Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU

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jamotide
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Re: Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU

Post by jamotide » Fri Mar 25, 2011 1:23 pm

TigerFlash18 wrote:I work at Intel (high relevance? no...little relevance? sure why not ;) ), and I can honestly say after reading this review that this here product is simply an engineering marvel.
They must have been so busy marvelling that they forgot to properly attach the coils to prevent them from whining. Or maybe they just have bad hearing?

Alun
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Re: Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU

Post by Alun » Tue Apr 26, 2011 11:24 pm

I'm also hearing a high pitched electronic noise from my X-400. I'm on my 2nd unit so I'm open to suggestions.

jrboddie
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Re: Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU

Post by jrboddie » Thu Jun 16, 2011 5:54 pm

I'm considering using this PSU to replace the Antec EarthWatts 380 that I have in a Sonata case. The instructions call for it to be installed with the vented side up; however, the clearance to the top of the chassis is only about 1/4 inch. Is this a problem?

My alternative is the Sea Sonic X-650--actually lower cost at Microcenter, a safer bet thermally and lots of power headroom--but I really don't want another noise maker in my modest system which is currently a fanless GT240, i7-860 w/Hyper 212+ cooler, 1 HDD and case fan.

Thoughts/Recommendations?

Luke M
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Re: Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU

Post by Luke M » Thu Jun 16, 2011 7:51 pm

jrboddie wrote:I'm considering using this PSU to replace the Antec EarthWatts 380 that I have in a Sonata case. The instructions call for it to be installed with the vented side up; however, the clearance to the top of the chassis is only about 1/4 inch. Is this a problem?

My alternative is the Sea Sonic X-650--actually lower cost at Microcenter, a safer bet thermally and lots of power headroom--but I really don't want another noise maker in my modest system which is currently a fanless GT240, i7-860 w/Hyper 212+ cooler, 1 HDD and case fan.
The case fan will draw in cool air through the power supply (with either X-400 or X-650 at low power), at the expense of the rest of the case (less front to back air flow).

Rebellious
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Re: Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU

Post by Rebellious » Tue Sep 13, 2011 2:35 pm

I’ve noticed a difference between the new X-series (including X-650) and the older M12. Every time there is a momentary power outage the PCs with M12 keep working but the X-series reboot. Can anybody confirm that?

Teh Lurv
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Re: Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU

Post by Teh Lurv » Thu Sep 22, 2011 5:25 pm

Just a heads up that Amazon.com is currently selling the X-400 at $89.99.

nzdcoy
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Re: Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU

Post by nzdcoy » Thu Sep 22, 2011 7:30 pm

Rebellious wrote:I’ve noticed a difference between the new X-series (including X-650) and the older M12. Every time there is a momentary power outage the PCs with M12 keep working but the X-series reboot. Can anybody confirm that?
I can confirm that my x560 can survive a 2-4 second power outage and keep the computer playing music (fyi: it is a low power HTPC and it's only been tested once, accidentally)

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Re: Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU

Post by MikeC » Thu Oct 06, 2011 9:33 am

Teh Lurv wrote:Just a heads up that Amazon.com is currently selling the X-400 at $89.99.
WOW!

Looks like Newegg is doing a promo too, after rebates prices are $90 and $110 for the 400/460.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817151099

Good deals, for sure.

gregoire.favre
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Re: Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU

Post by gregoire.favre » Sat Apr 14, 2012 10:26 am

400W is already a lot for my next build (i3770k with integrated HD4000, one DVD burner and 9 HDD).

Would it be fine to use this PSU and use it with 1 MOLEX->2 sata for the SATA I would miss on this PSU ?

I won't use the PCI-E output.

Thanks.

HammerSandwich
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Re: Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU

Post by HammerSandwich » Wed May 02, 2012 9:06 pm

With 9 HDs, you're unlikely to hear a quiet PSU's fan.

edh
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Re: Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU

Post by edh » Thu May 03, 2012 12:12 am

What do you intend to use the system for? The noise of those 9 disks would outweigh any reasonable fan cooled cooled PSU and if you are just considering a PSU for efficiency instead, there are some fan cooled PSUs that do the same job but for less money. Seasonic's own X-560 might make more sense for this application.

Just in terms of total power draw you wouldn't have any problems with that config but you would want to spread the drives out across different cables rather than just chaining them with splitter cables onto a single line. While you probably won't do any damage, it just makes electrical sense to spread the load with any PSU.
Last edited by edh on Thu May 03, 2012 11:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

gregoire.favre
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Re: Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU

Post by gregoire.favre » Thu May 03, 2012 12:26 pm

I can't hear my caviar green drives :-)
I have a power usage betweem 67W and 124W (before the PSU) so I should have taken a much "smaller" PSU but all is fine so.

edh
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Re: Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU

Post by edh » Tue May 29, 2012 2:24 am

Just seen this:
By presenting an extended family of the Platinum series during this year’s Computex, Sea Sonic’s strength in innovation once again takes center stage to lead the way towards solutions that require the highest efficiency and top performance.

