New Seasonics work as single 12V rail designs in practise.

[EsaT]

It was already clear from pictures (http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?lp=fr_en&trurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.nokytech.net%2fseasonic_m12-924-927-d-p.html) of M12's insides that in reality there can't be more than two separate rails because of only two 12V wire groups in PCB.

Now SPCR reviewed new S12 Energy+ models which are M12's sister models and they were able to draw 30 to 40A from single cable without tripping PSU meaning there really aren't any rails with current limiters despite of sticker saying 18A as maximum for "one rail". That confirms jonnyguru's notification about Corsair PSUs made by Seasonic which didn't care about exceeding specified max current of rails.

One user has reportedly been able to draw as much as 30~40A from a single cable set, which should certainly have tripped a current limiter if the rails were actually as specified. We were able to perform a similar test on the Energy Plus.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article656-page1.html

As further proof is PC P&C Silencer serie's top/EPS12V models which officially have just one 12V rail but use exactly same design and PCB, even two groups of 12V wires are there and only difference looks to be heatsinks optimized for different airflow.
http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/reviews/oc3d-2/index.html


So what this means in practise is good for high end SLI/Crossfire PC builders because you don't have to worry loading rails evenly. That's advantage especially now when coming DX10 cards appear to redefine "power hungry".

[jonnyGURU]

There's one rail.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/PSU/M12-700/

I put 35A on a single "rail."

[syne_24]

woot i just read that.. thanks jonny :toast:

so basically if the price skimps down to ~175 it would be an even better score. :)

BTW can you change out the stock fans jonny? Like maybe something a little less dba or is it even neccesary?

[jonnyGURU]

Like you're really going to sustain a 400W load on this thing. :rolleyes:

[Praxis1452]

it's seasonic... I think they're about as quiet as they come.. well stock anyway.

[taemun]

Nice review there jonny. Did miss pictures of the modular peripheral cabling (4 pin molex, and SATA) though. How many of each, how many plugs on each, are they sleeved, etc.

Any idea why you would make a modular PSU with an 8-pin +12V (EPS), AND the 4-pin +12V plugs hard wired?? Surely the vast majority of people only need one or the other (which is what being modular is all about?!)

t

[jonnyGURU]

Nice review there jonny. Did miss pictures of the modular peripheral cabling (4 pin molex, and SATA) though. How many of each, how many plugs on each, are they sleeved, etc.

The cable count is on the first page. And I did mention that they're sleeved. In fact, there's a picture of them on the first page too. :stick:

Am I misunderstanding you?

Any idea why you would make a modular PSU with an 8-pin +12V (EPS), AND the 4-pin +12V plugs hard wired?? Surely the vast majority of people only need one or the other (which is what being modular is all about?!)

t

Well, having that cable fixed is good because it's a necessary cable and making it fixed reduces resistance. But having both fixed instead of one 8-pin and allowing it to split into two for 4-pin ATX12V boards makes more sense to me.

Some quad CPU boards use both 4-pin and 8-pin boards, but I don't think you'd use a modular SLI certified power supply for a server. ;)

[taemun]

jonny: well partially both ways. (its late .. errr .. early, here at the moment :p:, so I prolly don't make much sense anyway)
The review states "the cables are all sleeved with black net", sorry, I overlooked that. I was also meaning how are the modular cables organised? There are 8 SATA plugs yes, but in 4 cables of 2 plugs, 2 of 4, or 3+3+2? I guess that I should have just looked on Seasonic's website and found: http://www.seasonicusa.com/images/m12wireconfiguration.jpg ;)
(err that shows one of the cables as not sleeved .. far left, and I think SATA)

