INTRODUCTION

   Power supply units may not have advanced technologically as much as some other PC hardware components over the years but things have changed a lot compared to when i was growing up. For example i remember stopping by the largest PC hardware distributor where i live back in the late 90's to pick up a newly released model and although back then the 8 different units available by a total of 3 manufacturers seemed like a lot to me today there are at least twenty times as many available from a very large number of manufacturers. Of course because of the vast number of available features and output capacities today having a large number of available models means that every single consumer out there is covered and that's never a bad thing. Thermaltake recently released their Smart DPS G line of power supply units which allows the end user to monitor their current status and also gives access the current and overall power consumption levels via a computer and/or android/iOS compatible handheld devices. Well after testing the quite good 700W model today with us we have the 750W variant.

   The beginning of every myth and legend is about dreams and desire: the challenging, creative and combative features of Thermaltake Group create an exciting and fascinating user experience to share with everyone, while allowing users to enter a selfless state in terms of function and potential. Thermaltake Group's 3 main brands: Thermaltake, Tt eSPORTS and LUXA2 have been merchandising throughout the world, and have successfully established 6 business footholds in areas such as Europe, America, Oceania, Japan and China, with 95 regional distributors and over 4000 premium retailers. All product planning is orientated by observation of global PC peripheral market and understanding of consumer demands. Thermaltake creates direct contact opportunities with resellers and consumers by participating major global ICT exhibitions and trade shows every year, and develop innovative marketing strategies for the promotions of new products. Meanwhile, Thermaltake incorporates the composite marketing system by making branch offices and regional distributors both the distribution channel and technical support or service center to provide instant support; by maintaining close contact with end users, we manage to strengthen corporate competitiveness and create the momentum for the growth of accomplishments. With its outstanding wisdom and strength Thermaltake Group is recruiting creative talents to build a cultural brand for the enjoyment of entertainment, e-Sports, technology and lifestyle!

     The Smart DPS G 750W power supply unit has a peak output of 900W, sports an 80 Plus Gold certification (the 700W model which we reviewed earlier was 80 Plus Bronze certified) and features a 32Bit microcontroller unit, single high-current +12V rail rated at 62A (can deliver up to 744W), silent 140mm dual ball bearing fan, semi-modular design, flat modular cables, short circuit protection (SCP), over power protection (OPP), over-temperature protection (OTP), abnormal voltage level protection, high quality main Japanese capacitors and Active PFC. However just like the Smart DPS G 700W the strong selling point of the 750W model is obviously Thermaltake’s Smart Power Management system (SPM) and although once again some people may not consider this as something really important it can actually come very handy if not as a means to reduce your electrical bills then certainly as a way to monitor the status of the majority of your systems hardware components. So let's take a closer look and see just how much better (or not) the 750W 80 Plus Gold model is compared to the 700W 80 Plus Bronze one.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 As expected the front of the box has a large product picture along with the main product features and the 7 year warranty.

Part of the SPM feature is showcased on the left side of the box.

At the rear of the box you can see the electrical specifications table along with the available power connectors, efficiency graph and a quick reference to the SPM feature.

Thermaltake has placed the PSU inside a bubble bag and the modular cables inside a carrying/storage pouch.

Contained inside the box is the Smart DPS G 750W PSU with its power cord, modular cables, carrying/storage pouch, 4 cable ties, USB cable, 4 mounting screws, warranty information paper and the quick start guide.

THE SMART DPS G 750W EXTERIOR

 Although slightly larger compared to the 700W model the Smart DPS G 750W is housed inside a standard ATX enclosure.

For the 750W model Thermaltake has chosen to go with a 140mm intake fan instead of a 120mm fan like with the Smart DPS G 700W.

You can see the model name, power output and the 80 Plus Gold certification logo on both sides of the unit.

The unit’s electrical table is as usual located on a large sticker at the base of the enclosure.

All modular connectors are both color coded and tagged (the one on the far left is to connect the PSU to the USB spot/pins on your mainboard).

Most of the rear is perforated and here we also see an on/off power switch and the power port along with a warning sticker about the zero fan feature.

THE SMART DPS G 750W INTERIOR

 The 140mm dual-ball bearing fan can spin up to around 1500RPM and that’s about the only thing we know about it.

Layout is clean (once again Channel Well Technologies is behind this PSU) and we see two large heatsinks separating the unit in 3 sections.

