Seasonic X-Series 560W
by Martin Kaffei on March 22, 2011 4:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Seasonic
- PSUs
- 80Plus Gold
- 560W
- X-Series
Let's Take a Look Inside
All capacitors in this PSU come from Nippon Chemi-Con, a Japanese company. There are two large main caps and six all solid caps for filtering at the 12V output. Both DC-to-DC VRMs consist of IPD060N03L transistors. They are controlled by an Anpec APW7159 like most VRMs. The transformer, choke, and grey caps in the middle as well as the sister PCB in the upper left corner are part of the resonant switching topology. Seasonic uses ZVS (Zero Voltage Switching) to reduce power loss. With the resonant circuit the manufacturer has no problems with EMC.
Seasonic has implemented a good line filtering stage to help shield the components from EMI in the power grid; it consists of two different coils, some Y-capacitors, and an MOV. In addition, we can find a thermistor and a relay to reduce inrush current. There is also a single X cap with a yellow plastic case. The bridge rectifiers in a GBU case are screwed on one separate heatsink.
The small PCB with an IC for PFC is a little sequeezed between the PFC choke and the first main cap. However, the build quality is still very good, especially the soldering (see the gallery below). The transistors for SR are realized as SMDs, which is why there are three lonely heatsinks beside the all solid caps. Infineon built some of the MOSFETs in this PSU and guarantees a low drain to source resistance in on-state.
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bryanb - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - link
To the comment about velcro straps: this model comes with 3 velcro straps with a Seasonic logo on them.I have three of these PSU's running from a low wattage router (brazos) to a high wattage desktop (4 core phenom.) One of the PSU's i received was DOA. The Seasonic RMA process is a single html page on their website that unfortunately does not yet include the serial numbers for this particular model in the java script validation logic. Therefore all RMA's have to be emailed and approved manually, which took over a week for the first response. Luckily for me, the NewEgg RMA process is much better than the Seasonic RMA process and within a few days I got a working replacement via NewEgg.
DLimmer - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - link
First off, Excellent review.I greatly value your expertise, and picked up an Antec TP-650 based off your http://www.anandtech.com/show/3985/three-550w-psus... review.
Minor editing changes:
<first page>
Even most of the S12II and M12II models (which they don't generally offer as review samples) are getting awards all **other** the world for providing high quality in a mainstream market segment.
...all **over** the world...
<last page, second paragraph>
**Stargin** with the connectors, Seasonic shows an instinctive feeling for different...
**Starting**...
I appreciate your reviews and have used them when making purchases on more than one occasion. Thanks!
Martin Kaffei - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - link
Done, thanks a lot.Drag0nFire - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - link
Dear Editor,I remember seeing a power supply review in the past that had a diagram of the length of each cable. Such a diagram would be very helpful in the future for making purchasing decisions, especially for those of us with cases where the power supply is far away!
Otherwise, great review! Keep them coming!
--J
vol7ron - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - link
Martin, could you do some testing of Titanium-Standard PSUs... specifically around the 1kW mark. There's only T-Standard available at NewEgg, which I think is around 500Watts, but if you could contact the vendors and get the 1kW versions - that would be nice.Your readers appreciate when you all analyze products that aren't/won't be available at NewEgg - me especially :)
Folterknecht - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - link
Hi!In the past, if I remember correctly, the numbers for 230V were included in your reviews here Martin, not only 115V for the american net. Why did you change that? I know this is an american site, but the audience is international ... .
Gruß aus Deutschland
Folterknecht
Martin Kaffei - Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - link
It would be no problem to add these measurements next time.With this I just have more work and I didn't know, that 230VAC results are interesting for some readers here. Good to know.
Grüße zurück.
MrSpadge - Friday, March 25, 2011 - link
Agreed!Nach ein Gruß aus Deutschland ;)
deadlockedworld - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - link
Reviews like this are why this site is more credible than many of its competitors.DanNeely - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - link
maybe, but nothing is more fun than reading OklahomaWolf tearing into a cheap piece of junk.