Seasonic S12 500W

[Giantwasp]

I need to get a new PSU to replace my old one (see reason at end of post)
I am planning to get a Seasonic S12 500W but before I part with my hard earned cash I would like some reasurance or suggestions on what I should get instead and why.

My thoughts are:

[Quality]
Reading these forums I get the impression that Seasonic is a good quality brand.

[Noise]
This is very important to me.
All the other components in my rig have been modified to be as quiet as possible without going as far as watercooling. So I don't want to ruin it with a noisey PSU. The 430W version was said to be the quietest tested by spcr so I am thinking that it should be good.
My old PSU stated that it was 14dB but I somehow doubt it actually was but it was however pretty quiet and I don't really want to be any louder if possible.

[Connections]
I need to power:

Asus A8V 939 MOBO
1 FDD
2 IDE HDDs
1 DVD-ROM
Geforce 6800 Ultra powered by 2 HDD connections
Case fan and Cold cathod lights connected together and powered by 1 HDD connection
HSF powered from MOBO
second case fan powered from MOBO

There is enough, 6 HDD connectors, to connect this up but I would need to use all 6 and will have to hope all the cables reach. I like the fact the 500W version also has PCI-e connections as I may upgrade to this at a later date, but I don't need it yet.

[Power]
500W should be plenty to power the above should I perhaps consider the 430W version more closely and forget about PCI-e

[Size]
Lokking at the specs it seems to be a standard size and I believe will fit in my Lian-Li v1100 case.

[Other]
I have only found 1 site in the UK that sells this PSU (koolnquiet.co.uk for £86.99 GBP) but I am willing to pay that if it is right for me.
Since it is mainly aimed at the US market should I be concerned about the difference between US and UK mains voltage (UK is 240V) or will it deal with this, most PSUs seem to have a switch of some kind.

Anything i haven't concsidered?

**********************************
Why I am replacing my old PSU a Aerocool AeroPower II 550W.

My PC has been unstable for months periodically locking up. I managed to decrease the amount this was happening by upgrading my BIOS and changing some settings. But then it started to come back more frequently. Later I was looking inside the case and noticed the PSU was fizzing slightly then after a later reboot the machine powered up with only 1 of the 2 HDD connector cables from the PSU working (I think that is called a rail but not sure). After this I disconnected everything and took it out and will not let it go anywhere my machine anymore. How likely is it that it has damaged other parts of my rig? I hope not!
I think it is still in guarantee about 11months old but can't be bothered to send it back beacuse of all the hassel with postage, it might be over a year and I don't want another one. It was also RMA'd after about 1 week when I first got it because it was faulty.

 

[Tiamat]

Great PSU. It is better if you can find the newer revision of this psu as it has a 7 blade quieter fan. That price is average (i converted it to US $ to check)

Edit: Whoo hoo 3000 post Diamond member

 

[AgentZap]

Its quiet, but mine is reporting low voltages, but it may just be my motherboard misreading it

 

[BOLt]

Congrats, Tiamat.

Giantwasp, I haven't done much research on that Seasonic PSU, so I can't really say to get it or not, but just know that AMD strongly recommends a dual-fan PSU when buying for their computers. I'm just going to offer an alternative or two in case you decide to change your mind.

The Antec SmartPower 2.0 comes in 350W to 500W and can be had from $55 to $80. IMO the slight price premium that Antec seems to charge is well worth it because I know that Antec is a great brand and the SmartPower 2.0 series is an improvement on an already well-designed line of PSUs.

I would also suggest Enermax, who also offers some "SLI-Ready" models. While many PSUs with enough connections and enough power will support SLI GPUs (see SmartPower 2.0), it's always nice to see that certification on the package for peace of mind. I know that you are not going to do SLI because the A8V only has one PCI-e slot, if I am not mistaken, but with an "SLI-Ready" PSU, it follows that the parts of a caliber to support two GPUs can support one. With regards to the noise issue, many of the Enermax PSUs have fan controllers and my Noisetaker was whisper quiet, even on high. Besides, Enermax is a very high quality brand.

