Seasonic Power Supplies

[Mullet]

Anyone here got the 500w version? Jus about to order one, and wondered if the cables come braided?

Cheers

Dave

Braided my S12 600W

Took about 3hrs all in.

Get the AC ryan morph + from kustompcs ...... it includes tools and all connectors..

V good

[dave87]

[RANT]tbh, when the smallest Seasonic I could find with a 12cm fan was the 500w, and I could afford it, so why not - its no less efficient than a smaller power supply (and in some cases more efficient). That and it gives you room to expand.

Remember that 500w is the rated output on all the different rails - if a pc demands heavily on one rail, then a smaller power supply wont cut it. [/RANT]

For those intersted, I got it installed just now, the wiring was a bit of a pain to get it nice and clutter free, but well worth it now done properly.

anyway, some piccies

the front - nice and tidy = better air flow



the Back - where all the wiring is hidden



After booting up the PC, it was nice and quiet. The included bundle was minimalistic, but functional - 1 fan splitter, some cable ties and some spiral rap, but suited to the product.

Dave

[aidanjt]

[RANT]Remember that 500w is the rated output on all the different rails - if a pc demands heavily on one rail, then a smaller power supply wont cut it. [/RANT]

Wrong, you're thinking about maximum rail DC, amperage.. PSU wattage rating is the maximum input current from the AC mains.

Your PC wouldn't even draw 300W.

[dave87]

PSU wattage rating is the maximum input current from the AC mains.

Dnt think so - no PSU is 100% efficient. 500w is the maximum output on the different rails combined - input, depending on temperature can be anything around 10-15% more at max load. And again, it didn't matter that my PC currently wouldn't draw 300w, it gives me the scope to expand later, or possibly move the power supply to a newer PC.

(all figures taken from the Seasonic Manual)

btw - current is measured in amps - not watts

[dave87]

Jus found a power supply calculator - my PC comes out at 364w at full load - so i think 500w gives me a nice amount of headroom should I want to expand.

I don't want to argue, as I believe it is personal choice which components you choose for your own PC (advising others is a different matter) but speaking from my own experience I am glad of the choices I have made. So comments such as

God people are stupid when it comes to power requirements, I don't know why I waste my breath.

aren't appreciated.

Dave

[Agent]

PSU wattage rating is the maximum input current from the AC mains.

[EtheAv8r]

CustomPC have done a very detailed review of PSUs in Ocyober 05 - the complete set of findings is available onlin at www.custompc.co.uk Home > Product Reviews > Labs > PSUs ... Seasonic 500 and 600 come out a close top, with FSP FX600-80GLN also 'in there' and the most efficient PSU - and a number of PSUs are really slated... makes a good point of reference.

[TooNice]

I don't know whether the Seasonic has the highest efficiency (although it ranks amongst the top), but I am quite sure it is the most quiet PSU with active cooling.

[aidanjt]

So comments such as

God people are stupid when it comes to power requirements, I don't know why I waste my breath.

aren't appreciated.

With statements such as:

Maybe a PC Power & Cooling kilowatt power supply if I were building a dual Opteron SLI beast but I'm a wee bit short on funds for that.

Do you wonder? There are quad CPU servers out there with 700Watt PSUs, which is a sensible PSU for a machice of that type.

BTW, I'm well aware current is measured in amperage, Wattage is a rating of power consumption, in terms of electricity they are roughly equilvilant.. and PSU power rating *is* based on the power it draws on the mains and does not factor in efficency. PSU calculators exhadurate btw, like most people.

[dave87]

Well, there is absolutely no point arguing with you, so here are the factors that influenced my decision:

Wanted a 12cm fan in the powersupply - quieter
Wanted a range of connectors
Wanted something reliable
Wanted something reasonably efficient & reliable
Wanted something that would last even if I changed systems/added new hardware
Wanted stable voltages regardless of how much current drawn from the rails

So having read the reviews, I decided on the Seasonic, as it seemed to be a quality product with all the things i needed. I am perfectly aware that a PSU calculator will exaggerate, but I don't honestly care. The wattage rating of the PSU I chose was only a secondary concern, as long as it was high enough to power my current system.

Feel free to disagree with me all you like, doesn't change the fact that I bought the powersupply I did, and I am quite happy with it. I would also recommend it to others based on my experiences so far. Your key arguement is based around the idea that it is going to cost me more to run this powersupply, no? So based on that logic me buying a higher efficiency larger power supply should cost me less than having a lower efficience smaller one?

And I think the point technojunkie was trying to make with that statement was that I wouldn't need anymore - probably said in jest aswell, so don't take it seriously.

Dave

[jimborae]

....... so here are the factors that influenced my decision:

Wanted a 12cm fan in the powersupply - quieter
Wanted a range of connectors
Wanted something reliable
Wanted something reasonably efficient & reliable
Wanted something that would last even if I changed systems/added new hardware
Wanted stable voltages regardless of how much current drawn from the rails

So having read the reviews, I decided on the Seasonic, as it seemed to be a quality product with all the things i needed. I am perfectly aware that a PSU calculator will exaggerate, but I don't honestly care. The wattage rating of the PSU I chose was only a secondary concern, as long as it was high enough to power my current system.

Dave

Well based on the reasons above (and they are very valid reasons) you have made a very good choice imho.

In Custompc's psu shoot out they had awhile ago the Seasonic was the most effiecient psu on test & they tested quite a few.

Still I would say this as I'm extremely happy with my Seasonic despite having to rma it very early on.

[TooNice]

Yea, I'd say Seasonic does everything well, with only two main weaknesses:
- Not modular
- Power connector on the short side (I hear that you sometime need to stretch it for cases like the P180).

I still went for the S12 series because I needed a PSU NOW, but if they can keep what they have now, and add the other two, then their next gen PSU would be great in just about everything.

[dave87]

I've got mine in an antec P160, and I had no problems routing the cables to my mobo (NF7-S v2) though in a bigger case it may be a problem.

Dave

[dave87]

Oh, and running a few tests, it seems to have knocked off about 10C off my case temps

[Mimp]

My seasonic died shortly after arrival, and i know this is a reasonably common problem or at least it was. Get it from scan or somone else with a decent RMA record and i'd wholeheartedly reccomend them. Replacement has had no problems although it is just slightly louder then the original.

[dave87]

I got mine from Dabs, theyve always been pretty good for RMAs. Thinking about it Scan were about the same price

Dave