The picture that I presume that you are talking about ("In fact, there's a picture of them on the first page too") is http://www.jonnyguru.com/PSU/M12-700/IMG_1184.jpg, which doesn't really show the cables well. I was expecting a shot more like this (http://www.jonnyguru.com/PSU/NUUO550/IMG_0923.jpg), this (http://www.jonnyguru.com/PSU/Sintek500W/IMG_0905.jpg), this (http://www.jonnyguru.com/PSU/HX620W/IMG_0630.jpg), this (http://www.jonnyguru.com/PSU/Tagan530W/IMG_0997.jpg), or this (http://www.jonnyguru.com/PSU/ZeroDBA/IMG_1046.jpg) :)

t

[TheDro]

OT: jonny, I just read the review you did on the M12, and I must say that Seasonic must really like you :p: since they included a thank you note with yours... which I thought was just sweet... jk. But the retail M12's don't include the thank you note, and don't include the brochures. Plus some might even make a slight buzzing noise, like both of the M12's I got from Fry's. Seasonic though did try to make it right, and offered to send me an M12-700 which they assured me that wouldn't make any buzzing noise whatsoever, but I declined respectfully, and am now happier with my old S12-600. But thanks jonny for another great review as always. :toast:

[jonnyGURU]

jonny: well partially both ways. (its late .. errr .. early, here at the moment :p:, so I prolly don't make much sense anyway)
The review states "the cables are all sleeved with black net", sorry, I overlooked that. I was also meaning how are the modular cables organised? There are 8 SATA plugs yes, but in 4 cables of 2 plugs, 2 of 4, or 3+3+2? I guess that I should have just looked on Seasonic's website and found: http://www.seasonicusa.com/images/m12wireconfiguration.jpg ;)
(err that shows one of the cables as not sleeved .. far left, and I think SATA)

The picture that I presume that you are talking about ("In fact, there's a picture of them on the first page too") is http://www.jonnyguru.com/PSU/M12-700/IMG_1184.jpg, which doesn't really show the cables well. I was expecting a shot more like this (http://www.jonnyguru.com/PSU/NUUO550/IMG_0923.jpg), this (http://www.jonnyguru.com/PSU/Sintek500W/IMG_0905.jpg), this (http://www.jonnyguru.com/PSU/HX620W/IMG_0630.jpg), this (http://www.jonnyguru.com/PSU/Tagan530W/IMG_0997.jpg), or this (http://www.jonnyguru.com/PSU/ZeroDBA/IMG_1046.jpg) :)

t

I'll spread the cables out and reshoot them.

I have to shoot the 120MM fan too. Totally forgot.

[jonnyGURU]

OT: jonny, I just read the review you did on the M12, and I must say that Seasonic must really like you :p: since they included a thank you note with yours... which I thought was just sweet... jk. But the retail M12's don't include the thank you note, and don't include the brochures. Plus some might even make a slight buzzing noise, like both of the M12's I got from Fry's. Seasonic though did try to make it right, and offered to send me an M12-700 which they assured me that wouldn't make any buzzing noise whatsoever, but I declined respectfully, and am now happier with my old S12-600. But thanks jonny for another great review as always. :toast:

LOL! I don't know... mine was shrink wrapped, I swear!

But I did hear a slight buzzing noise coming from mine, but once the cover was on the case I couldn't hear it. That and about 10% of the PSU's I review end up buzzing so it's gotten to the point where I don't even think about it. Is it "problematic" enough (are enough people complaining about the buzz) where you think I should mention it in the revew?

[TheDro]

Maybe these new M12's just hate 110v 60hz? The S12-600 was the first PSU I've ever seen with automatic voltage selector. My S12-600 does emit a buzz, but you have to have your ear almost up to the back of the unit to even hear it, with the last M12 I had, you could hear it from 3 feet away from the unit.

[jonnyGURU]

Maybe these new M12's just hate 110v 60hz? The S12-600 was the first PSU I've ever seen with automatic voltage selector. My S12-600 does emit a buzz, but you have to have your ear almost up to the back of the unit to even hear it, with the last M12 I had, you could hear it from 3 feet away from the unit.

Hmm... That's exhibiting quite a bit of inconsistancy.

[erwinz]

nice review man.. :D hope there is one on our local store.. :(