Page 3 - Physical Look - Inside
After removing six smaller Phillips-head screws, the innards of the Thermaltake SMART M750W are revealed. However, I must again warn users planning to crack open the power supply, doing so will inevitably void your warranty. There is a five year warranty on this power supply, and I suggest that if you were to open it up, it would be at least after the warranty is expired.
As far as size is concerned, the external dimensions allow the inside to be quite spacious up top. Most of the space across the bottom is taken up by the PCB and its components, which we will take a more specific look in just a short moment. There is a sizable gap between the PCB and the daughterboard used for the modular cable connectors. Normally, large heatsinks are used to dissipate heat in a power supply. However, in our case, there is none to be found, meaning the 140mm fan should be more than enough to remove the heat generated by the components inside directly. Since this is an 80 PLUS Bronze certified unit, higher efficiency also translates to lower heat production. It is quite surprising to me such a power supply can not have any heatsinks, but I guess with the scarcity of components and space given, it makes a lot of sense.
One things I would like to point out before moving further is the way the fan is connected to the mainboard. The stock fan obtains power via a 2-pin non-soldered connector; if you ever feel the need to replace the stock fan, it should not be much of a challenge. Of course, replacing the fan also means the warranty will be voided. Given there is a five year warranty as well, I would highly suggest not messing around with it, haha.
Looking at the power supply from this angle, we can clearly see that the cables are cleanly soldered onto the modular connectors on the daughterboard, and the cables are not routed all over the place. Overall, cables and components are quite neatly organized in the Thermaltake SMART M750W. The Channel Well Technology design appears to be a good build overall, and it should be safe to assert that all power supplies in this series should be intrinsically similar, other than components that contribute to the other model's higher combined output, obviously. I was able to deduce the origin of the power supply as being from Channel Well Technology, as they are the only OEM I know of that uses the green/turquoise colored transformers. This is not to mention the layout and the simplicity of the design also proves similar to some other Channel Well Technology builds as well.
This is probably the first time in a long while where I have seen a power switch next to the power connector, so the switch back here is quite noticeable next to the male power connector, as well as the automatic full range (100V-240V) AC line voltage selector. The first input stage into any standard computer power supply unit, the AC transient filter stage, starts at the AC input. The AC input is found where the honeycomb mesh is located, and moves through the various X and Y capacitors. This model, as with the non-modular model, also uses only two X capacitors and two Y capacitors at the AC input. There are also two more additional Y caps on the main PCB. Furthermore, there are two CM chokes and a MOV (Metal Oxide Varistor) that can be spotted.
As aforementioned, there are no 'finger tip' heatsinks, which are quite common in many modern power supplies. This construction allows for more room, and thus better heat dissipation, since the parts are spread apart. There is more airflow space for the heat to dissipate through without using bulky heatsinks, which does not only take up room, but also add weight to the PSU itself. With the included 140mm fan we will take a closer look at later, any type of heat should be easily dissipated from this simplistic unit.
A single filtering capacitor is used on this design, which could be seen from an earlier angle. The single filter capacitor is rated at 390μF, 400V at 105c, and is made by Matsushita, which is better known as Panasonic in most parts of the world. This fulfills the Japanese brand capacitors as advertised, and knowing Panasonic, they make pretty reliable products, and are popular with many OEMs. Unlike the previous incarnation of the power supply, 105c capacitors are used instead of ones rated at 85c. Surprisingly, the secondary capacitors are also Japanese brand capacitors by Nippon Chemi-Con, which as mentioned in report after report, makes great capacitors, and is used widely by almost every OEM when advertising Japanese brand capacitors.
As aforementioned, from my observations and research, we traced the OEM to being Channel Well Technology. The usage of the green/turquoise colored transformers are said to be a staple of Channel Well Technology. Further research indicated this is a slightly modified version of the Channel Well Technology line of PUQ(B) power supplies, which has the same rating and similar layout to the Thermaltake SMART M750W. That power supply also has the same 80 PLUS Bronze rating, and is very similar in terms of specifications as well.
Two Infineon IPW60R190C6 MOSFETs were used for the rectification process. As with modern high efficiency power supplies, all rectifiers produces the +12V out -- while the +5V and +3.3V outputs are generated from the +12V output using a DC to DC converter within the power supply unit. The IPW60R190C6's rated continuous drain current is 12.8A at 100c, and a pulsed drain current of 59A. Meanwhile, the DC-to-DC converter as well as Active PFC circuit has an array of Toshiba TK18A50D MOSFETs for each of the +3.3V and +5V outputs. The TK18A50D MOFSETs' maximum drain current is rated 18A at 25c, and a pulsed drain current of 72A, with an RDS(on) value of less than 0.27 ohm (Vgs @ 10V, Ids @ 9A).
Finally, the 140mm fan found on the Thermaltake SMART M750W is manufactured by Yate Loon Electronics. The fan is a TT-1425B, otherwise known as a Yate Loon D14BH-12. Research indicates that the fan has a maximum speed of 2800RPM, and has an airflow of 140 CFM at 12V, with a noise level of 48.5 dB(A) at 12V. However, it seems that the fan has been limited to a speed of around 2300RPM, so we will never hit that high level of noise.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Minor Tests and Conclusion
