Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

PSUs: The source of DC power for all components in the PC & often a big noise source.

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edh
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Re: Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

Post by edh » Wed Oct 17, 2012 8:11 am

doveman wrote:Anyway, the UK supplier is charging £47 but wants another £11 for shipping, totalling £58.
Google Shopping search shows that technextday.co.uk has it for £47.59 including VAT with free delivery ...and it means you don't have to buy from Scan.

doveman
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Re: Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

Post by doveman » Wed Oct 17, 2012 10:31 am

edh wrote:
doveman wrote:Anyway, the UK supplier is charging £47 but wants another £11 for shipping, totalling £58.
Google Shopping search shows that technextday.co.uk has it for £47.59 including VAT with free delivery ...and it means you don't have to buy from Scan.
Hey thanks, nice find. I don't actually have a problem with Scan other than their high shipping prices, so I tend to avoid buying from them unless my order value is high enough to qualify for free shipping (currently £100 exc VAT I think, so it's not often I use them).

EDIT: I note they say "After 7 working days faulty products are processed as per the manufacturer’s warranty policy and procedure. This doesn't mean you're on your own; we'll be here to smooth the way." which is complete nonsense as they're legally responsible as the seller for dealing with faulty products within the warranty period (which I think under EU rules is a minimum of 2 years now). They don't seem to mention what the warranty period is for this product, so I presume it would only be the statutory 2 years. Mind you Scan says the warranty is only 12 months.

Coderax
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Re: Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

Post by Coderax » Thu Nov 08, 2012 11:41 pm

How would this Seasonic G360W PSU suit for my 24/7 combo:
Celeron G530 CPU (maybe upgrading to Intel Core i3 3220/T)
Gigabyte B75 motherboard
2x 500GB 5400rpm HDD (planning to switch one hard disk for a SSD)
2x Intel 1000GT NICs

My current PSU shows power usage around 80-90W from the power socket (probably not very accurate kill-o-watt meter).
But should i buy this PSU or go for a PicoPSU?
I can get G360 from my local shop with the price of 57€, but the PicoPSU is almost around 90€.

CA_Steve
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Re: Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

Post by CA_Steve » Fri Nov 09, 2012 7:23 am

Coderax wrote:But should i buy this PSU or go for a PicoPSU?
Here's a recent comparison.

tldr: The Pico-PSU will use ~5W less at idle, they are similar at load.

ThAz
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Re: Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

Post by ThAz » Tue Nov 13, 2012 9:24 am

I got my Seasonic G-360 today to replace my aging Nexus NX-4090, which had developed an annoying coil whine. It is powering the system below :

Intel Core i5-2500k
AsRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3
8GB DDR3 1333
MSI GeForce GTX 660 2GB Twin Frozr III
Intel 320 120GB SSD

First impressions where kinda dissapointing, after wrestling the old psu out and getting the new one in (Changing psu:s in an Antec solo with a large CPU heatsink is a bit of a challenge, but it can be done).

On the first startup i was greeted with the sound of fanblades hitting something, after a quick check of my casefan and the fans on the graphichs card it dawned on me that the problem was inside the psu.

After a few curses and cuts the psu was out again for inspection, it seems that the all the outgoing cables run directly below the fan, and if you have to wrestle with the psu and cables to get it into your case they can move too close to the fanblades and cause the noise. The problem is pretty easy to fix once you realize whats going on, just thug gently on the cables and move them around until they clear the fanblades.

All in all not the worst problem you can have, but Seasonic should look into it to avoid unnesseseary RMAs.

I have only had time to run some quick load tests, but so far it is relly quiet. A faint broadband buzzing can be heard if you put your ear to it, but nothing you will hear when the case is closed.

Most important for me was coil whine, and im happy to repport that there is non that i can hear.

jerdenberg
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Re: Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

Post by jerdenberg » Sun Sep 01, 2013 1:03 am

Based on all the positive comments, I bought two G-450 power supplies, but both of them produce the worst hum I've heard in years. In fact, the hum is the only sound I hear from under the desk where the pc is located. As replacements for Nexus value power supplies, they are complete failures.

I wonder if anybody else has encountered this problem?

edh
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Re: Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

Post by edh » Sun Sep 01, 2013 8:12 am

jerdenberg wrote:I bought two G-450 power supplies, but both of them produce the worst hum I've heard in years
What kind of hum? From the fan or an electrical hum? Whining/humming noises have been reported before and can be caused by certain power settings on some motherboards. We have got some feedback from Seasonic about this area before and it has been shown to help in some cases:
viewtopic.php?p=573359#p573359

jerdenberg
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Re: Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

Post by jerdenberg » Mon Sep 02, 2013 6:01 am

At first I thought it was electrical, sounding more or less like the transformer hum of old, but with the power supply on my desk and running without a load, I get the impression it is produced by the fan, especially as the hum comes on when the fan spins up after switching on, and fades when the fan spins down after switching off.

