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. Let’s see if the 630 W model is a good choice.

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.

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Figure 1: Thermaltake Smart 630 W power supply

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Figure 2: Thermaltake Smart 630 W power supply

The Thermaltake Smart 630 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” (56 cm) long
• One cable with two six/eight-pin connectors for video cards, 17.7” (45 cm) to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors
• Two cables, each with three SATA power connectors, 19.3” (49 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 630 W power supply.

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Figure 3: Cables

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

A Look Inside the Thermaltake Smart 630 W

We decided to disassemble this power supply to see what it looks like inside, how it is designed, and what components are used. Please read our “Anatomy of Switching Power Supplies” tutorial to understand how a power supply works and to compare this power supply to others.

On this page we will have an overall look, and then in the following pages we will discuss in detail the quality and ratings of the components used.

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Figure 4: Top view

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Figure 5: Front quarter view

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Figure 6: Rear quarter view

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Figure 7: The printed circuit board

Transient Filtering Stage

As we have mentioned in other articles and reviews, the first place we look when opening a power supply for a hint about its quality, is its filtering stage. The recommended components for this stage are two ferrite coils, two ceramic capacitors (Y capacitors, usually blue), one metalized polyester capacitor (X capacitor), and one MOV (Metal-Oxide Varistor). Very low-end power supplies use fewer components, usually removing the MOV and the first coil. 

In this stage, the Thermaltake Smart 630 W power supply is flawless. It has two Y capacitors and two X capacitors more than the minimum required.

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Figure 8: Transient filtering stage (part 1)

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Figure 9: Transient filtering stage (part 2)

On the next page, we will have a more detailed discussion about the components used in the Thermaltake Smart 630 W.

Primary Analysis

On this page we will take an in-depth look at the primary stage of the Thermaltake Smart 630 W. For a better understanding, please read our “Anatomy of Switching Power Supplies” tutorial.

This power supply uses one KBU10J rectifying bridge, which is attached to an individual heatsink. This bridge supports up to 10 A at 75° C, so in theory, you would be able to pull up to 1,150 W from a 115 V power grid. Assuming 80% efficiency, the bridge would allow this unit to deliver up to 920 W without burning itself out. Of course, we are only talking about this particular component. The real limit will depend on all the components combined in this power supply.

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Figure 10: Rectifying bridge

The active PFC circuit uses two IPP60R190C6 MOSFETs, each one capable of delivering up to 20.2 A at 25° C or 12.8 A at 100° C in continuous mode (note the difference temperature makes), or up to 59 A in pulse mode at 25° C. These transistors present a 190 mΩ resistance when turned on, a characteristic called RDS(on). The lower this number the better, meaning that the transistors will waste less power, and the power supply will achieve a higher efficiency.

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Figure 11: Active PFC transistors and diode

The output of the active PFC circuit is filtered by a 330 µF x 400 V electrolytic capacitor from Teapo and labeled at 85° C.

In the switching section, two MDP18N50 MOSFETs are used in the traditional two-transistor forward configuration, supporting up to 18 A at 25° C or 11 A at 100° C in continuous mode, or up to 72 A in pulse mode at 25° C, with an RDS(on) of 270 mΩ.

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Figure 12: One of the switching transistors

The primary is managed by an omnipresent CM6800 active PFC/PWM controller.

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Figure 13: Active PFC/PWM controller

Let’s now take a look at the secondary of this power supply.

Secondary Analysis

The Thermaltake Smart 630 W uses a regular design in its secondary, with Schottky rectifiers.

The maximum theoretical current each line can deliver is given by the formula I / (1 - D) where D is the duty cycle used and I is the maximum current supported by the rectifying diode. As an exercise, we can assume a duty cycle of 30 percent.

The +12 V output uses two SBR60A60CT Schottky rectifiers (60 A, 30 A per internal diode at 100° C, 0.65 V maximum voltage drop). This gives us a maximum theoretical current of 86 A or 1,029 W for the +12 V output.

The +5 V output uses one STPS30L45CT Schottky rectifier (30 A, 15 A per internal diode at 135° C, 0.74 V maximum voltage drop). This gives us a maximum theoretical current of 21 A or 107 W for the +5 V output.

The +3.3 V output uses another two STPS30L45CT Schottky rectifiers. This gives us a maximum theoretical current of 43 A or 141 W for the +3.3 V output.  

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Figure 14: The +3.3 V, +5 V, and +12 V rectifiers

This power supply uses a PS223 monitoring integrated circuit, which supports over voltage (OVP), under voltage (UVP), over current (OCP), and over temperature (OTP) protections. This chip offers two +12 V channels, but the manufacturer decided to use only one of them to make this unit have a single +12 V rail.

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Figure 15: Monitoring circuit

The electrolytic capacitors that filter the outputs are from Teapo, and labeled at 105° C, as usual.

Power Distribution

In Figure 16, you can see the power supply label containing all the power specs.

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Figure 16: Power supply label

Since this unit has a single +12 V rail design, there is not much to talk about here.

How much power can this unit really deliver? Let’s find out.

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.