EDIT: By the way, sorry to hear about that PSU. I am not sure if that could've damaged your components, but I sure am sorry to hear about that either way. I'd probably freak out and sue the company or jump off a bridge... or something.

 

[Giantwasp]

Thanks for the Suggestions BOLt

Originally posted by: BOLt
Giantwasp, I haven't done much research on that Seasonic PSU, so I can't really say to get it or not, but just know that AMD strongly recommends a dual-fan PSU when buying for their computers. I'm just going to offer an alternative or two in case you decide to change your mind.

I wasn't aware that AMD strongly recommends a dual-fan PSU, I will bear that in mind.
However, I would image that is because it creates an air-flow over the CPU in a standard case. This would be irrelivant in my case because my Lian-Li V1100 case mounts the PSU at the bottom of the case so haveing a dual-fan PSU would make no difference to the CPU as far as I can tell.

Originally posted by: BOLt
The Antec SmartPower 2.0 comes in 350W to 500W and can be had from $55 to $80. IMO the slight price premium that Antec seems to charge is well worth it because I know that Antec is a great brand and the SmartPower 2.0 series is an improvement on an already well-designed line of PSUs.

I have got the impression that Antec make very good PSUs however I have not seen any suggestion that they are at all quiet and from that I have inferred they are noisey.

Originally posted by: BOLt
I would also suggest Enermax, who also offers some "SLI-Ready" models. While many PSUs with enough connections and enough power will support SLI GPUs (see SmartPower 2.0), it's always nice to see that certification on the package for peace of mind. I know that you are not going to do SLI because the A8V only has one PCI-e slot, if I am not mistaken, but with an "SLI-Ready" PSU, it follows that the parts of a caliber to support two GPUs can support one. With regards to the noise issue, many of the Enermax PSUs have fan controllers and my Noisetaker was whisper quiet, even on high. Besides, Enermax is a very high quality brand.

Enermax is a brand I was conscidering, they seem to make good and quiet PSUs and I had not ruled them out. I just prefered the Seasonic at present because I got the impression so far that the quality was simular and the Seasonic would be quieter.
BTW My Asus A8V Deluxe does not have any PCI-e connections. If I was to upgrade to that I would need a new MOBO which is one reason why I won't be for a while

 

[imported_g33k]

Buy the seasonic s12 500w it will not dissappoint. It is quiet and has rock solid rails. The rails on that psu never moved more than .01 volts even under load.

 

[Tiamat]

dual fans if its a 92mm and 80mm psu

120mm fan easily can supply the airflow of the dual fan setup with much less noise.

 

[furballi]

I've compared the latest Seasonic with the Enermax. Went with the Enermax because it has a fan rpm control on the back (very quiet PSU). The Enermax has PCI-E, SATA, and fan monitor. About $75 in the US!

The Enermax comes with 3 yr warranty and is at least 75% efficient. The 12V rail is rock solid between 12.09 and 12.24VDC (measured with a calibrated DMM). My Seasonic sample was a tad lower at 11.96VDC. I would discount any claim of a retail PSU capable of maintaining the voltage to within 0.01VDC. Even a calibrated DMM is accurate to within plus/minus 0.02VDC full scale.

The dual-fan push-pull configuration of the Enermax is more efficient than the single fan design of the Seasonic, especially at low to medium load. Note that the incoming air flow must make a sharp 90 degree turn to exit the PSU. The airflow across the PSU will decrease without the assistance of a rear exhaust fan. The trend toward one large 120 mm fan is to reduce the cost of manufacturing.

