Seasonic power supplies, when you ask about a power supply recommendation, Seasonic is almost always listed as a good PSU to buy. Seasonic has been around since 1975, and they make some of the top performing power supplies out there. Today for review I have a new addition to the Seasonic product lineup, it is the S12 Energy+ 550Watt, certified 80Plus PSU. This power supply not only guarantees performance and efficiency but also silence. Read on to learn a bit more about this great power supply from Seasonic…
Seasonic S12 Energy+ 80Plus 550Watt PSU
Reviewed by: Kristofer Brozio AkA Dracos
Sponsor: Seasonic
Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
Seasonic S12 550Watt Power Supply
Seasonic S12 Energy Plus Power Supply Series
The culmination of over 30 years of leading edge power supply design and production expertise enabled Seasonic to be the first power supply manufacturer to receive the coveted “80 Plus” certificate in the United States. Now this “80 Plus” certified high efficiency power supply is available to the general market in two models, the S12 Energy+550 and the S12 Energy+650.
In response to high energy costs and increased environmental awareness, Seasonic engineers focused sharply on efficient utilization of energy. By incorporating state-of-the-art Dual Forward Converter circuit design with active power factor correction, the S12 ENERGY+ achieves industry-leading efficiency ratings. This efficiency increase over standard power supplies enables all end users — from governmental organizations and companies to private individuals — to enjoy substantial energy savings and operating cost reductions.
The S12 ENERGY+ also incorporates a Dual Magnetic Amplifier circuit to achieve a class-leading 3% regulation on the all important 12VDC rail to meet the high demands of high-end graphic cards, CPU’s and peripherals
Special Features – Performance
Dual Magnetic Amplifiers [Mag-Amp]
Cross regulation tolerance on +12V lines are improved from standard 5% to 3% for optimized stability.
Double Forward Converter Design
Advanced topology for the highest efficiency.
Multiple +12V Outputs
Enhanced +12V current capability broadens utilization possibilities.
High Reliable Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors
Top quality components increase product life & reliability.
Super High Efficiency [up to 88%]
Optimal solution for low energy consumption, noise & heat.
Active Power Factor Correction [99% PF]
Reduces line loss & power distortion.
Special Features -Silence
Smart and Silent Fan Control [S2FC]
Smart thermal control to balance noise and cooling.
12cm Ball Bearing Cooling Fan
Increase airflow and lifetime, reduce rotation speed and noise.
Soft-Mounting Rubber Cushions
Reduces fan rotation & vibration noise.
Ultra Ventilation [Honey Comb Structure]
Doubles the airflow & lifespan with half the RPM & noise.
Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info Continued:
Special Features -Flexibility
All in One DC Cabling Design
Supports PC, IPC, workstation, server, & dual CPU systems.
Universal Video Card Support
Supports all multiple PCI-E video cards technologies.
Patented Easy Swap Connector
Unplug the connectors easily & quickly.
Universal AC Input [Full Range]
Plug & run safely anywhere in the world.
3 Year Warranty
Our Commitments to superior quality.
Product Information:
1. AC input & DC output voltage (100-240V, 50/60Hz)
2. Total Protection
Over Voltage / Over Power / Short Circuit Protection
Total protection for your power supply, your system and yourself.
3. Operating Environment
Operating temperature: 0 to 50°C. Relative Humidity: 20% to 80%.
(The rated power will reduce from 100% to 80% from 40°C to 50°C)
Shipping / Storage temperature: -40°C to 85°C
Relative Humidity: 10% to 95%.
4. MTBF
Typically over 100,000 hours at 25°C under full load, excluding the DC fan.
5. Wire Configuration
Price: $129.99
A Better Look at Things
:
The Seasonic boxes haven't changed much in a while, if it works stick with it right? On the front of the box we can see a nice picture of the PSU itself, and the 80Plus certification badge, along with some other basic info. The sides of the box all contain lots of information about what's inside.
The back of the box lists all the features that I have listed in the previous section.
Opening the box we find that Seasonic sent me a few ad flyers about the S12 and M12, under that is the owners manual, warranty card and of course the S12 PSU all wrapped up nicely in bubble wrap for protection.
