Internals and Electronics

As our research has shown the Platinum 860W is very close to the 80 Plus Gold X-1000 and X-1250. This is not surprising, since the earlier model PSUs already had a considerably higher efficiency than the requirements for 80 Plus Gold certification. Seasonic employs a full-bridge resonant converter that utilizes the transformer in full. You don't need any diodes for commutation during turn-off. As a result this circuit design is predestined for higher power ratings.

The current and voltage pulses of the resonant circuit run nearly sinusoidal and the transistors turn on at zero voltage. Together with the low resistance on the drain-source path the power dissipation is much lower during turn-on, turn-off, and the saturation of those transistors. Accordingly the heatsinks are much smaller now. However, differences between the larger models are the "weaker" MOSFETs and the missing third primary capacitor (which you can see a silkscreened space for in the above image).

There are some minor changes from the previous X-series. One of them is connected with the resonant circuit itself. Two conductions of the IC CM6901 (on a small PCB) lead to a small inductor, which is located between the resonant capacitor, the resonant coil, and the small "auxiliary coil" to relieve the main transformer. With this the current is measured in the resonant circuit to improve regulation. A second winding is connected to the main PCB and the magnetic flux in the core passes through the regulation winding.

We found out that there are two +12V sources at the transformer with two large ground planes. The PS232F offers over current protection for +3.3V, +5V and +12V (up to four outputs). This is the second sign that this PSU has multiple +12V outputs. The pins for the over current measurements are connected to +12V without exception. Seasonic does not officially favor a single output, but many ODM customers such as Corsair do, which might be the reason for the "single rail" rating on their label. Nevertheless it is basically a multiple 12V rail design.

External Impressions, Cables, and Connectors Performance Measurements
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  • kmmatney - Friday, February 24, 2012 - link

    Yup. I'd really like one of these, but find it hard to justify the big price jump to get to platinum efficiency. You can get all the PSU you need (Corsair GS800) for $115. It is nice, though. I'm still running a Corsair TX650 which I bought 5 years ago for $90 or so.
  • Hrel - Friday, February 24, 2012 - link

    Most seasonics have NO noise under about half load. Why is this one noisy? Also what's with the "electrical noise". I don't wanna hear a damn thing. "Best power supply ever", psh, not if I can hear it.
  • palindrome - Friday, February 24, 2012 - link

    Martin,

    It is hard to take much stock from your review. Especially when you write a garbage conclusion that claims Super Flower products a bad product because of their name. The last Super Flower manufactured PSU reviewed on Anandtech was 10/16/2008 by Christoph Katzer. Also, your testing equipment and methodology is not listed in this article. For all we, as readers, know, you could be using a kill-a-watt and a RadioShack multimeter. You should also list your error tolerance for your readings, no matter what equipment you are using. When I read this article, I thought I might have mistakenly been redirected to Tom's for a moment.

    I'm sure reviewers such as yourself all have opinions and incentives to write nice reviews for the generous companies who give you free, expensive toys to play with. However, you should let your test results do the talking and provide some of the basic information, such as methodology, just like we all learned in 5th grade science class, so that you can be much more credible. This isn't the worst PSU review I've seen from a major tech site (Tom's has that locked down tight), but I certainly expect more from Anandtech.

    Time to get flamed by the herd.
  • smilingcrow - Friday, February 24, 2012 - link

    We’re not worthy.
    I have the 400W Gold fanless version and we’ve set a date for the autumn.
  • Crypticone - Friday, February 24, 2012 - link

    I would really like to see some real world usage testing. Clearly every uses computers in a different manner and I am not sure the best way to go about it.

    Much like you have a very standardized testing bed for computer cases. It would be nice to have some measure of power usage over a certain period of time.

    Using the same computer setup run the system for two hours at idle speed measuring power usage. Then two hours looping some gaming type benchmark. Then two hours of scripted web browsing. Then an hour fully loading the CPU with prime. Then maybe two hours of streaming media to a media player of some sort.

    Then it would be nice to see how much power is saved between the units. It would be interesting to see where the mock breakeven point is power savings vs the added cost of these new pricey power supplies vs a gold or silver rated PSU.

    This might be more of a feature article then something done for every PSU you review.
  • John Doe - Friday, February 24, 2012 - link

    That SuperFlower you just threw off in a whim makes a unit that outdoes the Platinum 1000; the LZP-1000.

    http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article/2012/01/04/k...

    It gets about 30mV ripple against the 60's of the SeaSonic, has quicker transient turn-on response and sells for $70 cheaper.

    One of the main goals of a review is to be subjective, which is what this review is not. This is a load of garbage.
  • smilingcrow - Saturday, February 25, 2012 - link

    From the review you linked to:

    “If you want the absolute best power supply we have seen then you still want the Seasonic Platinum-1000.”

    And you want a review to be objective not subjective!
  • Martin Kaffei - Saturday, February 25, 2012 - link

    John,
    I got an XFX PSU which is exactly like the 1KW version from Seasonic and I never saw more than 30 mV as well.

    Does HardOCP measure with capacitors conformable to ATX specification? You need them to simulate system load, otherwise the results do not apply to a real PC.

    Hereunder Seasonic might be worse than SuperFlower, but your PC doesn't get the pure ripple. With ATX test environments Seasonic is always as good as or even better than SuperFlower.
  • John Doe - Saturday, February 25, 2012 - link

    What're you on about? Yes, Paul puts all the units in an incubutor for at least 8 hours. And you? Have you even explained your test methodology? You aren't making any sense and aren't fooling anybody with little SMPS knowledge.

    If you look at Oklahoma Wolf's results, you can find the same. The Golden King 1000 (which you labeled as a joke just because of it's name) usually has lower ripple, better transient response, better cooling and sells for cheaper. The only thing the SeaSonic has over it is better regulation.

    It's clear that either you're unknowledgeable or you have a personal agenda, with the latter making more sense. Excuse my bluntness, but you're diviving into pure nonsense.
  • DanNeely - Saturday, February 25, 2012 - link

    You've got 28 pins on the PSU for a 24pin cable.

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