Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

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Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by MikeC » Sun Mar 04, 2012 1:02 pm


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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by Mr Evil » Sun Mar 04, 2012 2:29 pm

On page 2, it says the main capacitor is 220mF (millifarads), but it should say 220μF (microfarads). If it was really 220mF and 420V, it would dwarf the whole power supply. Actually, I'm not sure if it's even possible to buy a single cpacitor that big, but a quick google found an interesting video of a bank of capacitors totalling 400mF @ 400V.

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by CA_Steve » Sun Mar 04, 2012 2:59 pm

Nice to see the x series topology moving to form factors other than atx. Thanks for the review.

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by Scrooge » Sun Mar 04, 2012 8:10 pm

This is nice to see! Can we please get an article on TFX though? I've never even heard of it before, so it seems to be even more obscure than BTX and DTX.

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by tay » Mon Mar 05, 2012 7:05 am

I didn't know there was such a thing as TFX. Whatever happened to SFX which was the small PSU standard. And how on earth do I find this PSU and cases that fit it?
I don't really care for ATX PSU's because they are so big. I have a small file server that I want to build but the HP N40L seems better than I can do.

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by Mats » Mon Mar 05, 2012 11:48 am

MikeC: Thank you for the review.

Are Seasonic going to update their SFX PSU's as well?

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by MikeC » Mon Mar 05, 2012 1:24 pm

TFX has been around for quite a while, probably close to a decade. It's obviously not as widely used, but check in newegg's site, search for MicroATX Slim cases or TFX PSUs.

As for whether Seasonic will introduce 90% eff. SFX, I don't have any official word, but it seems reasonable to assume that they'll do it... not sure when.

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by Zap » Mon Mar 05, 2012 1:38 pm

Nice to see such a PSU being made, and looking forward to SFX versions. Maybe even higher wattage versions. C'mon Seasonic, give FSP some competition in that space!

BTW a lot of the Foxconn mini ITX cases (often sold as a barebones with motherboard) also use TFX PSUs.

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by ist.martin » Mon Mar 05, 2012 9:40 pm

It would be nice to compile a list of all the cases where this would fit.

Hey Mike - what are you doing with your review samples. Selling them locally ? :)

By the way - did you ever end up using the Fingerworks iGesture pad?


Cheers,

Ian

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by Sunrise » Mon Mar 05, 2012 11:06 pm

Page 2, "Physical: 170(L) x 150(W) x 86(H)mm, 5.5 lbs", looks like a copy/paste bug.

Hope PSU and case manufacturers start pushing smaller form factor PSUs. As this shows, most computers (heck, any without CF/SLI) don't need a full-size ATX PSU anymore.

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by MikeC » Tue Mar 06, 2012 1:10 am

Sunrise wrote:Page 2, "Physical: 170(L) x 150(W) x 86(H)mm, 5.5 lbs", looks like a copy/paste bug.
Righto. Corrected. It should be: 175mm(6.9") x 85mm(3.3") x 63.5mm(2.5")

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by ist.martin » Tue Mar 06, 2012 8:27 am

FYI - they also list SS-350TGW / SS-300TGW models with standard cabling. The TGM have the modular cabling.

http://www.seasonic.com/product/pc_tfx.jsp

This is exactly what I'm looking for. Now to find a case for it???

The SS-300TGW is listed at pccanada.com for $53. I cannot find the modular ones listed anywhere.

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by MikeC » Tue Mar 06, 2012 11:44 am

ist.martin wrote:This is exactly what I'm looking for. Now to find a case for it???

The SS-300TGW is listed at pccanada.com for $53. I cannot find the modular ones listed anywhere.
Zap is right; Foxconn cases listed at Newegg as Mini-ITX Tower cases use TFX PSUs -- as do most of the other cases listed in that category.

As for the modular version, I have one I can spare, fire me an email. mikec at....

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by hybrid2d4x4 » Tue Mar 06, 2012 10:15 pm

Nice to see an efficient smaller PSU. At 350W, they could have easily added a single pci-e power connector, though. Thanks for the review!

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by leifeinar » Wed Mar 07, 2012 12:58 am

A great psu. would be great to se a seasonic 450W+ gold/platinim sfx psu. im not to happy with the one from silverstone (SST-ST45SF)
Last edited by leifeinar on Sat Mar 10, 2012 11:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by Rebellious » Fri Mar 09, 2012 12:18 pm

Form factors info???? What adapter do you need to install this in a Lian Li PC-Q11 ?

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by ces » Fri Mar 09, 2012 12:50 pm

Rebellious wrote:Form factors info???? What adapter do you need to install this in a Lian Li PC-Q11 ?
I don't think it fits.

Take a look at the FSP300-60GHS-R 300W RT. It does fit with a special plate they provide and it gives you extra room for the CPU cooler.

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by loimlo » Mon Mar 12, 2012 7:08 am

I hope Seasonic would shorten the cable length ..... No one is going to use such a small footprint PSU for bottom-mounted ATX case. Also, I'd like to see 300W SFX Gold coming from Seasonic. Being a loyal 300SFD user during past 3 years, I'd love to purchase a new 300W SFX Gold for my media box. :lol:

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by Mats » Mon Mar 12, 2012 9:03 am

leifeinar wrote:im not to happy with the one from silverstone (SST-ST45SF)
What's wrong with it? I'm about to buy one . .