In addition, there is another sound that is a little difficult to describe: I suppose it cannot be called ticking, but it is related – like (a very low-level version of) the sound of a diesel engine at low rpm.

laststop
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Re: Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

Post by laststop » Tue Sep 03, 2013 1:52 am

I'm not just saying this to win but I feel it's destiny. My birthday is 9/24/83 and I will be exactly 30 years old on this date. SAME date as drawing. I am a HUGE Seasonic fan. I recommend the brand to every single person I know that is building a computer. I really don't even look at other brands. I have owned 2 different of the 650 watt 80+ gold rated PSU's and I JUST bought the X-660 platinum rated psu that will be going into my silent haswell build. This psu would slot nicely into my amd 1100t Dell computer a Dell XPS 7100. I have an 1100t overclocked to 4.26Ghz and a radeon 5770 stock clocks. The cheapo chinese power supply in it has the NOISIEST fan on earth. Seasonics PSU's are just a work of art when you open them up. So cleanly designed with premium components. I've never won a contest before but I swear this is destiny. I'm so not joking It's really RIGHT on my birthday. Not only on my birthday but I was born 12:54PM EST as I live in NE ohio. This drawing is literally 6 minutes after my official time of birth. The Dell uses a 400 watt psu that is not even 80+ certified in any way. This 360 watt 80+ gold would be so beautiful in place of it. And would totally lower my system noise and power draw and even some heat.

This PSU would go to a good home from one of the biggest seasonic fans on EARTH! I have never been let down by a seasonic PSU in my life. I've never had one die on me or make any strange noises. I wish I could rate seasonic customer service but I've never had to speak to them because their products are so damn solid. The PSU I currently have is of course non modular so this non modular PSU would fit perfectly in it's place. My graphics card the radeon 5770 requires 1 6 pin pci-e which the g360 also fits perfectly. Like I said it's freakin destiny guys. Choose me and I will take lovely pictures with my nokia lumia 1020 for all to enjoy, Thank you SPCR and seasonic you guys rock.

doveman
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Re: Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

Post by doveman » Tue Sep 03, 2013 3:21 am

Sorry to break it to you laststop but this draw was on 09/24/2012 so you're a year too late!

fjodor2000
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Re: Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

Post by fjodor2000 » Tue Oct 01, 2013 10:27 am

I'm considering using the Seasonic G360W PSU for a new computer. The only other Seasonic PSU I have some experience with is an S12-380 (SS-380HB), which I think is rather quiet.

So now I just wonder:

* Is the the Seasonic G360W less noisy than the S12-380?
* Does the Seasonic G360W have higher efficiency than the S12-380?
* Lets assume the computer consists of: Intel 4670K, reasonable low power Mini-ITX motherboard, 8 GB RAM, 2x4 TB WD Red HDDs, and no discrete GFX card. Will the G360W be able to handle that without spinning up the fan above base RPM even under heavy workloads at around 25C ambient temperature?

Thanks!

quest_for_silence
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Re: Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

Post by quest_for_silence » Tue Oct 01, 2013 11:08 am

fjodor2000 wrote:* Is the the Seasonic G360W less noisy than the S12-380?
* Does the Seasonic G360W have higher efficiency than the S12-380?


What about reading at least the specs?

fjodor2000 wrote:* Lets assume the computer consists of: Intel 4670K, reasonable low power Mini-ITX motherboard, 8 GB RAM, 2x4 TB WD Red HDDs, and no discrete GFX card. Will the G360W be able to handle that without spinning up the fan above base RPM even under heavy workloads at around 25C ambient temperature?

It might do, but it depends of the specific enclosure.

fjodor2000
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Re: Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

Post by fjodor2000 » Tue Oct 01, 2013 11:43 am

quest_for_silence wrote:
fjodor2000 wrote:* Is the the Seasonic G360W less noisy than the S12-380?
* Does the Seasonic G360W have higher efficiency than the S12-380?


What about reading at least the specs?
Well specs are one thing, however actual perceived noise is sometimes a different story. Also, the specs are sometimes measured under different conditions for different PSU:s and may not be directly comparable. That's why I'm looking for some real life experiences.
quest_for_silence wrote:
fjodor2000 wrote:* Lets assume the computer consists of: Intel 4670K, reasonable low power Mini-ITX motherboard, 8 GB RAM, 2x4 TB WD Red HDDs, and no discrete GFX card. Will the G360W be able to handle that without spinning up the fan above base RPM even under heavy workloads at around 25C ambient temperature?

