Page 2 - Physical Look - Outside
The design of the Thermaltake Smart BM3 850W is quite standard for a power supply unit, utilizing an all-black exterior. At 14cm deep, the Thermaltake Smart BM3 850W is compact for the performance grade and wattage it is designed for. Modular power supplies are longer than non-modular units by a centimeter or two in order to accommodate its connector board at the back that contains the electrical connections for the outputs. The Thermaltake Smart BM3 850W is a unique case, here being a semi-modular power supply. Length is generally not an issue for larger cases, but if you have a small case, the short size will be beneficial.
Taking a look at the photo above, you can see the full branding on the sides, where Thermaltake's logo and the product name are prominently displayed. The 80 Plus Bronze badge is also shown on both sides along with the brand and product logo. The text will always be right side up, as the orientation of it is opposite between the sides. The fan grille guards the primary and only cooling fan installed, and has nothing special about its design. The 120mm fan generates airflow by drawing air from the bottom of the power supply over its internal components to keep the temperatures at a reasonable level. Exhaust heat is able to leave at the back of the power supply through the secondary opening. Meanwhile, four screws secure the power supply case together. A warranty seal is placed over one of the screws, so you cannot open the Smart BM3 850W without voiding its 5-year warranty.
Taking a look at the exposed side of the power supply, we can see the power input and the two switches for power and Smart Zero Fan control. The receptacle input is standard, so a power cord can be reused from another device if necessary. The low resistance slit grille design is implemented to provide area for airflow. Cool air is fed into the power supply from the grille at the bottom. Hot air can be discharged through the back grille after cooling down the internal components. As with most fans, four screws are used to keep the fan attached to the PSU. The Thermaltake Smart BM3 850W has automatic full range 100V to 240V AC line voltage selection like with all active power factor correction, or APFC, power supplies, so the user does not have to worry about manually selecting input voltage.
The Thermaltake Smart BM3 850W is a semi-modular power supply unit. Like with all semi-modular power supplies, this one comes with a fixed and modular set of cables. The fixed set of cables includes the ATX 20+4 pin and two sets of ATX 4+4 pin cables. The remaining cables come detached, and can be used as seen fit by the user. Semi-modular power supplies offer a middle ground between non-modular and modular units, since the fixed cables are necessary for running the PC, but optional cables are modular, improving the cable management inside your build. As such, they also generally cost in between a non-modular and modular option of similar wattage rating. Ultimately though, I think semi-modular power supplies offer a good middle ground between cost and cable management.
The back of the power supply contains the connection panel. The sockets are easy to identify thanks to the labels to match with the cable. Starting at the top and going from left to right, we have a 450W 12VHPWR socket and two SATA/Molex sockets. At the bottom, we have two 8-pin PCI Express headers, followed by another two SATA/Molex cable headers. As with most power supplies, the design of these connectors is good with different pin configurations. This makes it so you do not have to risk plugging in a cable to the wrong port.
The Thermaltake Smart BM3 850W has solid external build quality. The surface of the PSU is smooth and feels nice on the fingers. Fingerprints are unlikely to be left on the surface due to the matte finish. The gaps between the connection ports are small and even as well. The exterior has no sharp edges.
The voltage specification label for the Thermaltake Smart BM3 850W is located on the top of the power supply unit. Two virtual rails are visible here. Up to 18A can be delivered on both the +3.3V and +5V rails, making for a power rating of 59.4W and 90W, respectively. The combined output for the +3.3V and +5V rail is 110W. This means the total power allocation combination must fall within the limits of the listed specifications. The +12V rail is rated to deliver up to 70.85A, making for a power output of 850W. This is done to maximize power delivery flexibility compared to having multiple +12V rails. The combined power output for the Thermaltake Smart BM3 850W is 850W, as the name implies. As a reminder, the power distribution on your system must not exceed the rated limits -- that being 59.4W on the +3.3V rail, 90W on the +5V rail, 850W on the +12V rail, and 850W combined between all the positive rails. The power distribution of the Thermaltake Smart BM3 850W is reasonable for an 850W power supply unit, although I have seen higher +3.3V and 5V rails for lower output rated units, which are typically between 20A to 22A.
The Thermaltake Smart BM3 850W is 80 Plus Bronze certified, which means that it is certified to be at least 82%, 85%, and 92% efficient at 20%, 50%, and 100% load, respectively. Higher certifications available for power supplies of this type include 80 Plus Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Titanium at press time. Unfortunately, it does not have a Cybenetics ETA certification at the time of publishing this article.
A total of nine cables are included out of the box, including two fixed and seven modular ones. All modular cables are flat and easy to bend, making them extremely easy to work with. All wires are 18 AWG, including high current PCI Express and ATX/EPS connectors. Usually, manufacturers will fatten them up to 16 AWG, but Thermaltake opted out on that.
The following cables are included out of the box:
- 1x ATX 20+4 pin, 60.0cm
- 1x ATX/EPS 4+4 pin, 2 connectors, 65.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
- 1x 12VHPWR PCIe 12+4 pin, 60.0cm
- 2x PCIe 6+2 pin, 2 connectors each, 50.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
- 2x SATA, 3 connectors each, 50.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
- 1x Molex, 3 connectors, 50.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
- 1x Molex, 4 connectors, 50.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
These are specified measurements from the manufacturer. These cable lengths are actually quite long, since 50cm is the general standard. Therefore, most users should have no problems with the Thermaltake Smart BM3 850W's reach in modern cases. Cables shorter than 50cm to the first connector are often acceptable for peripherals, since they do not need to travel very far in modern chassis.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Minor Tests and Conclusion
