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We have had mixed experiences with Thermaltake power supplies in the past. A few of them have delivered excellent results while others have left us disappointed. Today we are looking at the Smart M 750W power supply, a modular unit with 80 Plus Bronze Certification. Thermaltake claim the design can deliver 750W continuously at 40c, and they have opted to use high grade Japanese capacitors throughout for enhanced reliability.
The Thermaltake Smart M Series 750W is a single +12V rail design, a firm favourite with the enthusiast audience today. The company are using solid state capacitors and the minor rails are rectified by two DC-DC convertors.
Specifications:
- Supports the latest ATX 12V V2.3 & EPS 12V standards.
- Guaranteed to deliver 750W continuous output @ 40℃ operating environment.
- High current & single +12V rail provides superior performance.
- 80 PLUS® Bronze certified: with 82-88% efficiency @ 20-100% load under real world load conditions.
- 100% High quality Japanese main capacitor ensure superb performance and reliability.
- Solid state capacitors: great stability at higher operating temperatures, frequencies and currents.
- Double forward ultra-efficient circuitry design for added power savings.
- Synchronous rectification circuit design with DC-DC converter for extremely stable performance and high efficiency.
- Ultra-quiet 140mm cooling fan delivers excellent airflow at an exceptionally low noise level.
- Active PFC with Universal AC input.
- Flat, low-profile modular cables allow for easy cable routing and increased airflow.
- Supports multiple core high-end graphic cards & CPU. (NVIDIA SLI & ATI CrossFire Ready)
- Dimension: 150mm(W) x 86mm(H) x 160mm(D).
- High reliability: MTBF>100,000 hours.
- Heavy-duty protection circuitry of Over Current, Over Voltage, Under Voltage, Over Power and Short-Circuit protections.
- Safety / EMI Approvals: UL/CUL/TUV/CE/FCC and BSMI certification.
I don't really like the box artwork on this power supply at all. The grungy design just doesn't work.
Their slogan on the box? ‘Built to work!'.
This company really do need some marketing help from a Western organisation.
Inside, the power supply is protected underneath a thin layer of bubblewrap. No thick padding or foam sadly.
The bundle includes a regional specific power cable, a user manual and a felt bag which contains the modular cables.
Above left, the hardwired cable from the chassis which comprises a 20+4-pin Main Connector and a 4+4-pin Power Connector.
The modular cabling above right:
| 6+2 pin PCIe (500mm+150mm) |
4 |
|---|---|
| SATA (500mm+150mm+150mm) |
9 |
| 4 pin Molex (500mm+150mm+150mm) |
6 |
| FDD adapter (+150mm) |
1 |
The cabling is all good quality and they are the thin ‘ribbon' design which are beneficial to enhance air flow. There are 4 x 6+2 PCIe power connectors which will support two high end graphics cards in SLi or Crossfire.
The ThermalTake Smart M Series 750W is nicely finished, although im not a big fan of the full width paper stickers on both sides. It ruins the overall appearance. Apart from this visual concern, the power supply is well built.
The large fan is placed behind an unusual honeycomb style grill, with the Tt sticker on top.
Another side of the power supply is honeycomb vented to improve air flow. There is a power switch and connector at the side.
The modular connectors are all colour coordinated and labelled to make the installation phase as pain free as possible.
The single +12V rail is capable of delivering 62A for multiple, high end graphics card configurations.
Although this is unlikely to affect anyone reading this review (as it will invalidate the warranty), in order to take the power supply apart for our analysis, we had to destroy the two side paper stickers (above), as there are two screws on either side, underneath the paper. Don't even considering replacing the fan in this unit unless you are happy destroying the appearance completely.
Thermaltake are using a 140mm fan with the markings ‘TT1425B'. This is a quality rebadged Yate Loon D14BH-12 fan. It can produce a maximum airflow of 140 cfm @ 2,800 rpm.
The design is immediately recognisable as Channel Well Technology (CWT). This looks to be a very similar design to that used in the Corsair TX750W which we reviewed late last year.
The transient filter starts at the AC Receptacle with a pair of Y caps. There are X caps and two Y Caps alongside two CM chokes and an MOV.
There are three thick yellow wires (and several smaller ones) which transfer the +12V to the modular PCB.
The primary capacitor is by Matsushita (Panasonic), and is rated 390μF, 400V, 105°C. There is a small vertical PCB which is responsible for the +12V rectification.
