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Seasonic Focus Plus "Thoughts"

18K views 38 replies 14 participants last post by  Sea Sonic Rep 
#1 ·
Jonny Guru

I have been away from the market for the last year or so and I really need an update on the PSU scene but as i look at the new Seasonic line up its freaking amazing for $109.99 i get a gold rated 850W modular PSU that is a quality product.

What is the catch?

and is the difference between the (FX)Gold rated and (PX)Platinum Rated model only the efficiency?
 
#2 ·
Unless you have plans for 2-3 way SLI you dont need an 850 watt PSU

A 550 watt is more then enough power for any system with a single video card unless you are messing around with BIOS/hardware volt mods or LN2/liquid helium cooling
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=529

The system under your sig will draw less then 300 watts at full load so there is no reason to have a 550 watt headroom unless you are going to add more video cards
Why do you even need a new PSU?
 
#3 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by shilka View Post

Unless you have plans for 2-3 way SLI you dont need an 850 watt PSU

A 550 watt is more then enough power for any system with a single video card unless you are messing around with BIOS/hardware volt mods or LN2/liquid helium cooling
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=529

The system under your sig will draw less then 300 watts at full load so there is no reason to have a 550 watt headroom unless you are going to add more video cards
Why do you even need a new PSU?
I agree , I am not planning on buying a PSU as my AX860 is serving me well but i mean as a lineup whats up with the pricing its cheaper than what i normally see for high quality PSUs as i can get the 850W for $89.99 after $20.00 rebate which is insane.
 
#4 ·
The EVGA SuperNova G2 was similarly priced when it came out and it sold like hot cakes because of the price, later the price was raised after the early buzz
Seasonic might have a similar market strategy with the Focus Plus where they dont make money on individual units but make money in bulk sales and because of the buzz

Its a win for everyone we get really good units for a really good price and they get tons of sales buzz and word of mouth about Seasonic
Their whole lineup has been stale for a very long time so Seasonic really wants a lot of Focus Plus sales and they can get that with lower prices.
 
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#5 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by shilka View Post

The EVGA SuperNova G2 was similarly priced when it came out and it sold like hot cakes because of the price, later the price was rasied after the early buzz
Seasonic might have a similar market strategy with the Focus Plus where they dont make money on individual units but make money in bulk sales and because of the buzz

Its a win for everyone we get really good units for a really good price and they get tons of sales buzz and word of mouth about Seasonic
Their whole lineup has been stale for a very long time so Seasonic really wants a lot of Focus Plus sales and they can get that with lower prices.
I see, thanks for the Info but any thoughts on the FX, PX differences?
 
#6 ·
I dont understand what you mean by FX and PX
If you are talking about the efficiency levels they are as far as i am aware just efficiency differences.
 
#7 ·
One thing to be mindful of is that all of the cabling have capacitors at the component end. This has allowed them to make the PSU smaller, by moving them to the cables. This can cause trouble with cable routing and eliminates the ability to sleeve.
 
#8 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by shilka View Post

I dont understand what you mean by FX and PX
If you are talking about the efficiency levels they are as far as i am aware just efficiency differences.
There are two Focus Plus models for each wattage 850w FX and 850w PX
 
#9 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Harobi View Post

One thing to be mindful of is that all of the cabling have capacitors at the component end. This has allowed them to make the PSU smaller, by moving them to the cables. This can cause trouble with cable routing and eliminates the ability to sleeve.
The Corsair RMx and the EVGA SuperNova G2 also have caps on the cables so thats not something new
Quote:
Originally Posted by Awsan View Post

There are two Focus Plus models for each wattage 850w FX and 850w PX
The FX is the Seasonic name for their gold rated models and the PX is for their platinum rated models
Its just a little bit better efficiency.
 
#10 ·
@shilka I'd like to ask whether in-cable capacitors are better or without them? Thanks.
 
#11 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by khanmein View Post

@shilka I'd like to ask whether in-cable capacitors are better or without them? Thanks.
Your question doesn't have an answer as it depends how the PSU is built
Reason why some have capacitors in the cables is it give you a slightly better ripple suppression

But on the other hand you can do the same job inside the PSU if you go far enough with build quality
Some of the old Seasonic Prime units had caps on the cables but Seasonic later removed them and just improved the ones inside the PSU instead and these and called the Seasonic Prime Ultra

Capacitors in the cables make them more bulky which means they take up more space and are harder to bend around stuff
There is no right or wrong answer to your question

Some units have better ripple suppression because of the caps on the cables but it is a rather lazy way of doing it
 
#12 ·
Noted & cheers.
thumb.gif
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scorpion22 View Post

Is it a good PSU for 2xSLI GTX 1080?

