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.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
46 Comments
View All Comments
Arbie - Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - link
Yes, thanks for listing the cable lengths, especially the main power / cpu cable. Last time around I bought an expensive and high-quality PSU which turned out to have main cable so short that it barely worked in a mid-size tower. BTW you say the main cable is 60 cm in one place, and 65 cm in another. Unless I misread it.Seasonic is now on my list for the next time.
somedude1234 - Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - link
I used this PSU in my home server build and couldn't be happier. When the server is sitting idle or just serving up media, the PSU fan doesn't run. When the Xeon 3440 is churning through high def video transcodes, the system is still dead quiet.I expect this server to last 5-10 years so paying for quality components up front wasn't a problem.
poohbear - Thursday, March 24, 2011 - link
Just wanted to post thank you for buying from a retailer instead of using a cherry picked review sample from the company. I hope you guys do this for all the hardware you review, not just the PSUs. Great to read impartial reviews like this!oh, and the article was well done too.;)
Martin Kaffei - Thursday, March 24, 2011 - link
No problem. But we often get samples from a manufacturer, less frequent from a retailer or distributor.These are chosen randomly so the manufacturer doesn't know, if we check out the version on the market. Nevertheless I don't have the money to pay for every sample so we still have different sources.
ClagMaster - Friday, March 25, 2011 - link
Excellent article that provides a great deal of insight into the design and construction of the X-Series 560W.A good read after a hard day at work.
For $120 this is a fair price for quality components, an excellent design, and a diverse assortment of connectors of ATX Towers and HTPC's.
This is a 850W unit which is scaled down to 550W service. I suppose having the fan start above 20% of load is necessary but the fan is indeed very quiet. This power supply has plenty of margin for operation above 550W.
The only improvement I can think of using a PWM Fan with Hydro bearings.
Seasonic is a company which stands behind its warranty too. I had a 500W MII power supply go bad 6 months ago. A diode had come lose from its mainboard and lodged in the fan grill. I applied for an RMA, boxed the failed power supply, mailed it to their RMA center in California, and recieved a new replacement in less than two weeks.
No hassle -- No problems -- Full satisfaction with the service.
oneoho - Sunday, March 27, 2011 - link
This article may have converted me to a Seasonic fanboy :)More than I've ever wanted to know about a PSU but definitely got my nerd juices flowing.