Hardware First Look: Seasonic X-Series PSU

We take a gander behind the technology that powers Seasonic's latest 80Plus Gold, fully modular power supplies: the X-Series. We strip apart what's inside to find the details.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/psus/2009/10/29/first-look-seasonic-x-series-psu/1

 

Finally, it's good to hear something again about the PSU's. It's been a while.
How soon can we expect a review of the new Modular Corsair HX series (750 Watt and above)?

...Oh .... and W00t 1st post ...........

 

I find 2 things strange here; the first being that a manufacturer has tried to extend the life expectancy of one its products by future proofing and potentially over-cooling, and secondly that bit-tech are complaining about this!

 

We already mentioned in the forums that the X series from Seasonic is Creme de la creme.

The only thing to improve is the small internal heat-dissipator; with better internal heat dissipating elements they could reduce the ultra silent behavior and temperatures a lot further.
At least the price is great, compared to other "premium offerings".

Enermax has also a line of Gold rated PSUs, but they are low power ones (550w is the most powerful).

 

At a $200 RRP, I can see folks opting for lower-end PSUs. But the review over at [H]ardOCP leaves no doubt that it's a great unit.

 

I build gamer systems and never put less than a kilowatt PSU in any more. I haven't had any power problems since doing that, and that ladies, is a GOOD thing!

I am running an Enermax Evo Galaxy 1250 Watt on my main computer now.
The box proudly proclaims "12 cpus/gpus" AND "24 drives". I only have 4 cpus and 2 GPUs right now with 6 internal drives and 2 opticals, so I have some breathing room! Ph yeah the 12 120mm fans that are going to be replaced with water cooling for a winter project.

Yours in there is no Overkill, just the time between "aim, fire and cease fire!" Plasma,
Star*Dagger

 

For those who may be looking for reviews already published on the Seasonic X-series, might I point your attention towards these two links:

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/09/25/seasonic_x_series_x750_power_supply_review/ (as already mentioned by stonedsurd)

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=169

In both reviews, the fan noise seemed insignificant, which would make me think Bit-tech's worries about ramping fan speeds are unfounded (it is a .13 amp fan which only spins at a max 800RPM, folks), and heat output never seemed to be an issue in either review. It also kept well within the 80Plus Gold certification at 120VAC, so I'd imagine European users will get much better efficiency out of these units.

@Star*Dagger: Care to explain what your comment has to do with anything discussed here? Just trying to figure out how you bragging about your gaming PC and Enermax marketing FUD figures into a preview about a PSU for the quiet & energy efficient market...

 

1250W? Are you insane? You know you can run 2 GPUs on a 750W PSU, right? I would have thought that someone who builds systems on a regular basis would know better than that

 

i agree with smc on this one, 1250 watts, you could run a skulltrail board with 8 gpus on for that much...or close atleast. the only tangible advantage, for which i have a 900watt psu in my rig, is that it never sees any more than 50% load, so it stays really quiet!

anyways, it'll be nice to see what these ladies do under the spotlight, bring it on bit tech!

peace

fatman

 

anything over ~700w for single GPU is over kill, ~850w for 2 GPU's.

i've been running Corsair H620w (Seasonic built i believe) for over 2 years without a single problem. quality that counts.

 

Thanks for waving your willy around in a manner unrelated to the discussion.

 

As an electrical engineer, every change Seasonic have made makes perfect engineering sense. A well designed and manufactured power supply will last through many hardware revisions, so even the modularity is smart. What is especially impressive is their 90% PF correction, very hard to minimize reactive power in a switching power supply. Makes me proud to have one of their products powering my computer right now, hats off to Seasonic.

Also, lets get a review to test these claims, akin to that group test you performed a couple years back.

 

I kind of regret getting rid of my Seasonic S12II-430 - it was a really good PSU even without modular cables. Unfortunately, I needed a bit more power as adding another hard drive seemed to be a step too far. So I went back to my old Hiper Type R 550W - after I replaced the worn 80mm fan that kept spinning against the circuit board inside. It predates the a lot of the efficiency ratings so it's nowhere near as good. When I get round to upgrading the PSU again (which won't be for some time - my 939 Athlon X2 is well overdue being replaced) Seasonic will definitely be high up in the list.

@myhottrashcan
CustomPC Mag did a PSU review not that long ago, and found that many PSU's don't actually meet the ATX spec fully. I think this was just before Bit-Tech joined Dennis. FYI, that was the review that picked out the OCZ ModXtremePro 500 modular PSU for £50 and led to BT and CPC recommending it till this day.

Any chance we can get that review published here regardless? It was a damn good review and I think many people would benefit from it, even if it doesn't include the latest 80 Plus Gold spec it gives an idea as to which manufacturers supply decent kit.

 

here's another review of the 650 posted a couple of weeks ago at spcr: http://www.silentpcreview.com/Seasonic_X650
apparently, the fan does indeed get quite noisy at full load.

 

UNDER FULL LOAD it is the second quietest premium PSU on the market.

 

So no pics of the cables installed?

 

Does anyone know when we'll see these available in the UK?

So far I've found it listed on Scan (no stock) but no-where else.