Platinum Series 

The new lineup of Sea Sonic’s Platinum series spans the output range of 520 to 1200 watts. All units of the family come equipped with our patented Fully Modular DC Cable design that maximizes output, ensures the stability of the crucial 12V rail and, at the same time, provides ease of integration and ensures forward compatibility. Sea Sonic’s extended Platinum Series, which is currently the most complete 80PLUS Platinum series available on the market, entails the following products:

Platinum-520 FANLESS – Silent performance
Platinum-660 / 760 / 860 – Ultra performance and efficiency
Platinum-1000 / 1200 – High-end gaming and overclocking
http://seasonic.com/new/twevent20120528.htm

So now it looks like there's a step above the X-400 and X-460! Does it replace them? Probably not, 400,460 and 520 run together nicely and I'm sure looking at the price of the existing Platinum models, it'll be more expensive than an X-460 too. All good but maybe some time there will be some lower passive models too with higher efficiency. You do have to wonder how much further you can go than Platinum efficiency?

hramrach
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Re: Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU

Post by hramrach » Sat Dec 22, 2012 4:42 pm

Hello,

the new PSUs dubbed P-400FL or SS-400FL2 do replace the X-400FL and go fanless up to 520W due to higher efficiency.

I ordered one and I am disappointed.

Unlike the X-400FL on the review photos the P-400 does not come with dual mounting holes.

It comes with the same warning paper that you should mount it with the vents facing up (into the case top wall, no less) but the PSU only has holes for mounting the same way as the X-650 with the vents facing down. There is simply no way to put the PSU into a standard ATX case the way the manual tells you to put it. The other minor annoyance is that the mains connector does not quite fit when the PSU is placed upside down with the wents up.
Last edited by hramrach on Sun Dec 23, 2012 4:10 am, edited 1 time in total.

edh
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Re: Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU

Post by edh » Sun Dec 23, 2012 1:37 am

hramrach wrote:Unlike the X-400FL on the review photos the P-400 does not come with dual mounting holes.
Interesting observation. Just checked the SPCR review of the 520W Platinum model (http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1313-page1.html) and it also appears to have only one set of mounting holes.

Can't see any reason for such a design change to be made. A comment worth making on the 520W review perhaps? Can Seasonic provide design justification for this? It certainly makes installation in some cases less practicable.

So what are you going to do with it then? A case mod to put screw holes in the right places is one option. Some cases already have 2 sets of screw holes for this purpose.

hramrach
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Re: Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU

Post by hramrach » Sun Dec 23, 2012 4:09 am

edh wrote:
hramrach wrote:Unlike the X-400FL on the review photos the P-400 does not come with dual mounting holes.
Interesting observation. Just checked the SPCR review of the 520W Platinum model (http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1313-page1.html) and it also appears to have only one set of mounting holes.

Can't see any reason for such a design change to be made. A comment worth making on the 520W review perhaps? Can Seasonic provide design justification for this? It certainly makes installation in some cases less practicable.
I have contacted Seasonic support regarding this issue but since holidays are coming I don't expect reply anytime soon.
edh wrote:So what are you going to do with it then? A case mod to put screw holes in the right places is one option. Some cases already have 2 sets of screw holes for this purpose.
The case is definitely not moddable in that way with reasonable effort. The ATX mounting is asymmetrical and the back cover is only in places where required to fit the screws so in some places there is too much and in others it is missing.

Looking at the other case laying around it has the dual mounting allright but that case is a fail Chieftec which is too short to mount a PSU and a CD-rom at the same time. Also its drive cage extends into the space occupied by the CPU heatsink. At least the lack of vents below the PSU in the Chieftec case would not impede this one as it has solid cover on the bottom.

I guess looking for another case is an option and exchanging the PSU for the older revision is another. Will have to wait after holidays are over either way.

edh
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Re: Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU

Post by edh » Sun Dec 23, 2012 4:26 am

hramrach wrote:The case is definitely not moddable in that way with reasonable effort. The ATX mounting is asymmetrical and the back cover is only in places where required to fit the screws so in some places there is too much and in others it is missing.
Depending upon the amount of mental around the hole you could cut out the entire PSU sized hole, then use a Lian Li bracket (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprodu ... L&pup_c=gs) to mount the PSU whichever way round you want. Another idea perhaps but a bit of precision work required.

hramrach
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Re: Seasonic X-400 Fanless PSU

Post by hramrach » Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:27 pm

Sesasonic has sent me some pictures of PSUs mounted in some random cases. Actually two look much like Coolermaster.

That's all I got from them.

An inexpensive case compatible with this PSU is Coolermaster Elite 370. I mounted the board in one and have lots of free space there.

As it is full ATX case I have no problem mounting all the extra PCI brackets.

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