Ideally, we would like to see one 120 mm case fan at the back of the PSU blowing hot air out the rear vent opening (laminar linear air flow). Unfortunately, this would add more height to the PSU.

http://www.3gplaza.com/estore/control/C...r3G/productdetails?id=34336&srccode=PW

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: Giantwasp
Thanks for the Suggestions BOLt

Originally posted by: BOLt
Giantwasp, I haven't done much research on that Seasonic PSU, so I can't really say to get it or not, but just know that AMD strongly recommends a dual-fan PSU when buying for their computers. I'm just going to offer an alternative or two in case you decide to change your mind.

I wasn't aware that AMD strongly recommends a dual-fan PSU, I will bear that in mind.
However, I would image that is because it creates an air-flow over the CPU in a standard case. This would be irrelivant in my case because my Lian-Li V1100 case mounts the PSU at the bottom of the case so haveing a dual-fan PSU would make no difference to the CPU as far as I can tell.

Originally posted by: BOLt
The Antec SmartPower 2.0 comes in 350W to 500W and can be had from $55 to $80. IMO the slight price premium that Antec seems to charge is well worth it because I know that Antec is a great brand and the SmartPower 2.0 series is an improvement on an already well-designed line of PSUs.

I have got the impression that Antec make very good PSUs however I have not seen any suggestion that they are at all quiet and from that I have inferred they are noisey.

Originally posted by: BOLt
I would also suggest Enermax, who also offers some "SLI-Ready" models. While many PSUs with enough connections and enough power will support SLI GPUs (see SmartPower 2.0), it's always nice to see that certification on the package for peace of mind. I know that you are not going to do SLI because the A8V only has one PCI-e slot, if I am not mistaken, but with an "SLI-Ready" PSU, it follows that the parts of a caliber to support two GPUs can support one. With regards to the noise issue, many of the Enermax PSUs have fan controllers and my Noisetaker was whisper quiet, even on high. Besides, Enermax is a very high quality brand.

Enermax is a brand I was conscidering, they seem to make good and quiet PSUs and I had not ruled them out. I just prefered the Seasonic at present because I got the impression so far that the quality was simular and the Seasonic would be quieter.
BTW My Asus A8V Deluxe does not have any PCI-e connections. If I was to upgrade to that I would need a new MOBO which is one reason why I won't be for a while

The smart power series would work perfectly for your Lian Li case. They have a pull-through fan setup so the fans are on either end, not on the bottom. This means it would pull air through the psu compartment (this is why I got the smartpower, the p180 is setup the same way).

Not sure about quiet, but I do know one of the fans is thermally controlled so it should be semi-quiet.

 

[Operandi]

Seasonic make some of the best PSUs you can buy, they've been in the market for a long time and have a reputation for quality.

If you're looking for low noise and quality Seasonic is your best choice.

 

[imported_g33k]

Originally posted by: g33k
Buy the seasonic s12 500w it will not dissappoint. It is quiet and has rock solid rails. The rails on that psu never moved more than .01 volts even under load.

My statement above was in reference to the 1.5v (cpu) rail. The 12 volt rail on the seasonic never moved more than .1 volt.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: g33k

Originally posted by: g33k
Buy the seasonic s12 500w it will not dissappoint. It is quiet and has rock solid rails. The rails on that psu never moved more than .01 volts even under load.

My statement above was in reference to the 1.5v (cpu) rail. The 12 volt rail on the seasonic never moved more than .1 volt.

There is no 1.5v rail.

CPU voltage is supplied through the MB and is powered by either the 5v or 12v rail.

 

[furballi]

A PSU can output 3.3VDC, 5VDC, and 12VDC. High end PSU can control the 12VDC rail to within plus/minus 0.15VDC (1%) if the line voltage remains within 5% of nominal value. The spec calls for 3 to 5% regulation.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Seasonic is really quiet. I think the Antec TP2.0s are really quiet too. Plus I like the low ripple in Antec's PSUs. They were +/- 1% on silent pc, so that should be pretty nice. I don't see OCZ or Enermax or Fortron coming close.

 

[furballi]

A small amount of AC ripple does not negatively impact system performance. The key is the stability of the output voltage at various load.