3.3V.
Thermaltake says the tester supports manual and automatic test modes. Manual mode cycles through each connected cable after pressing the check button, while automatic mode starts after holding the button for more than five seconds. If the tester detects a fault, it shows a red warning icon and emits a beep.
Source: Thermal Take
The manual also warns users not to disconnect any connector or turn off the PSU after diagnostics have started. Thermaltake says this may damage the tester and may also cause a false-positive signal.
Thermaltake USA lists the device at $49.99, although the store currently shows it as sold out. It basically costs as much as the ROG Equalizer cable, but it doesn’t give you all the real-time measurements like WireView Pro. Probably a cool thing to have if you build more systems.
Source: Thermaltake
