Seasonic S12II: 330W to 500W of Silence
by Christoph Katzer on September 14, 2007 4:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
The Inside
330W version
500W version
Once the power supplies are open we are greeted by this very simple looking PCB. The first impression isn't all that great as the heatsinks look small, the component arrangement seems a bit haphazard, and the coloring almost makes things look dirty. However, looks can be deceiving. The first visible difference between the two power supply models can be seen in the different coils, main capacitors, and transformer. Since the design is the same and the components are from the same manufacturer, we will continue our discussion focusing on just one of these power supplies.
The filtering stage seems to be well arranged by Seasonic; it's starts on the small PCB at the AC inlet and extends to the upper side of the main PCB directly in front of the exhaust area. Seasonic has always taken a different approach with their heatsinks, which is very simple and almost seems cheap. Instead of using more expensive extruded aluminum, they just use metal plates where the fins are punched out and bent to the side. This way is by far the cheapest way to make a heatsink, and while it might not be as efficient as an aluminum design, with the high efficiency components Seasonic uses they should not have any problems with overheating.
There's also something to be said for their smaller heatsinks: large heatsinks tend to block airflow, and while the heatsinks might stay cooler surrounding components could actually end up being hotter. With plenty of open space, Seasonic's somewhat unique approach to power supply internals may be part of their reason for their excellent reputation of silence. Of course, having the power supply that isn't rated to provide 750W or more also helps with managing heat.
330W version
500W version
Once the power supplies are open we are greeted by this very simple looking PCB. The first impression isn't all that great as the heatsinks look small, the component arrangement seems a bit haphazard, and the coloring almost makes things look dirty. However, looks can be deceiving. The first visible difference between the two power supply models can be seen in the different coils, main capacitors, and transformer. Since the design is the same and the components are from the same manufacturer, we will continue our discussion focusing on just one of these power supplies.
The filtering stage seems to be well arranged by Seasonic; it's starts on the small PCB at the AC inlet and extends to the upper side of the main PCB directly in front of the exhaust area. Seasonic has always taken a different approach with their heatsinks, which is very simple and almost seems cheap. Instead of using more expensive extruded aluminum, they just use metal plates where the fins are punched out and bent to the side. This way is by far the cheapest way to make a heatsink, and while it might not be as efficient as an aluminum design, with the high efficiency components Seasonic uses they should not have any problems with overheating.
There's also something to be said for their smaller heatsinks: large heatsinks tend to block airflow, and while the heatsinks might stay cooler surrounding components could actually end up being hotter. With plenty of open space, Seasonic's somewhat unique approach to power supply internals may be part of their reason for their excellent reputation of silence. Of course, having the power supply that isn't rated to provide 750W or more also helps with managing heat.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
21 Comments
View All Comments
Zds - Wednesday, September 19, 2007 - link
Good review on a good product.What seemed a bit misleading, tho, was the statement about suitability of these models to dual-gpu machines. I know many marketing guys favor the "bigger is better", but it would not hurt to you, too, clearing out that the 330W model is powerful enough for practically any single-socket-single-GPU machine, and most of the dual-GPU ones, too and the 500W should be enough for almost any single-CPU-dual-GPU machine..
And as most of the modern machines (C2D/Athlon, not P4) spend most of their time at idle, and most of them idle at 60-100W, the 330W model saves not just your ears, but real money, as you can run the machine at the sweet spot almost all of the time.
gochichi - Sunday, September 16, 2007 - link
I have to say that Seasonic is not a flashy brand, like Antec or something. It's more of a truly better product, it doesn't rely on its name I don't think. Do a lot of people really know this name?From my experience, Antec is just plain average quality with a lot of marketing dollars ... and while I would buy Antec again, I wouldn't choose it over most other brands. In fact, I'd generally avoid it, as 2 Antec PSs burned out on me and 0 of any other brand, even duck brand ones haven't failed on me.
My Seasonic 330W is going strong for 2 years now and my system isn't exactly barebones although this power supply kept me away from the vulgar video card options.
While I'm tempted by the performance features of 8800's and 2900s, it's the elegance of power efficiency and silence that does the trick for me. After going through the very beginning of 3D acceleration, with the original Voodoo, I can attest to the fact that power hungry cards are best regarded as beta versions, as prototypes, as overclocked. As research and development, and priced for zealots.
In any case, I understand going with more wattage on the powersupply, I would do so myself (mostly, b/c I like having different operating systems in different hard drives). But Seasonic is quiet, classy, quality stuff that deserves my recommendation.
I would go as far as to call it an underdog brand, it's not Corsair, it's little mentioned in recommendations... but it's really good stuff. Seasonic is like delicious wine, in a world dominated by beer.
wibeasley - Saturday, September 15, 2007 - link
The 330 version has been at newegg for at least a month. The "II" designation of the series isn't obvious from the title, but the box image shows it. The specifications show it as well, under the "Series" value.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82...
bryanW1995 - Friday, September 14, 2007 - link
I'll take the 620 hx that I just paid 127 AR at mwave instead of 115 for the 550vx.USAF1 - Friday, September 14, 2007 - link
I'm still waiting to see a review of a Seasonic S12 Energy+ PSU. Seasonic claims a peak efficiency of 88%.Christoph Katzer - Friday, September 14, 2007 - link
Between that one and now are still around 20 other PSUs which are laying around here and want to be reviewed...tynopik - Friday, September 14, 2007 - link
several of the charts such as efficiency, PFC and noise should be done on a watts scale instead of a % load scale. This will enable a direct comparison between alternatives.If i have a 250W load, how does the efficiency and noise compare among the 300, 400 and 550W power supplies? It's impossible to tell currently
Christoph Katzer - Friday, September 14, 2007 - link
For what are the tables of page 6 then?tynopik - Friday, September 14, 2007 - link
well yes i can figure out 50% load on a 500w PS is about 250wso yes it is 'possible' to compare numbers between different reviews, but certainly not easy
and why use % load any ways? how is it relevant?
convenience wise it sure would be handy to make, for instance, a single efficiency chart and a single noise chart with all power supplies that have been tested so far so you could see how they compare across the range of interest
Christoph Katzer - Friday, September 14, 2007 - link
Sounds good with the comparison, have thought about it already for an upcoming price guide.