Once we get everything unpacked we also find that Seasonic also included a nice little case badge, mounting screws and my favorite the optional FDD connectors. Most power supplies have the FDD connectors already attached, but lots of computer now don't use floppies anymore so why have them hanging out in you case, Seasonic removes them and makes them optional with a FDD 'Y' connector that connects to a standard molex connection.
The cables are all nice and sleeved, and as you may have noticed, this is not a modular power supply. I wonder why they didn't sleeve the SATA cables fully…
There are nine standard Molex connectors and six SATA, should be more than enough for even the most high end system.
A Better Look at Things
Continued:
The S12 features a ball bearing 120mm/12cm fan for cooling that features smart thermal control, so the fan is not always running at full speed.
Looking closer at the side label, we can see the 80Plus certification, RoHS certification and the main label. This PSU has 4 12v rails that can handle 41 Amps, not bad at all.
The rest of the PSU is plain, just the basic stylish black color.
The back of the S12 features the common honeycomb ventilation system, i/o rocker switch and standard power input connection. The paint job is a flat, closer to eggshell finish, very nicely done.
What would a power supply be if we didn't open it up? The heatsinks in here are cool, they look like fingers holding the components in place, and speaking of components I can see some industrial spec stuff in there, not bad at all… This PSU is built for power, performance and stability, no doubt.
Seasonic has a great reputation for producing some of the highest quality power supplies out there, and I expect the S12 to be no different in that respect.
Installation, Testing and Comparison
Installing a power supply is very easy, four screws to mount it, then just connect the cables to where you need the power, all done. The S12 is actually a rather small PSU, I've seen much larger that push less wattages.
For testing to find out just how stable this PSU is I ran my standard tests and check the voltages with my multimeter. To achieve load I ran Prime95, one instance on each core of my CPU, and I also ran 3dMark06 to get everything in the mix for load.
My basic system specs are:
ECS KN1 SLI Lite Extreme motherboard
AMD X2 4200+ CPU
BFG 7900GT OC video card
3 gigs of OCZ ram
Idle:
12v = 12.14v
5v = 5.01v
Load (prime95):
12v = 12.13v
5v = 5.00v
Load (3dmark06):
12v = 12.12v
5v = 5.00v
Wow, under Prime95 load I saw no fluctuations like we see in other power supplies, it dropped just .01 and stayed there till the load was reduced and then to jumped right back up to the idle voltages. We did see a .02 drop during 3dmark06 but again no fluctuations at all, very stable, very, very stable.
I have my Seasonic Power Angel hooked up as well, and the PF for idle is .98-.99 or 98%-99% Power Factor. During load under Prime95 I check the PF and it read .99-1.00 or 99%-100% Power Factor. This is actually the first power supply I have seen to hit 100% PF. Very cool…
As for noise level, I heard no difference between idle and load. Then again, the BFG 7900GT OC, when under load sounds as if someone put a hair dryer inside my case, so it drowns out everything else, I really need to get a better VGA cooler, or at least quieter…
While I don't have the thousands of dollars worth of equipment like other sites might have for measuring and putting load on a PSU, I believe my method shows very simply what the S12 is capable of. Sometimes we just want to know the basics of what something can do, other times it is nice to know all the other extraneous stuff as well. For me, I can test the stability of the 12v rails, they are, in my opinion, the most important part of any system, they have to be stable at all times. The load I put on the system is pretty much well above what even a high end system will place on it, even while gaming. So gamers should be very happy with this PSU, now for workstations my tests go to show that even under extreme loads, the S12 is very stable. Now I didn't let it run for thousands of hours at full load, but I am confident that being from Seasonic it will be able to handle pretty much anything anyone throws at it.
Summary:
What can I say, the Seasonic S12 is just an awesome power supply. It is very stable under heavy loads, very quiet and with the 80Plus certification makes it an outstanding choice for anyone looking for a new power supply to trust their system to. I will be leaving the SeasonicS12 in my system for some time to come, I like the silence and the stability of it. I can easily and honestly recommend this power supply to anyone in the market for a new PSU.
DragonSteelMods give the Seasonic S12 Energy+ 80Plus 550Watt PSU a 5 out of 5 course and our Recommended Award as well.
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Pros:
-Very stable
-Very quiet
-Hit 100% PF
-4 12v rails
Cons:
-none
I would like to thank Seasonic for the chance to review their products.