'Seasonic's Connect PSU Is for Cable Management Nitpickers' - Tom's

[UsandThem]

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/seasonic-connect-power-supply

We come across a lot of weird hardware, but this one makes me want to coin the term WHOTW: Weird Hardware of the Week. The product in question is Seasonic's SSR-750FA Connect PSU, and though it's weird, it's an interesting concept.

The idea behind the Seasonic Connect PSU is to tidy up the cable management behind your motherboard tray. It does this by taking the modular cable connectors that typically reside behind the power supply and instead placing them in the "Seasonic Connect" hub that gets placed as a spine behind the motherboard tray.

It seems like it could be interesting to some people with some cases, but running and hiding the cables behind the motherboard isn't that difficult for experienced builders. That said, it's always good to see something new and interesting, but of course they had to slap some RGB on it (which most would not even be able to see). Full details can be seen here: https://seasonic.com/connect

 

[LOUISSSSS]

seems like they're trying to make something more important than it really needs to be. cables are already (literally) 99% hidden from video of the side panel window.

If I could improve one thing, i'd make the CPU/MB/PCI-E cables smaller, thinner, more flexible. That hasn't been "improved upon" by PSU makers for 20 years. the biggest improvement they've made was to wrap the cables up.

 

[VirtualLarry]

If I could improve one thing, i'd make the CPU/MB/PCI-E cables smaller, thinner, more flexible. That hasn't been "improved upon" by PSU makers for 20 years.

They have to be a certain minimum gauge, to allow for the current necessary on those wires. Some wires (such as in the ATX12V and ATX24-pin, they had to double-up on), even.

 

[Campy]

Novel idea, but I can't help but feel this is a niche product that's only useful for cases with tempered glass on both side panels.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

PSUs in their current form are just fine. In this case Seasonic is just looking for more ways to make money. We don't have a problem with cable management.

Hmm... since all PSU cables are routed behind the MB, can MBs have the power ports on the rear of the MB and have the PSU use a flat or 90 degree style cable connect without it ever being seen?

 

[Mr Evil]

They have to be a certain minimum gauge, to allow for the current necessary on those wires. Some wires (such as in the ATX12V and ATX24-pin, they had to double-up on), even.

More flexible wires can be made even at the same guage. They are rather descriptively called "extra flexible", and are made with more but thinner strands of copper, and silicone for insulation instead of PVC. Such wires can be almost floppy like a peice of string. Silicone is not as tough as PVC though, which might be why no one has used it for an ATX PSU as far as I know; ham-fisted users piercing the insulation on sharp-edged steel cases would not be good.

 

[dlerious]

Looks like it's just a single color instead of RGB on the logo only.

 

[mindless1]

High strand count silicone insulated wire is significantly more expensive. No way that I'd be willing to pay more for that on a PSU, compared to say, an automobile where it might matter functionally over the long term.

I think choice is good, but there can't be much of a market for this. Even those who would pay a premium seem more likely to spend that money on a higher wattage before this connection-island config.

I suppose if looks matter more than anything else, this is for you. I'm glad I outgrew that.

 

[sdifox]

Weaksauce

 

[ch33zw1z]

Weaksauce

View attachment 17868

not quite the same, lol....and no RGB!

 

[ElFenix]

RGB all the thigns!

 

[sdifox]

not quite the same, lol....and no RGB!

I could use my spare PDU to smash the Seasonic to pieces. It's that heavy duty. And the Seasonic is copying the idea of a PDU anyway. My PDU is secured to the 44U rack, so not that different than the setup in the op.

 

[ch33zw1z]

I could use my spare PDU to smash the Seasonic to pieces. It's that heavy duty. And the Seasonic is copying the idea of a PDU anyway. My PDU is secured to the 44U rack, so not that different than the setup in the op.

Yours is AC

PDU's are nothing new. While I won't be buying the Seasonic connect, it's certainly a cool twist on the age old problem of power management IMO

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Yours is AC

PDU's are nothing new. While I won't be buying the Seasonic connect, it's certainly a cool twist on the age old problem of power management IMO

it seems like they're making a problem out of nothing. Current modular PSUs' both function and form are identical to this. Except seasonic wants to charge $x more dollars for this contraption. Current modular PSUs already have minimal cables plugged in, and only about 5% of those cables are viewable through a windowed case. 99% of current cases don't have windows on the right side of the case so nobody cares how cables look back there. the 1% of cases with a window on the right side, have excellent cable management and things are covered up nicely.

whats the point of this again?

 

[sandorski]

In a Case designed to highlight it, it could be cool.

 

[ch33zw1z]

it seems like they're making a problem out of nothing. Current modular PSUs' both function and form are identical to this. Except seasonic wants to charge $x more dollars for this contraption. Current modular PSUs already have minimal cables plugged in, and only about 5% of those cables are viewable through a windowed case. 99% of current cases don't have windows on the right side of the case so nobody cares how cables look back there. the 1% of cases with a window on the right side, have excellent cable management and things are covered up nicely.

whats the point of this again?

Money. I thought that was clear

 

[gorobei]

this is possibly an atx12vo preparation move. assuming you believe that seasonic is foward looking enough to devote resources to a transitional product. while this unit doesnt actually have the 10 pin connector of the 12vo spec, it does let seasonic play around with the extra volume from moving the daughterboard that has the 3.3 and 5 v components and the modular sockets for the cable to an exterior part.

if they are committing to atx12vo early then this lets them figure out what they can do sooner.

it is a half measure in that if you really want to be forward looking then you start talking with case, mb, ram, and gpu makers about ditching the atx layout and start anew with something like the new mac pro with the extra length pcie slots that lets you ditch pcie cables for gpu, ram slots on the back of the mb, and other changes that make pc assembly easier.

 

[jonnyGURU]

it's certainly a cool twist on the age old problem of power management IMO

Welcome to 2008:

Ultra m998 Mid-Tower ATX Case Review - PC Perspective

Ultra m998 Mid-Tower ATX Case Review Don’t let the name fool you. Ultra’s m998 mid-tower case is much more than a utilitarian enclosure. It may be

pcper.com

 

[ch33zw1z]

Welcome to 2008:

View attachment 18761

Ultra m998 Mid-Tower ATX Case Review - PC Perspective

Ultra m998 Mid-Tower ATX Case Review Don’t let the name fool you. Ultra’s m998 mid-tower case is much more than a utilitarian enclosure. It may be

pcper.com

Haven't seen that brand in a while. They still around?

 

[jonnyGURU]

Haven't seen that brand in a while. They still around?

Noooooooo.... no no no no......

They went away as soon as this happened:

Ex-Systemax execs Carl & Gilbert Fiorentino jailed over $27m fraud

Brothers get five and six years of stripey suntan time

www.theregister.co.uk

Remember: Ultra was a division of Systemax. The part that Eddy Kuo (RICI International) played was as the broker in Taiwan that would manage sourcing and shipping all of the Ultra Products that needed to be sourced from Asia (which was everything!).