SPCR

Other manufactorers keep trying but it seems no one can yet make power supplies more quiet and effecient than Seasonic.

Inside the Earth Watts is a surprisingly sparse PCB cooled by surprisingly small heatsinks. Knowing that this PSU is made by Seasonic, whose PSUs usually have fairly hefty heatsinks, this was especially surprising.

The "toothed" HS in this PSU is similar in size and design to the ones in the S12-330, so not such a big surprise.

The Earth Watts had no issues starting or staying on with no load applied.

Does this relate directly to the now famous issue the NEO HE's had/have with regards to min loads?

a bit dissapointing. effeciency didnt even meet 80+ specifications. Fan choice isnt great either, and modular cables would have been nice.

Greetings,

I'm wondering if some of the noise is due to the close proximity of the heatsink, coil, and that other component, to the intake of the fan? This causes a "cavitation" noise -- the effect is quite pronounced.

@BrianF: Yes, that's why we started testing with no load. I'm not sure the test is foolproof, since some Neo HEs still seem to be having problems, but at least it looks at a potential source of problems.

BrianF wrote:

The Earth Watts had no issues starting or staying on with no load applied.

Does this relate directly to the now famous issue the NEO HE's had/have with regards to min loads?

Not sure what you mean exactly. The low/no load test is something we've been reporting on for quite a while, to help address the issue of high efficiency PSUs sometimes not wanting to power up w/o minimum load. Some samples of the NeoHE seem to suffer from this, but so do lots of hjigh efficiency PSUs from other brands.

Elixer wrote:Other manufactorers keep trying but it seems no one can yet make power supplies more quiet and effecient than Seasonic.

No surprise, since the article indicates that Seasonic actually makes the PSU for Antec.

Devonavar wrote:@BrianF: Yes, that's why we started testing with no load. I'm not sure the test is foolproof, since some Neo HEs still seem to be having problems, but at least it looks at a potential source of problems.

So do the early NEOs "fail" this test? Understood that the test is not foolproof but if the early NEOs fail I'd say you were on the right track.

Does anybody know what availiability is like on these Earth Watts? I'm a retailer in Canada and none of the distributors even have a SKU for these as of this morning.

Yes, the early Neo HE's fail the test. A4's pass, but there are still reports of startup problems coming in.

Devon, thanks for the nice review. I have my doubt on the 'Green' claim as well.

With its single exhaust fan at the back and very open intake - this can be a good candidate for people with PSU ducted to front bezel (like me ).

BTW, nice inclusion of the ripple tests! Question though, isn't 4.6 mV crazy low for the 12V line? Because I recall seeing another seasonic psu being around 30 mV.

limee wrote:BTW, nice inclusion of the ripple tests! Question though, isn't 4.6 mV crazy low for the 12V line? Because I recall seeing another seasonic psu being around 30 mV.

yes, it's very low. Typically, 120mv is cited and seems to be good enough.

This looks like an excellent low-price, high-efficiency power supply. Question is, where can you actually buy it? I've searched my favorite e-tailers and price engines and I can't find it. Any ideas?

I've seen it listed at NewEgg but I still dont see it at any of the distributors in Canada (I'm a retailer)

From SPCR’s recommended section: “It's basically an 80 Plus certified, non-detachable cable version of the NeoHE with a slightly louder fan. Still pretty quiet, even to a fairly high power load.â€

Yes, they're both Seasonic designs. The Earthwatts is based on a newer design; if you compare it to the newer S12 models, you'll see that it's fairly close.

There are a number of give-away signs that you can use to identify Seasonic-made PSUs:

- Code on the main transformer begins with VRL
- The main AC capacitor (the big one) has a colourful sticker on top (usually yellow or green)
- Heatsinks with "teeth" (only applies to newer models)

Thanks Devon. So it’s closer to the S12. Good news

i'm surprised at the lack of interest in this psu. Is it because the thing looks like a SmartPower?

Smartpower = budget psu = crap??

I'd say it more the similarity to the Neo is the issure. There have been quite a few reports of Neo failures on forums I frequent.

What are anyone's thoughts about which fan to use for a fanswap?

The included ADDA AD0812HS-A70GL is spec'd at 3000RPM/38.6CFM/34.4dBA. I'm thinking a Nexus 80mm would not be a good candidate for drop in replacement due to the ~4V at start. What would be a better replacement?

I'm running an 8800GT and a E6550 @ stock speeds/voltage. I'll be replacing the stock HSF as soon as I can grab a bracket to adapt my CNPS7000B to LGA775 mounts. That will take care of that noise, but the EA430 is still too loud with a duct when running Crysis. I'm thinking that a slightly slower running fan will be adequate to cool it, but I don't know which fans are capable of running at a low voltage without having a VERY high top end.

I suppose I could always run the fan off a fan header but that's just one more fan to keep track of.

Any thoughts?

Out of 12 of these , at least 3 of the Earthwatts 500W PSUs (came with Sonata III) buzz at light load. The buzzing stops when the load is increased. Bummer.