Thermaltake Smart 730 W Power Supply Review

Introduction

The Smart Series is a new entry-level power supply series from Thermaltake, with the standard 80 Plus certification. Coming to replace the old Purepower and TR2 “standard” series, this new series features 430 W, 530 W, 630 W, and 730 W models, all with the standard 80 Plus certification. We’ve already tested the 630 W model, which proved to have a terrific price/performance ratio. Let’s see if the 730 W model follows in the same footsteps.

Although Thermaltake claims that this power supply has the 80 Plus certification, this unit was not certified. Therefore, this unit uses an illegal (“fake”) 80 Plus logo. Thermaltake has already  been contacted by Ecos Consulting (the company behind the 80 Plus certification) in order to rectify this problem.

The new Smart Series power supplies are manufactured by HEC/Compucase, just like the old Purepower models. Apparently, the Smart Series is derived from HEC’s TB series. The Smart 730 W is not a 630 W model with “stronger” components; it actually uses a different printed circuit board and, therefore, a different platform.

Figure 1: Thermaltake Smart 730 W power supply

Figure 2: Thermaltake Smart 730 W power supply

The Thermaltake Smart 730 W is 5.5” (140 mm) deep, using a 120 mm sleeve bearing fan on its bottom (Thermaltake TT-1225A, which is actually manufactured by Young Lin Tech).

This unit doesn’t have a modular cabling system, and only the main motherboard cable uses a nylon sleeve, which comes from inside the unit. This power supply comes with the following cables:

• Main motherboard cable with a 20/24-pin connector, 22” (56 cm) long
• One cable with two ATX12V connectors that together form an EPS12V connector, 22.4” (57 cm) long
• Two cables, each with two six/eight-pin connectors for video cards, 18.5” (47 cm) to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors
• Two cables, each with four SATA power connectors, 18.9” (48 cm) to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors
• One cable with four standard peripheral power connectors and one floppy disk drive power connector, 18.9” (48 cm) to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors

All wires are 18 AWG wires, which is the minimum recommended gauge.

The cable configuration is excellent for an entry-level 730 W power supply, and it has two video card power connectors and two SATA power connectors more than the 630 W model.

Figure 3: Cables

Let’s now take an in-depth look inside this power supply.