Thermaltake TR2 Bronze 600W/TR-600P Review

A Look Inside

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The input filtering is nicely fenced off by a plastic-covered shield. It contains three X capacitors, two differential-mode chokes, two common-mode chokes and five Y capacitors (including the one after the rectifier), although there is no MOV to speak of, so make sure you use it with a surge protector. The Active PFC/PWM controller used is the rather common Champion Micro CM6800. It drives two Fairchild FCPF21N60NT MOSFETs for the PFC circuit and two Infineon SPA20N60C3 switching transistors. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a data sheet for the PFC transistors on the Fairchild Semiconductor website. The closest I could find was an FCPF22N60NT. Based on the fact that the part numbers are the same, except for the first number (the current rating) being 21 as opposed to 22, I’ll assume that they are the same except that the FCPF21N60NT is rated for 21A, while the other is rated for 22A. In any case, though, they are more than good enough to allow the unit to deliver the promised 600W. The capacitor isn’t a Rubycon like the one pictured on the box. It’s a Panasonic. Not to worry, Panasonic is also a very reliable Japanese capacitor manufacturer.

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A look at the secondary side shows mediocre Teapo capacitors. They aren’t the bottom of the barrel and often hold up OK when given good cooling, but more reliable capacitors would be preferred. The soldering is quite sloppy. Not only are there blobs of excess solder and a few hand-done joints, but the legs on some of the components weren’t cut as short as they should have been. This isn’t going to affect its performance or reliability and I’ve seen worse, so it’s a minor issue, but it still looks rather unprofessional.

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In the way of rectifiers, the 12V rail uses four Diodes Inc. SBR30A45CT Schottky rectifiers rated at 30A each. In theory, this means the 12V rail can deliver up to 120A if the other components are up to the job. The 5V rail has two ST Microelectronics STPS3045CT Schottky rectifiers, and the 3.3V rail uses two PFC Devices PFR30V30CT Schottky rectifiers. Both of these parts are rated at 30A, meaning that the 5V and 3.3V rails can deliver up to 60A if the rest of the components can handle it. The secondary side is monitored by a Silicon Touch PS223 monitoring IC.

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Thermaltake would have us believe that they made the fan, but the fine print on the bottom of the sticker gives away the real manufacturer as being Yate Loon, which are very common in FSP power supplies. The fan is temperature controlled, but I could hear it during test 1, and it only got louder as the load and heat went up, although even during the overload test, the noise was acceptable. Still, the last two 80 Plus Bronze certified units I’ve tested were quieter under light loads, and the back of the box says it has an “Ultra Quiet 12cm Fan”.

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