Seasonic X-Series 750W: Potent for the Price
by Martin Kaffei on April 13, 2010 11:13 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Seasonic
- PSUs
Few things have influenced product politics as much as 80 Plus Gold. Seasonic was the first manufacturer to list power supplies on its homepage meeting the EPRI (Electrical Power Research Institute) guidelines, and they presented their first certified models at CeBIT 2009. With the recently launched X-series, Seasonic aims to prove the marketability of 80 Plus Gold PSUs. We have the 750W model for review today, so let's see how it measures up. Is it a great new PSU, or is 80 Plus Gold simply a new way to increase prices?
Beyond the remarkable efficiency and high-quality technology, the power supply contains a fully modular cable system and makes a good impression with its simple elegance. The X-Series also includes "hybrid silent fan control", which regulates the three speed settings of the fan. The power supply runs completely silent up to 20% load, at which point the fan begins to rotate slowly; at higher loads fan speed increases again to enable sufficient cooling. Seasonic uses a PWM fan to allow graceful ramping up of fan speeds, which we will cover later in this review. Beyond the various certifications and features, this ATX 2.3 power supply offers a 5-year manufacturer warranty and uses active PFC to allow its use on all the major power grid standards.
Enermax delivered good results in our previous test with the latest Pro87+/Modu87+ series, and it will likely be Seasonic's main competition. Of particular note is that the noise levels of the Pro87+ and Modu87+ are extremely quiet throughout the load range. Enermax also delivers products catering to the midrange 500W market, but we will have to wait until summer for Seasonic's answer. When the other models are ready, Seasonic let us know that they will have PSUs rated below 500W for those that don't run a high-power system. We should also see additional manufacturers soon with their own 80 Plus Gold offerings, so it remains to be seen who will have the best product. Apart from the marketing hype, we'll need to see new features in order to surpass the competition.
The X-Series has an MSRP of $200 for the 750W unit we're reviewing, but you can find it online starting at $180. So let's see if this expensive power supply is worth the money and if Seasonic can achieve new efficiency levels. We will also look at the construction, voltage output, and the unusual topology; high efficiency isn't the only point of interest with the X-Series.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
38 Comments
View All Comments
Londeninfo - Wednesday, September 7, 2011 - link
My pc psu have been causing troubling me from many days. Whenever I touch the CPU i feel the electric shock.I cant figure out the problem!!!!<a href="http://www.londeninfo.com/">Londen</a&g...
Londeninfo - Wednesday, September 7, 2011 - link
<a href= "http://www.londeninfo.com" > Londen </a>Earthmonger - Wednesday, April 14, 2010 - link
Is it okay if I use this review to comment on something I'm getting really tired of seeing in upper class power supplies? It is? Thanks.[quote=Martin Kaffei]The cable sleeves are well done and help keep everything looking neat and organized, as does the fully modular cable system.[/quote]
This. These cables are not well sleeved. Every time I see bare wires on these expensive new units I roll my eyes, and add $40 to the end cost, since I'll have to completely re-sleeve all cables. It's awesome (seriously) that they're going fully modular these days, but for the price premiums, you'd think they would care more about the details.
bigboxes - Wednesday, April 14, 2010 - link
How anal are you? If you must cover the last 1/4 inch of wires where they meet up with the connector why don't you just use some additional shrink tubing?Minion4Hire - Wednesday, April 14, 2010 - link
Yea, what's the big deal? To my understanding one of the reasons they don't sleeve them to the very ends is to allow greater flexibility and bends in the cable to help make installation easier, which can be especially useful in smaller chassis. The shrink tubing at the end of the sleeve isn't exactly flexible, and would and would "pad" the back of the connectors by several centimeters if they were butting up against it. Better for the cables? Potentially. But I'm willing to bet that the average person would find it to be that much more painful and annoying during installation.Earthmonger - Wednesday, April 14, 2010 - link
Quite anal, yes. If a wire isn't completely sleeved, it shouldn't be sleeved at all. It just feels half-assed.As for the reduction in flexibility, not all heatshrink is rigid. I have some laying around here that is soft and pliant. Nor does it take several centimeters of heatshrink to do the job.
I do prefer individually sleeved cables though. Wire clusters aren't flexible enough, whereas I can bend a flat double-row of individuals right around a 90 degree without issue.
7Enigma - Wednesday, April 14, 2010 - link
What a poor comment. The purpose of sleeving is for better air flow and easier access to components. The terminal ends are kept free for better connectivity.You can glitter up your case/components all you want to satisfy the anal inner-you, but for the rest of us, I think we find this more than acceptable sleeving.
bigboxes - Wednesday, April 14, 2010 - link
I know what you are talking about. I just find you are a tad unrealistic. If you want bling then maybe you're looking at the wrong mfg. Seasonic is for the enthusiast. It's fairly plain, but well built and engineered. I prefer function over form and I still think it looks good. Of course I don't have a window or lights in my case. I like quiet. I have sleeving mesh and shrink tubing, but the sleeving on this unit (and all Seasonic PSUs) is top notch. I have sleeved up to (and even over) the connector before. I just think you are asking too much from the mfg in this case. Sounds like you are going to redo whatever someone else does because you have certain tastes that only you can live up to. And that's tottally understandable. I'm sure most people think I'm too anal over my builds too. :)HOOfan 1 - Wednesday, April 14, 2010 - link
If I saw bare wires...I would stay very far away from the PSU...talk about short circuits....Luckily, these wires aren't bare, they are covered in plastic isulation.
Smartass remark out of the way, there is no way to extend the sleave all the way to the end, the wires would have to be individually sleaved, or done like the flexforce cables...individually sleaving them would raise the price exponentially.
MrSpadge - Wednesday, April 14, 2010 - link
What an amazing comment!(1) you need to spot the "missing" sleeve at the end of the cables
(2) you have to recognize it as something you don't like
(3) you have to seriously consider fixing it for 40$ in case you'd want to buy this PSU
I'm not sure anyone else on this planet could fulfill all 3 ;)