Today's Hard|Forum Post
Today's Hard|Forum Post
Date:
Monday , February 22, 2016
Author:
Paul Johnson
Editor:
Kyle Bennett
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Thermaltake DPS G PC APP 2.0 Software Review

We have seen several companies tackle software when it comes to supporting enthusiast power supply installs, and quite frankly, we have not been terribly impressed with any of the software we have seen to date. That is not to say we do not welcome advancements, we just wish those were a bit more advanced. Thermaltake steps up to the plate today!

Introduction

For years, there have been hardware ways of altering certain aspects of a power supply's behavior on select models. These methods have included things like dip switches for changing rail assignments/OCP configurations or adjustable potentiometers (pots) for altering the actual DC output voltage of a rail. Over the last few years, a number of power supplies have taken this to a new level by using software coupled with a digital controller that allows a user to interface with the power supply and see various statuses or make various changes. Until recently, much of the software control measures have been truly in their infancy. However, as more companies look to differentiate their products from one another, this aspect, along with the transition to digitally controlled power supplies, looks to be accelerating.

Today, we are looking at our third example of one of these software solutions (second in detail) and it happens to come to us from Thermaltake. As a company, Thermaltake has a rather short history being founded in just 1999, but in that short time they have grown rapidly. While Thermaltake's primary focus has been on thermal solutions, it has also maintained a group of product lines dedicated to power supplies for a very long time. The early power supplies in these lines were often of lower quality but over the years they have taken their power supply business in a new, and quite frankly better, direction as they paired with higher quality OEMs like CWT and Enhance. However, today's DPS G PC APP 2.0 software is part of Thermaltake's whole take on IoT (Internet of Things) which they call Smart Power Management (SPM) rather than a stand alone power supply product.

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Is Smart a Relative Term?

As we pointed out when we reviewed the Zero Delay Power Monitoring System (ZDPMS) produced by Enermax, the Thermaltake DPS G PC APP 2.0 is by far not the first system or power supply monitoring and control software produced. Indeed, a number of different vendors have produced at least somewhat similar products over the years including NVIDIA with their Enthusiast System Architecture (ESA), Enermax with their ZDPMS, Corsair with their Link software, etc. However, the DPS G PC APP 2.0 is the second full featured look we have at one of these products. In our first look, we saw the ZDPMS system from Enermax. However, that product was limited to supporting just one power supply at that time, the Digifanless 550W. Today's DPS G PC APP 2.0 software supports far more products than that but, in doing so, it utilizes two different versions of the software as seen below:

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For this evaluation, we will be looking at the DPS G PC APP 2.0 for Toughpower DPS G Platinum users as the base power supply we will be using in this evaluation is the Toughpower DPS G 1050w Platinum we recently reviewed. So, much of the information pertaining to this software is deeply intertwined with that product. As such, we would recommend reading that review in addition to this one for a more complete picture of the hardware and software being looked at today. As this is just the second in depth look we have at one of these software solutions, it is of great interest to see what Thermaltake is actually telling us this software is and what it will do. As it turns out Thermaltake has an extensive product page setup for this product and on that page we find the following:

The new DPS G PC APP 2.0 enables users to digitally monitor the key parameters of the CPU and VGA, including efficiency, wattage, voltage and temperature while using computer. The combination of Thermaltake DPS G Series PSU and DPS G software provides clean and stable power and three intelligent platforms – DPS G PC APP 2.0, DPS G Smart Power Management Cloud 1.0, and DPS G Mobile APP 1.0 – for users to monitor and record the status of power consumption, voltage distribution, and electricity cost for advance usage.

Given this information, it seems that Thermaltake is positioning this software as a complete solution to span their entire product line since units like the SMART DPS G Bronze, SMART DPS G Gold, Toughpower DPS G Gold, and Toughpower DPS G Platinum all are supported in one fashion or another. Since we now know what to expect from this software, let's move on and take a look at the software, its installation, and its performance.