Thermaltake Smart 730 W Power Supply Review

Load Tests

We conducted several tests with this power supply, as described in the article, “Hardware Secrets Power Supply Test Methodology.” 

First we tested this power supply with five different load patterns, trying to pull around 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% of its labeled maximum capacity (actual percentage used listed under “% Max Load”), watching the behavior of the reviewed unit under each load. In the table below, we list the load patterns we used and the results for each load.

If you add all the powers listed for each test, you may find a different value than what is posted under “Total” below. Since each output can have a slight variation (e.g., the +5 V output working at +5.10 V), the actual total amount of power being delivered is slightly different than the calculated value. In the “Total” row, we are using the real amount of power being delivered, as measured by our load tester.

The +12VA and +12VB inputs listed below are the two +12 V independent inputs from our load tester. During this test, both inputs were connected to the power supply’s single +12 V rail.

< td>4 A (13.2 W)

Input	Test 1	Test 2	Test 3	Test 4	Test 5
+12VA	5.5 A (66 W)	11 A (132 W)	16.5 A (198 W)	21.5 A (258 W)	28 A (336 W)
+12VB	5.5 A (66 W)	11 A (132 W)	16 A (192 W)	21.5 A (258 W)	28 A (336 W)
+5 V	1 A (5 W)	2 A (10 W)	4 A (20 W)	6 A (30 W)	8 A (40 W)
+3.3 V	1 A (3.3 W)	2 A (6.6 W)	6 A (19.8 W)	8 A (26.4 W)
+5VSB	1 A (5 W)	1.5 A (7.5 W)	2 A (10 W)	2.5 A (12.5 W)	3 A (15 W)
-12 V	0.5 A (6 W)	0.5 A (6 W)	0.5 A (6 W)	0.5 A (6 W)	0.5 A (6 W)
Total	148.9 W	286.4 W	430.5 W	567.3 W	731.4 W
% Max Load	20.4%	39.2%	59.0%	77.7%	100.2%
Room Temp.	45.8° C	45.2° C	46.1° C	48.5° C	49.6° C
PSU Temp.	49.2° C	49.3° C	49.8° C	52.4° C	54.7° C
Voltage Regulation	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Failed on +5VSB
Ripple and Noise	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass
AC Power	174.9 W	331.3 W	504.2 W	680.0 W	907.0 W
Efficiency	85.1%	86.4%	85.4%	83.4%	80.6%
AC Voltage	117.8 V	116.4 V	114.8 V	113.1 V	109.4 V
Power Factor	0.984	0.988	0.994	0.996	0.997
Final Result	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass

The Thermaltake Smart 730 W can deliver its labeled wattage.

Efficiency was between 80.6% and 86.4% during our tests, matching the values promised by the standard 80 Plus certification.

Voltage regulation was fair, with all voltages closer to their nominal values than required (three percent regulation) most of the time, but we saw the +12 V, the +5VSB, and the -12 V outputs outside this tighter range in some tests. See table below. While the +12 V and -12 V outputs were still inside the allowed range, the +5VSB output was less than the minimum allowed on test five, at +4.72 V (the minimum allowed is +4.75 V). The ATX12V specification states that positive voltages must be within 5% of their nominal values, and negative voltages must be within 10% of their nominal values.

Input	Test 1	Test 2	Test 3	Test 4	Test 5
+12VA	≤ 3%	≤ 3%	≤ 3%	≤ 3%	+11.57 V
+12VB	≤ 3%	≤ 3%	≤ 3%	+11.63 V	+11.52 V
+5 V	≤ 3%	≤ 3%	≤ 3%	≤ 3%	≤ 3%
+3.3 V	≤ 3%	≤ 3%	≤ 3%	≤ 3%	≤ 3%
+5VSB	≤ 3%	≤ 3%	+4.84 V	+4.78 V	+4.72 V
-12 V	-11.42 V	≤ 3%	≤ 3%	≤ 3%	≤ 3%

Let’s discuss the ripple and noise levels on the next page.