Seasonic Platinum PSUs

[Smartazz]

Nice PSUs. I wonder if 1000W would be enough for some ridiculous setups like triple GTX 580s.

 

[lehtv]

Nice PSUs. I wonder if 1000W would be enough for some ridiculous setups like triple GTX 580s.

It has the connectors for that but it'd be quite badly stressed. 580's use 250W each, and once you add the CPU and the rest you're pretty much at 100%...

 

[Smartazz]

It has the connectors for that but it'd be quite badly stressed. 580's use 250W each, and once you add the CPU and the rest you're pretty much at 100%...

Yeah, I'd imagine overclocking would largely be out of the question. Guess that's why there's 1200W power supplies. I suppose this Seasonic might be perfect for dual GPU setups then.

 

[gevorg]

There is always X-1250

 

[lehtv]

No there isn't?

 

[biostud]

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-580-3-way-sli-review/14

3-way 580 SLI:
Normal gaming situation 736W
Furmark 933W

So it should work fine

 

[jonnyGURU]

Nice review! Only thing that bugs me is, that they never measure fan noise. So a comprehensive review and then just nothing in that department. That's a bit disappointing.

Hard to measure fan noise when you have super loud, that easily drown out the PSU fan, cooling the load tester. And if you relocate the PSU into an anechoic chamber, you have to have long leads between the load and the unit that can mess up your measurements.

That's why it's good to get your information from more than one source. One that accurately loads the unit and another that can accurately measure noise.

 

[BoomerD]

meh...when it comes to PSU reviews, the only ones I trust are from JonnyGuru and his staff.

 

[Compddd]

I would like a Seasonic Platinum 860W for my GTX 580 SLI setup

 

[saied129]

that's more than my system needs.

 

[Smartazz]

It has the connectors for that but it'd be quite badly stressed. 580's use 250W each, and once you add the CPU and the rest you're pretty much at 100%...

It wouldn't surprise my if it could supply more than the rated 1KW, however I'd just go for 1200W+ if I had 3 580s.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

It wouldn't surprise my if it could supply more than the rated 1KW, however I'd just go for 1200W+ if I had 3 580s.

I have a Seasonic X760 that could hand two GTX580s and a heavily overclocked 2600K, granted, I recently upgraded to this Seasonic 1000XP because I knew I was pushing the X760's limit. However I'd definitely be more comfortable running 3 way 580 SLI on this 1000XP than I was running just two 580s on the X760, granted, if you want to overclock the 580s at all (I don't OC my 580s, at least not yet, just recently got my 1000XP so I might fiddle with it now that I have the breathing room) as well as run a heavily overclocked CPU, I'd concur about going with a 1200W unit

 

[Rubycon]

meh...when it comes to PSU reviews, the only ones I trust are from JonnyGuru and his staff.

[H] is also top notch in the reviews dept.

Basically any "review" that just shows voltages from software while running stress programs has no merit.

 

[bradley]

I also like xbitlabs. They don't just plot a few points and then assume them without variation. I wish everyone would adopt xbit's very instructive power factor and efficiency, voltage graphs. I'm especially looking for advances in idling efficiency, 10% and below, where few manufacturers have focused much attention.

Here are a few Seasonic platinum, gold, bronze and fanless.

 

[Termie]

I also like xbitlabs. They don't just plot a few points and then assume them without variation. I wish everyone would adopt xbit's very instructive power factor and efficiency, voltage graphs. I'm especially looking for advances in idling efficiency, 10% and below, where few manufacturers have focused much attention.

Here are a few Seasonic platinum, gold, bronze and fanless.

Great graphs. They show that Seasonic has taken steps to be the leader in low-power efficiency. Every PSU except the big 1000w model can hold steady at at least 85% between 50-100w, which is where modern systems idle That's why I bought an x650, and that's one of the reasons I will always buy Seasonic from now on. Idle efficiency is counted in the 80 Plus rating system, but Seasonic optimizes it anyway.

 

[Nemesis 1]

I almost order a corsair today . Thanks for the post .

 

[Smartazz]

What input voltage are those graphs taken at though? If it's the standard 115v, those efficiency ratings are great.

 

[bradley]

Great graphs. They show that Seasonic has taken steps to be the leader in low-power efficiency. Every PSU except the big 1000w model can hold steady at at least 85% between 50-100w, which is where modern systems idle That's why I bought an x650, and that's one of the reasons I will always buy Seasonic from now on. Idle efficiency is counted in the 80 Plus rating system, but Seasonic optimizes it anyway.

I have some 5-10 year old Seasonic power supplies that could easily pass 80 Plus certification today, very impressive. Seasonic pretty much created their own buzzword.

Super Flower is also making some excellent power supplies. Currently their Golden King 550W is the best Platinum in the 500-600W class. The Kingwin LZP-550 is almost identical and sold at Newegg. ATM, I don't think there is more efficient power supply out there. Though, I'm waiting for the retail price (currently $160) to enter earth's atmosphere before purchasing one.

Out of curiosity, I used Jonnyguru's review numbers to interpolate a graph to match against Seasonic's Gold and Bronze 500+ watters.

 

[IlllI]

The Kingwin LZP-550 is almost identical and sold at Newegg. ATM, I don't think there is more efficient power supply out there. Though, I'm waiting for the retail price (currently $160) to enter earth's atmosphere before purchasing one.

oh you missed out if you wanted one. during black friday weekend i was able to snag one for $119 at newegg

debated between that or the Corsair AX750. but that price for the LZP-550 was too good to pass up.

 

[jsedlak]

I got one of these today, the box is pretty big. It will be feeding my X79 build. Waiting for January for the re-release from Intel, of course.

 

[Ben90]

Forgive my ignorance, but why is this better than the HCP 1200 if efficiency is taken out of the equation. The HCP 1200's 12V is an absolute rock with a decent amount less ripple and line noise than the Seasonic.

The HCP does suffer from a slightly looser 3.3V and 5V, but I don't think any modern system needs 20A from either of these rails anymore.

 

[QueBert]

Nice specs, if this had flat ribbon modular cables I'd more than likely buy it. Since buying the Ultra X years ago every PSU I've bought since has used those type of cables.

 

[Kristijonas]

I wish they made 300-500w platinum units.

 

[IlllI]

I wish they made 300-500w platinum units.

um.. If by they you mean anyone, they do.

kingwin str-500

or by they do you mean only seasonic?

 

[ehume]

Hard to measure fan noise when you have super loud, that easily drown out the PSU fan, cooling the load tester. And if you relocate the PSU into an anechoic chamber, you have to have long leads between the load and the unit that can mess up your measurements.

That's why it's good to get your information from more than one source. One that accurately loads the unit and another that can accurately measure noise.

Would a quiet box work? Egg crate mattresses cut up to line the inside of a cardboard box; an SPL meter set 10-15cm from the intake fan; cables out to a load in another room. The load would not have to be precise. An approximate load is OK, since it is the noise that is being measured.

BTW -- thanks for keeping up the quality of your site's reviews while you were gone.