Thermaltake Smart BX1 RGB 750w Power Supply Review

Efficiency, PFC and Voltage Regulation

Voltage Regulation

Voltage regulation is important as it ensures that despite the load the power supply is outputting, the level of power is consistent. In this regard as can be seen in the results below, the Thermaltake Smart BX1 was remarkably consistent. The variance to the average is very minimal  and only gets higher than 1% in the -12V category.

In that regard, the voltages are consistently a little lower than they should be. Given that this rail is hardly used though, such results are not concerning and will not affect the overall operation.

Power Efficiency

As the Thermaltake Smart BX1 RGB power supply is bronze rated, this does have to meet certain efficiency standards.  Put simply, this must achieve a minimum of 81% efficiency at maximum and minimum loads while around 85% at mid/average loads.

As you can see, the Smart BX1 easily achieved this rating by a massive margin. It achieves a near silver level of efficiency and in terms of max-min loads, it’s even pushing into the gold-rated territory. At the risk of hyperbole, we should point out that it isn’t unusual to see a power supply perform slightly better than the rated amount. It is, however, pleasantly surprising to see this PSU do it so comfortably that it borders on much higher standards. Standards which, incidentally, usually come with a much higher price tag.

We should note that our results are not quite as optimistic as those Thermaltake put on the packaging in terms of the starting efficiency. On the whole, though, our results are very consistent with theirs.

Power Factor Correction

While the PFC ratings do struggle under low-load, as soon as you crank the power-up, the Thermaltake Smart BX1 RGB Power Supply achieves some excellent results. After the 40% load, the results see a slow but consistent rise towards the higher figures.

In terms of the results here, there is, again, absolutely nothing to raise any concern over.