Power Supply

So for a power supply, I was considering going one of two directions. The basic black looking power supply that would hide and let the other components stand out or RGB. For RGB power supplies, Thermaltake just happened to be the only option out there. So when they sent the Core P1 I talked to them about the build and what I was looking to do and they just happened to have a new power supply just coming out. The Thermaltake Smart Pro RGB 850W. They included one when sending out the goods. Honestly, if I were buying one outright for the build I would have gone with something a little more efficient, this new model is 80 Plus Bronze rated, but the opportunity was there and otherwise, it fits the build.

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Ignoring the sticker on the side, it is actually a simple looking power supply like I was originally looking for. But at the same time, they did include an RGB fan inside. This specific model doesn’t actually hook up via USB or require software for the lighting. They went with a single push button to change the RGB lighting. Lucky for us we aren’t looking to do any really special colors that might need to be matched perfectly. We were looking at basic bright colors. It also had a smart Zero Fan option to keep the noise down when it isn’t under load and the 850 Watt wattage would handle anything I could throw at it in the ITX form factor. In fact, when we originally planned this out, 850 watts would actually be MUCH more than needed for any single GPU build. Vega, X299, and Threadripper all have changed that now though.

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While being a more budget friendly power supply for an RGB model, the Smart Pro RGB 850W is modular. This was important because I was (and still am, not everything is figured out yet) considering going with custom cables for the build. You get two PCI connections and when you look at the cables each actually has a dual connection on it, but for custom cables I would need both so that may work out in our single GPU setup. All of the cabling including the 24pin are all wired in the all black thin flexible cables so routing them around would be much easier. Given the open configuration that was really good to see.

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As always, Thermaltake also includes a carrying bag for all of the extra cables. I personally also find them nice to put all of my spare parts in these bags after a build is finished. That is if I don’t plan on keeping all of the boxes.

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Also in the box with the power supply was a small bag with four black mounting screws, a few zip ties, and a thick power cable. There was also some documentation. I think Thermaltake needs to include more zip ties, sometimes I use more than four ties just on one cable. 

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So here is a shot of the power supply installed in the Core P1. I debated a lot on which way to orientate it in the case. For now, I have the fan facing up where you can see the lighting. This may change in the future though

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