All secondary capacitors are quality Nippon Chemi-Con units. Two parallel bridge rectifiers are bolted on a heatsink.
The hardwired cable is fully sleeved into the chassis, which will protect against long term fraying.
On this page we present some super high resolution images of the product taken with the 24.5MP Nikon D3X camera and 24-70mm ED lens. These will take much longer to open due to the dimensions, especially on slower connections. If you use these pictures on another site or publication, please credit Kitguru.net as the owner/source.
Additional technical assistance: Peter McFarland and Jeremy Price.
Correctly testing power supplies is a complex procedure and KitGuru have configured a test bench which can deliver up to a 2,000 watt DC load. Due to public requests we have changed our temperature settings recently – previously we rated with ambient temperatures at 25C, we have increased ambient temperatures by 10c (to 35c) in our environment to greater reflect warmer internal chassis conditions.
We use combinations of the following hardware:
• SunMoon SM-268
• CSI3710A Programmable DC load (+3.3V and +5V outputs)
• CSI3711A Programmable DC load (+12V1, +12V2, +12V3, and +12V4)
• Extech Power Analyzer
• Extech MultiMaster MM570 digital multimeter
• Extech digital sound level meter
• Digital oscilloscope (20M S/s with 12 Bit ADC)
• Variable Autotransformer, 1.4 KVA
|
DC Output Load Regulation
|
||||||||||
|
Combined DC Load |
+3.3V
|
+5V
|
+12V
|
+5VSB
|
-12V | |||||
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A | V | |
|
75W
|
1.23
|
3.33
|
1.19
|
5.07
|
4.95
|
12.22
|
0.50
|
5.06
|
0.20
|
-12.05
|
|
150W
|
2.17
|
3.31
|
2.83
|
5.04
|
10.07
|
12.19
|
1.00
|
5.04
|
0.30
|
-12.05
|
|
375W
|
6.15
|
3.27
|
6.05
|
5.02
|
26.15
|
12.15
|
1.50
|
5.02
|
0.50
|
-12.06
|
| 565W |
10.31
|
3.24
|
10.86
|
4.97
|
38.34
|
12.09
|
2.00
|
5.00 |
0.60
|
-12.07
|
|
750W
|
10.72
|
3.21
|
13.84
|
4.92
|
53.59
|
12.02
|
3.00
|
4.98
|
0.80
|
-12.08
|
Regulation is good, although we noticed the +3.3V output dropped to just 3.21V at full load. The other rails hold well throughout the range of power.
| Thermaltake Smart M Series 750W | Maximum Load |
| 819W |
We managed to reach around 819W before the unit would shut down gracefully, after the protection kicked in.
Next we want to try Cross Loading. This basically means loads which are not balanced. If a PC for instance needs 500W on the +12V outputs but something like 30W via the combined 3.3V and +5V outputs then the voltage regulation can fluctuate badly.
| Cross Load Testing | +3.3V | +5V | +12V | -12V | +5VSB | |||||
| A | V | A | V | A | V | A | V | A | V | |
| 734W | 1.0 | 3.34 | 1.0 | 5.03 | 60.0 | 11.96 | 0.2 | -12.05 | 0.50 | 5.03 |
| 154W | 15.0 | 3.28 | 15.0 | 4.95 | 2.0 | 12.11 | 0.2 | -12.05 | 0.50 | 4.99 |
Fluctuation is held safely within the rated parameters, even when we load the 12V line with 60A.
We then used an oscilloscope to measure AC ripple and noise present on the DC outputs. We set the oscilloscope time base to check for AC ripple at both high and low ends of the spectrum.
ATX12V V2.2 specification for DC output ripple and noise is defined in the ATX 12V power supply design guide.
|
ATX12V Ver 2.2 Noise/Ripple Tolerance
|
|
|
Output
|
Ripple (mV p-p)
|
|
+3.3V
|
50
|
|
+5V
|
50
|
|
+12V1
|
120
|
|
+12V2
|
120
|
|
-12V
|
120
|
|
+5VSB
|
50
|
Obviously when measuring AC noise and ripple on the DC outputs the cleaner (less recorded) means we have a better end result. We measured this AC signal amplitude to see how closely the unit complied with the ATX standard.