Input	Test 1	Test 2	Test 3	Test 4	Test 5
+12VA	5 A (60 W)	10 A (120 W)	14.5 A (174 W)	19 A (228 W)	23 A (276 W)
+12VB	5 A (60 W)	10 A (120 W)	14 A (168 W)	19 A (228 W)	22.5 A (270 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)	4 A (13.2 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	138.6 W	263.6 W	385.1 W	512.6 W	630.8 W
% Max Load	22.0%	41.8%	61.1%	81.4%	100.1%
Room Temp.	45.8° C	45.3° C	47.2° C	45.7° C	47.4° C
PSU Temp.	45.3° C	45.7° C	46.6° C	47.4° C	48.3° C
Voltage Regulation	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass
Ripple and Noise	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass
AC Power	164.4 W	309.3 W	458.0 W	623.1 W	787.0 W
Efficiency	84.3%	85.2%	84.1%	82.3%	80.2%
AC Voltage	118.8 V	117.6 V	116.1 V	114.4 V	112.9 V
Power Factor	0.991	0.985	0.991	0.994	0.995
Final Result	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass

The Thermaltake Smart 630 W passed our tests with flying colors.

Efficiency was between 80.2% and 85.2% during our tests, matching the values promised by the standard 80 Plus certification.

Voltage regulation was very good, with all voltages closer to their nominal values than required (three percent regulation), except for the -12 V output at test one (-11.43 V), the +5VSB output at tests four and five (+4.84 V and +4.77 V, respectively), and the +3.3 V output at test five (+3.17 V). These outputs were still inside the allowed range. 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.

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

Ripple and Noise Tests

Voltages at the power supply outputs must be as “clean” as possible, with no noise or oscillation (also known as “ripple”). The maximum ripple and noise levels allowed are 120 mV for +12 V and -12 V outputs, and 50 mV for +5 V, +3.3 V and +5VSB outputs. All values are peak-to-peak figures. We consider a power supply as being top-notch if it can produce half or less of the maximum allowed ripple and noise levels.

The Thermaltake Smart 630 W provided low ripple and noise levels, as you can see in the table below.

	Test 1	Test 2	Test 3	Test 4	Test 5
+12VA	20.6 mV	23.6 mV	33.8 mV	45.2 mV	67.2 mV
+12VB	27.2 mV	31.2 mV	45.8 mV	56.8 mV	72.4 mV
+5 V	10.2 mV	9.2 mV	11.6 mV	12.6 mV	14.6 mV
+3.3 V	9.6 mV	11.2 mV	12.4 mV	14.0 mV	14.6 mV
+5VSB	10.2 mV	7.4 mV	9.6 mV	15.6 mV	14.8 mV
-12 V	23.4 mV	11.6 mV	29.6 mV	33.2 mV	18.0 mV

Below you can see the waveforms of the outputs during test five.

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Figure 17: +12VA input from load tester during test five at 630.8 W (67.2 mV)

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Figure 18: +12VB input from load tester during test five at 630.8 W (72.4 mV)

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Figure 19: +5V rail during test five at 630.8 W (14.6 mV)

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Figure 20: +3.3 V rail during test five at 630.8 W (14.6 mV)

Let’s see if we can pull more than 630 W from this unit.

Overload Tests

Below you can see the maximum we could pull from this power supply. We couldn’t pull more, as the power supply would shut down, showing that its protections are present and working fine. During this extreme configuration, noise and ripple levels at +12 V outputs were touching the 120 mV limit, and the +5 V dropped below the minimum allowed, at +4.68 V.

Input	Overload Test
+12VA	30 A (360 W)
+12VB	30 A (360 W)
+5 V	8 A (40 W)
+3.3 V	8 A (26.4 W)
+5VSB	3 A (15 W)
-12 V	0.5 A (6 W)
Total	772.8 W
% Max Load	133.7%
Room Temp.	46.8° C
PSU Temp.	51.1° C
AC Power	1,009 W
Efficiency	76.6%
AC Voltage	110.6 V
Power Factor	0.997

Main Specifications

The main specifications for the Thermaltake Smart 630 W power supply include:

• Standards: ATX12V 2.3
• Nominal labeled power: 630 W at 40° C continuous, 700 W peak
• Measured maximum power: 772.8 W at 46.8° C
• Labeled efficiency: Between 82% and 86%, 80 Plus standard certification
• Measured efficiency: Between 80.2% and 85.2% at 115 V (nominal, see complete results for actual voltage)
• Active PFC: Yes
• Modular Cabling System: No
• Motherboard Power Connectors: One 20/24-pin connector and two ATX12V connectors that together form an EPS12V connector
• Video Card Power Connectors: Two six/eight-pin connectors on one cable
• SATA Power Connectors: Six on two cables
• Peripheral Power Connectors: Four on one cable
• Floppy Disk Drive Power Connectors: One
• Protections (as listed by the manufacturer): Over current (OCP), over voltage (OVP), over power (OPP), and short circuit (SCP)
• Are the above protections really available? Yes. This unit also has under voltage protection (UVP).
• Warranty: Five years
• Real Manufacturer: HEC/Compucase
• More Information: http://thermaltakeusa.com
• Average Price in the U.S.*: USD 80.00

* Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this review.

Conclusions

The Thermaltake Smart 630 W proved to be a very good entry-level power supply, having excellent performance for this market segment, with efficiency between 80.2% and 85.2%, voltages closer to their nominal values than required (three percent regulation) most of the time, and low noise and ripple levels. It is also worth mentioning that the cables are not too short, which is a problem that plagues some entry-level products.

The only negative we see with this unit is its price. At USD 80, we think it is a little above what it should be. However, if you live in the U.S., you can apply for a USD 15 mail-in rebate card, making its price perfect. Because of its excellent price/performance ratio, we are giving it our “Golden Award.”