For primary capacitor Thermaltake chose to go with a 560uF Matsushita (PET) model rated for 85'C.

Secondary capacitors are manufactured by NIPPON and are rated for use up to 105'C.

SMART POWER MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

Thermaltake gives you 3 ways to use their smart power management feature in the form of a PC software, iOS/Android software and an online web page (via the web page you can also check your power consumption).

 
The PC software is the easier to use and more detailed and as you can all see aside giving you information about the rails of the PSU, the current power draw of your system and the speed of the fan (these screenshots were taken from the review of the 700W model) it also offers you information regarding the power draw and current temperature levels of your graphics card(s) and CPU and the overall electricity costs (with the DPS RGB models you can also control the color of their fans via this software).

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

     Using a dedicated measurement instrument such as a Chroma or a SunMoon to test power supply units is without doubt the most ideal and accurate way (not to mention the fastest) to do that currently. However it's certainly not the only way there is and so pretty much anyone can test a power supply unit just by using a computer. Certainly limitations do apply and so you can't really test a 1000W power supply if your system only uses 500W at peak loads and that's why during the past 5 years i have saved certain hardware components for the purpose of building a dedicated PSU test rig. True it may not be as accurate as the above mentioned solutions but it comes really close and is in fact closer to real world usage. So as always we ran several games with maximum graphic options enabled at a resolution of 2560x1600 in order to stress every hardware component and increase the overall power demands of the system. The Passmark BurnIn Test was also used to overstress the components in an effort to provide the most accurate results possible. As a final test we also used the latest OCCT 4.4 software and its dedicated PSU testing suite since it can really bring a power supply to its knees after inside a few minutes.

       Rail stability was checked/measured with the CPUID Hardware monitor and a Metex multimeter which also recorded the system load in idle and in load. As always try to remember that the power consumption numbers listed in the graph are the highest (Peak) ones recorded during the entire duration of the tests and not the average ones. Noise levels coming from the fan were recorded using the high precision HD600 ExTech Sound dBA Meter from the rear of the unit and at a range of no more than 5-10cm. Readings under load are recorded the exact moment we manually switch the fans of all graphics cards from full speed to almost zero, that way the fan of the power supply does not have enough time to slow its RPM and so by doing this we get very accurate noise level readings. Needless to say in order to get 100% accurate readings you need to have a noise isolated room for that exact purpose, something which is quite impossible unless you are working inside a real lab (some people use very small noise insulated boxes but due to their size both heat and noise exceed normal levels and so the results can't really be considered to be 100% accurate). Also do take into account that since all noise measurements take place from just 5-10cm away the final noise levels to reach your ears will be considerably less.

TEST RESULTS

RAILS

Rail stability although not the best we've ever seen is very good for a mid-end PSU.

CONSUMPTION

We managed to squeeze 764W out of the unit and although far from its 900W peak number it’s still 14W over its rated output.

NOISE LEVELS

The 140mm fan may be silent up to 30% but it’s far from that when at full load.

CONCLUSION

   Just like the Smart DPS G 700W PSU the 750W model may not feature the highest possible 80 Plus efficiency certification nor is it fully modular but thanks to its very good rail stability, single high-current 12+ rail, high peak-output and smart power management feature it makes for a very interesting proposal. Again it’s really too early to tell whether or not their SPM feature (and the software you can use it with) and other similar emerging technologies will allow you to save the planet or even some money from your monthly electrical bill but it does allow you to keep an eye on your systems hardware components so it’s quite useful. Unfortunately I can’t say that this unit is inaudible like many others since at full load the 140mm dual-ball bearing fan did become audible but I really doubt people will be buying an 750W unit to max it out (if that’s the case do yourself a favor and get a higher output model).

   When we reviewed the Smart DPS G 700W model its price tag was set a bit higher than we had expected so we did think a cut was in order. Well I’m glad to report that Thermaltake cut the price of both models so currently you can find the DPS G 750W for USD101.10 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 126Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). Again it goes without saying that you will probably be able to find a 80 Plus Gold certified unit with equal and perhaps even higher output for around the same price but if you care about the smart management feature the DPS G 750W is really a one way. Overall Thermaltake has released yet another interesting power supply unit and since it performs very well and packs features we don't see with rival models it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Good Rail Stability
- Smart Power Management Technology
- Flat Modular Cables
- 80 Plus Gold Certified
- Peak Output (900W)
- 7 Year Warranty

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Fan Noise (Full Load)