Is it a good PSU overall? I am just returning EVGA B3 850W coz its turned out its a junk.
Its not junk the OPP is just not working on some of them and EVGA has responded by saying the factory that made the mistake is no longer making units for them
As for SLI unless you already have two cards dont bother as SLI is seeing less and less support

As for the Seasonic Foucs Plus yes its a better option then the EVGA SuperNova B3
 
#16 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scorpion22 View Post

They also did something else. They deliberately send a hand picked units to rewievers like OklahomaWolf to hide that flaw.
Almost everyone else is or has been guilty of doing the same in the past so thats not a surprise or news
And its not certain that it was EVGA that did it so i would not point the finger at EVGA alone

Seasonic is the only company i know that sends retail samples to reviewers
 
#18 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scorpion22 View Post



PSU arrived today. Build quality is really nice.

What this square button at the back do?
If the button is left sticking out, the fan will turn off at lower power draw levels. If the button is pushed in, the fan is always on and varies its speed as required.

Also I have the 550W Gold model and love it. I just hate how the 550W model only comes with a isngle PCIe cable with two PCIe 6+2 plugs on the end. Luckily you can use most any newer SeaSonic cables on this model. My response form SeaSonic as below regarding using other cables:

Quote:
Thank you for your reply.

The one you listed is compatible. The lack of inline capacitor will slightly increase the ripple. Nothing bad just ripple won't be as good as possible.

Else, if you friends got the following Series, you can use their cables (make sure in each case that it's black flat cables):

  • PRIME Titanium / Platinum / Gold
  • X-Series KM3 or XM2
  • Platinum Series XP2 or FL2 (Fanless version).
  • Snow Silent
  • G-Series
  • M12II Evo (AM2 or GM2 only)
  • Any other Focus Plus if needed.

Thank you.

--

Best Regards / Cordialement,
 
#19 ·
The button is the on/off switch for the hybrid fan mode
With the hybrid fan mode off the fan will always spin and with the hybrid fan mode on the fan will only spin if it gets loaded high enough or get hot enough

I always leave the hybrid fan mode off and the fan spin all the time
Also please use spoilers when posting so many pictures
 
#21 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Securistu View Post

On the 550W model, I hear a "click" coming from the PSU when it is turned ON/OFF.
Is this normal operation due to a relay that engages/disengages?
Thats the relay switch and yes its normal
 
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#22 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by khanmein View Post

... I'd like to ask whether in-cable capacitors are better or without them? ...
Better with them. Aesthetics aside, from a purely electrical perspective they're a bonus. Just think of this: gutless wonders and cheap mediocre PSUs never come with cable caps.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Securistu View Post

On the 550W model, I hear a "click" coming from the PSU when it is turned ON/OFF.
Is this normal operation due to a relay that engages/disengages?
It's the NTC thermistor relay. A fraction of a second after the PSU is turned on, the relay clicks to bypass the NTC thermistor (that has protected components from inrush current during those milliseconds). A fraction of a second after the PSU is turned off, the relay clicks to put the NTC thermistor online again (to protect from inrush current next time PSU is turned on).

Good for PSU efficiency and for thermistor longevity.



The 'clicking' from this relay is the sound of a quality PSU.
thumb.gif


Gutless wonders and cheap mediocre PSUs never come with relay (to save costs) and the NTC thermistor is always online (bad for efficiency and thermistor longevity).
 
#23 ·
@TELVM, I don't understand why JonnyGuru mediocre with in-cable capacitors for 2017 & maybe upcoming 2018?
rolleyes.gif
 
#25 ·
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page678.htm

Seems
Focus Gold (FC) non-modular is SSR-550FC , SSR-650FC , SSR-750FC
Focus Gold (FM) Semi-modular is SSR-550FM , SSR-650FM , SSR-750FM
Focus Plus Gold fully modular (FX) is SSR-550FX , SSR-650FX ,SSR-750FX
Focus Platinum Semi-modular (PM) is SSR-550PM, SSR-650PM , SSR-750PM
Focus Plus Platinum fully modular (PX) is SSR-550PX , SSR-650PX , SSR-750PX