| AC Ripple (mV p-p) | ||||
| DC Load | +3.3V | +5V | +12V | 5VSB |
| 75W | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 150W | 10 | 15 | 15 | 10 |
| 375W | 15 | 15 | 20 | 10 |
| 565W | 15 | 20 | 25 | 15 |
| 750W | 20 | 25 | 35 | 15 |
Ripple results are very good on all the rails, holding well within the tolerance guidelines. The 12V+ output is particularly impressive, peaking at 35 mV.
|
Efficiency (%)
|
|
|
75W
|
84.28
|
|
150W
|
87.64
|
|
375W
|
88.89
|
|
565W
|
87.33
|
|
750W
|
86.44
|
The Thermaltake power supply is efficient for an 80 Plus Bronze rated unit, peaking at just under 89 percent efficency at 50 percent load.
We take the issue of noise very seriously at KitGuru and this is why we have built a special home brew system as a reference point when we test noise levels of various components. Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on components we are testing. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.
Today to test the power supply we have taken it into our acoustics room environment and have set our Digital Sound Level Noise Decibel Meter Style 2 one meter away from the unit. We have no other fans running so we can effectively measure just the noise from the unit itself.
As this can be a little confusing for people, here are various dBa ratings in with real world situations to help describe the various levels.
KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refrigerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 Player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum
|
Noise (dBA)
|
|
|
75W
|
<28.0
|
|
150W
|
30.2
|
|
375W
|
33.3
|
|
565W
|
36.3
|
| 750W | 37.8 |
The power supply is relatively quiet until around 350W of load when the fan starts to spin up steadily. At full load the noise levels are clearly audible, and slightly intrusive. Thermaltake appear to have opted for an aggressive fan profile for this unit.
|
Temperature (c)
|
||
|
Intake
|
Exhaust
|
|
|
75W
|
36
|
40
|
|
150W
|
38
|
43
|
|
375W
|
39
|
47
|
|
565W
|
45
|
52
|
|
750W
|
47
|
56
|
Exhaust temperatures are quite good, reaching a maximum delta of 9c above intake at full load. The fan is very active in the upper half of power delivery however and we feel Thermaltake could have tweaked this a little more. It seems slightly too aggressive for my own personal tastes.
|
Maximum load
|
Efficiency
|
|
819W
|
85.1
|
For those interested, we measured efficiency when stressing the unit to breaking point. 85.1 percent efficiency at 819W … hardly practical, but interesting regardless.
The Thermaltake Smart M Series 750W is a capable unit which is competitively priced in the United Kingdom. Aesthetically this power supply isn't going to offend anyone, although it doesn't appeal to me as I really dislike the appearance of the full length paper stickers on the sides of the chassis.
I know a few people who don't mind invalidating their warranty to swap out the fan in their power supply for an ultra high grade model. Sadly Thermaltake have placed several screws underneath the paper stickers on the side panels and these will need destroyed to get inside the unit.
Thermaltake will argue that people shouldn't be doing this, however a slight redesign of their power supplies could negate this completely. A simple ‘warranty invalidated' sticker over one of the screws is an industry standard for a reason.
The modular cabling will appeal to a wide audience, especially those people with limited routing space inside their chassis. The ribbon style cables are easy to route and they help ensure that system airflow isn't compromised.
The Channel Well Technology design is solid throughout, delivering steady voltage and excellent ripple suppression across the range. Efficiency is also a strong point, especially for an 80 Plus Bronze rated unit. Additionally, the design handled our stressful cross loading tests with only minor fluctuation.
Thermaltake have opted for an aggressive fan profile for the Smart M Series 750W power supply. When tasked hard the fan spins up dramatically, emitting substantial levels of noise between 550W and 750W. If I bought this supply I would experiment with other fan options.
You can buy the power supply direct from Scan in the UK for £92.38 inc vat. At this price point it offers reasonable value for money, but the competition in this sector is stiff. The 3 year warranty is also relatively weak when compared to some competitor products (Corsair offer a 5 or 7 year warranty now with their supplies for instance).
Pros:
- Good load regulation.
- handled our intensive cross load tests.
- modular design.
- efficient.
- excellent ripple suppression.
Cons:
- Fan is a little aggressive under high load.
- stiff competition.
- not a wonderful looking unit.
- only a 3 year warranty.
- poor packaging.
Kitguru says: A solid release from Thermaltake, and well worth buying.