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by herby » Thu Mar 15, 2012 1:33 am

I've seen a little, just a little about Seasonic's Flex ATX PSUs like the SS250-SU. Has anyone seen any professional writeups on them? I think one might be a good option for quieting my Elite 100.

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by leifeinar » Fri Mar 30, 2012 5:27 am

Mats wrote:
leifeinar wrote:im not to happy with the one from silverstone (SST-ST45SF)
What's wrong with it? I'm about to buy one . .

Sorry for late reply. i just wish it was more efficient, and had a smarter fan. preformance is good, runing a gtx 580 and 2500k and its stable :)

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by trident » Fri Mar 30, 2012 5:35 am

North America Availability :(
I have been looking for a retail vender in the U.S.A. with little success. Received a reply from Stella Lo at SeaSonic Electronics that the SS-350TGM is not currently in stock at SeaSonic California warehouse, only available as a sample from HQ in Taiwan. The SS-300GTW is however in stock at the California warehouse. The only retail vender I have found for the 350TGM is in Croatia.

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by Mats » Fri Mar 30, 2012 5:45 am

leifeinar wrote:Sorry for late reply. i just wish it was more efficient, and had a smarter fan. preformance is good, runing a gtx 580 and 2500k and its stable :)
Tack!
trident wrote:The only retail vender I have found for the 350TGM is in Croatia.
I think that pretty much says it all, you just have to wait a bit longer.

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by Digital.J » Fri Mar 30, 2012 7:35 am

Hi,
i'm new to this forum. Yet, i registered because i'm gonna receive this PSU for industrial purpose in a shoe-box chassis. And i wanted to thank you as it was nice to read your review before it.
As for the form-factors guide, MikeC, are you aware that those independant guides (SFX, TFX, etc) have been merged into one and only guide from INTEL ? Or am i mistaken?
Power Supply Design Guide for Desktop Platform Form Factors
Revision 1.2
February 2008

Regards.

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by Jay_S » Wed Apr 04, 2012 12:04 pm

[H]ardOCP review of the SS-350TGM (posted today)

A very positive review. The last 2 lines are great:
HardODP wrote:Just remember, it’s an OEM unit so it won’t be good looking...
But best of all...
HardODP wrote:(Editor’s Note: Seasonic is telling us that this unit will soon be available at Newegg with an MSRP of $69.99)
:D

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by Digital.J » Thu Apr 05, 2012 3:52 am

Hi, thanks for this second review.
Then, would you recommend this PSU for long-life industrial purpose (10 years & 200W load)? Would there be also another brand PSU with similar TFX size and quality?

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by MikeC » Thu Apr 05, 2012 11:04 am

10 years? Who knows!? Most computers fail for a variety of reaons in less than 10 years... and most become useless because they just can't keep up with changes in applications in that kind of time frame. For example, there are very few -- if any -- 10 yr old PCs that could navigate flash web sites smoothly.

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by Mats » Thu Apr 05, 2012 11:33 am

Age may not be that crucial when used for industrial purposes.

If low noise is important then I don't have any suggestions, but if you're looking for high end professional PSU's then maybe a server model is a better choice.

http://seasonicusa.com/1u.htm

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?na ... t&reid=131

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by Digital.J » Fri Apr 06, 2012 6:18 am

@MikeC & Mats:
Thanks for answers.
Yeah, that i know of, but we have limited-space chassis equipment to provide, and 1U PSU are too noisy for operator room (norm limited to 40dB), so i was considering this SEASONIC PSU (<2U).
Application is railroad long-life equipment on MS-DOS (with maintenance contract & support from 5 years to 30 years). So yes, failures will occurr, and then i am searching for high end professional PSU's, and 1U server model was my first choice (ZIPPY model tbh).
So, in short, either this SS-350TGM is excellent quality (judging by the two reviews) and can suit, either it is not good quality.
What differences would there be between server model SS-350M1U and PC model SS-350TGM from same constructor (both 80+ Gold)? Imo, it is only size categories and not quality categories. If i take the two presentation datasheets, there is not one line that diverges (except size and format).
I have then only detailed specification sheet for the latter.
Btw, i can start a new thread if this one is diverging from its original path (don't want to mess up).
Last edited by Digital.J on Fri Apr 06, 2012 7:10 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Seasonic SS-350TGM 80 Plus Gold TFX

Post by MikeC » Fri Apr 06, 2012 7:10 am

Digital.J --

You're right, the difference between those models is probably not quality but form factor and power. I also think there is a difference in the cooling approach -- the 1U PSUs probably all run their fans at higher speed all the time, because there's so much more internal impedance to airflow than the TFX12V form factor, and servers almost always run at higher loads. iirc, most server techs look for 60~70% PSU load.

I would simply repeat what I said earlier, in a different way: I bet there's no PSU maker who will give a 10 year warranty for an industrial/commercial application like yours. This is not to say a PSU will not last that long, but most components inside a PSU are not warrantied that long, either. The biggest problem to longevity will probably come from capacitors -- their capacity naturally declines with age and use, especially under heat. With 200W (constant?) load, there will be >20W heat. There's also the question of ambient heat -- how hot is the working environment?

Over 10 years... will capacitors in a 350W PSU stay strong enough to maintain 200W output? I really don't know. This is probably something you need to ask engineers who have been with a PSU company for >10 years.

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