Prime Titanium Ultra (TR) fully modular is SSR-650TR , SSR-750TR , SSR-850TR , SSR-1000TR
Prime Titanium (TD) fully modular is SSR-650TD , SSR-750TD , SSR-850TD , SSR-1000TD
Prime Platinum Ultra (PD2) fully modular is SSR-550PD2 , SSR-650PD2 , SSR-750PD2 , SSR-850PD2 , SSR-1000PD2
Prime Platinum (PD) fully modular is SSR-650PD , SSR-750PD , SSR-850PD , SSR-1000PD , SSR-1200PD
Prime Gold Ultra (GD2) fully modular is SSR-550GD2 , SSR-650GD2 , SSR-750GD2 , SSR-850GD2 , SSR-1000GD2
Prime Gold (GD) fully modular is SSR-650GD , SSR-750GD , SSR-850GD , SSR-1000GD , SSR-1200GD

@Sea Sonic Rep?

edit:
Quote:
Originally Posted by https://seasonic.com/seasonic-presents-the-prime-ultra-power-supplies/
Customers will find new additions in the retail box of the upcoming PRIME Ultra Series.

Seasonic has included a PSU tester in the box that will let consumers perform a quick and easy jump start on the power supply. When a system is not working properly, it can be particularly difficult to tell the difference between a faulty power supply and other components. With the help of the PSU tester, users will be able to verify whether the new power supply is working properly.
Each PRIME Ultra Series power supply will also ship with a SATA 3.3 adapter to support the "Power Disable" (PWDIS) feature of the newer, high-capacity hard drives. This is an important feature for people who are planning to use the PRIME Ultra to power hard drives of a smaller-scaled server at home or in an office.

Some design updates of the PRIME Ultra power supplies further optimize usability.

One of the most noticeable of the upgrades is that the inline capacitors on the cables were removed, which takes away from the bulk and improves cable management inside the system.
The new 180 degree SATA connectors will ensure more flexibility and easier installation.

The exciting features of the PRIME Ultra Series can be summarized as follows:

Ultra-quiet operation - thanks to the upgraded high-end capacitors and the quiet FDB fan driven by Seasonic's Premium Hybrid Fan Control.
Low ripple noise and clean power output - due to high-end components
Compact size to fit smaller cases - 140 mm depth on the lower wattage Gold and Platinum units
12 years warranty
 
#26 ·
Hello AlphaC,

Well, nice update from realhardtechx we have here. However, some models references are not yet announced/confirmed or are incorrect:

Focus Gold (FC) non-modular is SSR-550FC , SSR-650FC , SSR-750FC ==> Not yet available or confirmed.
Focus Gold (FM) Semi-modular is SSR-550FM , SSR-650FM , SSR-750FM ==> Correct.
Focus Plus Gold fully modular (FX) is SSR-550FX , SSR-650FX ,SSR-750FX ==> Correct.
Focus Platinum Semi-modular (PM) is SSR-550PM, SSR-650PM , SSR-750PM ==> Not yet available or confirmed.
Focus Plus Platinum fully modular (PX) is SSR-550PX , SSR-650PX , SSR-750PX ===> Correct.

Prime Titanium Ultra (TR) fully modular is SSR-650TR , SSR-750TR , SSR-850TR , SSR-1000TR ===> Correct
Prime Titanium (TD) fully modular is SSR-650TD , SSR-750TD , SSR-850TD , SSR-1000TD ===> Correct. Now replaced by PRIME Ultra Titanium.
Prime Platinum Ultra (PD2) fully modular is SSR-550PD2 , SSR-650PD2 , SSR-750PD2 , SSR-850PD2 , SSR-1000PD2 ===> PRIME Ultra 1000 and 850 are PD not PD². Others are correct.
Prime Platinum (PD) fully modular is SSR-650PD , SSR-750PD , SSR-850PD , SSR-1000PD , SSR-1200PD ===> Correct. Now replaced by PRIME Ultra Platinum.
Prime Gold Ultra (GD2) fully modular is SSR-550GD2 , SSR-650GD2 , SSR-750GD2 , SSR-850GD2 , SSR-1000GD2 ===> PRIME Ultra 1000 and 850 are GD not GD². Others are correct.
Prime Gold (GD) fully modular is SSR-650GD , SSR-750GD , SSR-850GD , SSR-1000GD , SSR-1200GD ===> Correct. Now replaced by PRIME Ultra Gold.

About the quote, it applies to our new PRIME Ultra.

Thank you.
Best Regards,
 
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