First Look
Thermaltake’s Evo Blue line of power supplies is aimed at enthusiasts who want a more aesthetically pleasing power supply than the average plain black product. The line has recently been updated to the Evo Blue 2.0 series, which boast 80plus Gold certification, improved quality, Japanese electrolytic capacitors, as well as a “Turbo Charge” feature, which increases the fan speed and allows for an extra 100W of power. Like the Toughpower and original Evo Blue series, they are made by Channel Well Technology (CWT). There are three models available 650W, 750W and 850W. The model we have here is the middle one – the 750W, which is available for $170 AUD.
The Box
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The top of the box contains a picture of the power supply, the product name, and only two bullet points of marketing – the 80plus Gold certification and turbo charge feature.
On the bottom, we have four main technical features, a load table, the connector configuration, the efficiency curve, and a list of certifications. The main features list is as follows:
- Turbo Charge Button instantly provides an extra 100W of power (We’ll test that in the overload test)
- Japanese made capacitors offer superior stability and reliability (Nice. There shouldn’t be any premature capacitor failures on these power supplies)
- Single +12V rail offers high amperage (That’s actually a bad thing. Powerful rails mean that the short circuit protection is less sensitive, and less likely to trip if you get a short circuit)
- Flatten cables allow cable routing with ease (That’s another feature I really like, after the number of computers I’ve seen which were cable management disasters)
There is also a little more marketing on the left hand side of the box.
- 80plus Gold certified – extreme efficiency PSU series with 87-92% efficiency @ 20-100% load to cut down electric cost.
- Intelligent push button for overclocking – so the fan is forced to operate at full speed to give you 100% extra power output.
- High quality 105°C Japanese & Solid state capacitors: ensure superb performance and reliability.
- Flat, low profile cables allow for easy cable routing and increased airflow.
That’s pretty much been covered by the top and bottom. The other sides are devoid of marketing, so with that out of the way, let’s open the box.
As well as the power supply itself, the box contains a warranty guide (which was slightly damaged on my unit), a manual, a bag of modular cables, and a bag containing a power cable, four screws and three zip ties. This is pretty much what I would expect in a product in this price range.
The Power Supply
As the box suggested, this power supply has a single 12V rail – a 62A one. As I stated when commenting on the box, with products as powerful as this, two or more 12V rails is preferable, as a shorted transistor on your hardware may not trip the over current or short circuit protection – resulting in melted connectors.
The power supply itself is matte black, which is my personal favourite color. It blends in well with most cases, and doesn’t attract fingerprints. The Evo Blue 2.0 logo is printed upside-down on one side, so it will appear right side up, regardless of whether it is mounted with the fan facing up or down.
The power supply is semi-modular. The ATX Connector and CPU connectors are both hard-wired, which is fine, as all PCs require them. The modular cables consist of four 6+2 pin PCI-Express connectors, nine SATA Power connectors and six molex/peripheral connectors. Only four of the five drive and peripheral cables can be plugged in at a time, so you will have to chose whether to leave out one of the SATA power cables, or one of the molex cables. None of the cables have an FDD connector, but there is a molex to FDD adapter supplied. All of the wires are black. While this is very aesthetically pleasing, it will make it more difficult if you decide to add sleeving to them.
As was the case with the Seasonic SSP-350GT I reviewed previously, both the fan grille and rear grille use the honeycomb structure, which is fairly non-restrictive, and doesn’t block a lot of air.
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