It might do, but it depends of the specific enclosure.
Ok, in what way does it depend on the enclosure? And under what such conditions would vs wouldn't the G360W be able to handle that setup without spinning up the fan above base RPM?

CA_Steve
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Re: Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

Post by CA_Steve » Tue Oct 01, 2013 12:17 pm

fjodor2000 wrote: * Is the the Seasonic G360W less noisy than the S12-380?
* Does the Seasonic G360W have higher efficiency than the S12-380?
* Lets assume the computer consists of: Intel 4670K, reasonable low power Mini-ITX motherboard, 8 GB RAM, 2x4 TB WD Red HDDs, and no discrete GFX card. Will the G360W be able to handle that without spinning up the fan above base RPM even under heavy workloads at around 25C ambient temperature?
yes
yes
most likely - if the case keeps the inside ambient at a reasonable level.

quest_for_silence
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Re: Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

Post by quest_for_silence » Tue Oct 01, 2013 1:21 pm

fjodor2000 wrote:Well specs are one thing, however actual perceived noise is sometimes a different story.


As a matter of fact I wrote "at least". About noise, the so called actual perceived noise is never the same for each of us, so I think it shall not enter into debate.

fjodor2000 wrote:Also, the specs are sometimes measured under different conditions for different PSU:s and may not be directly comparable.

This assumption looks like plainly erroneous when referred to two coeval unit built from the very same manufacturer: but if you're referring to the 2004 S12-380 something may vary (even if such a PSU is not well suited to power any modern 12V rig).
Any numeric finding (spec sheet, Ecova certification, SPCR reviews) tells that the G-series is a considerably better unit.

fjodor2000 wrote:That's why I'm looking for some real life experiences.

Broadly speaking, real life experiences cannot be used as numbers does: we have different tolerances to noise levels, we have different system, different rooms, different environment. All we can trust are numbers (luckily they are available, either in form of specs sheets/certifications or SPCR review), and these numbers let us make some educated guess.
Obviously real life experiences can add some useful hints to those guesses when they could be referred to the same circumstances.

fjodor2000 wrote:
quest_for_silence wrote:It might do, but it depends of the specific enclosure.
Ok, in what way does it depend on the enclosure? And under what such conditions would vs wouldn't the G360W be able to handle that setup without spinning up the fan above base RPM?

Usually a PSU fan controller is somewhat temperature-based, both statically and dynamically, so PSU placement, case volume and other actual parts used bias its behaviour: therefore any heat build-up may likely change the expected performance.
Commonly we are used to regard the SPCR "hot box" scenario as somewhat representative, in a typical ATX enclosure, of a top PSU placement (when all the system heat rises due to convection, heating up the PSU itself, even if sometimes the actual PSU intake position may mitigate these conditions).
On the contrary, the SPCR "Out" or "Open" scenario, with a constant about 25°C ambient, may be more conveniently referred to a bottom PSU placement (also here the PSU intake position may alter the situation) into an ATX tower-like environment.
Changing the circumstances (such as swapping a more spacious tower with a cramped mini-ITX box, the CPU heatsink type and placement, the number and placing of case fans, eventual airflow oddities, and so on) heavily alter these baseline predictions.
Now, noise-wise the G360 has a remarkable behaviour in the "open" scenario, and it should easily meet your requirements, while in a "hot box"-like ambient it couldn't guarantee more than 80-90W without ramping up the fan, which will probably be clearly audible above the 120-130W mark.
Given a constant ambient temp of 25°C, how much the thermal rise is inside your actual case? As I don't know, I've said "it might do".
At any rate, if the actual thermal rise exceeds a few degrees, maybe something like a SuperFlower Golden Green (XE-series) could be a viable alternative to the G360, noise-wise (as per SPCR findings).

Hope this could help a bit.

fjodor2000
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Re: Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

Post by fjodor2000 » Sun Oct 06, 2013 3:53 am

Thanks for the replies.

I have now measured the power consumption of a similar system as I intend to build together with my old S12-380 PSU. Using an ASUS Mini-ITX motherboard, 3570K, 16 GB RAM and SSD it maxes out at around 110 W when measured at the power cord at full load when running all CPU cores at 100% using Prime95.

I assume the new system consisting of a Mini-ITX motherboard, 4670K, 8 GB RAM, 2x4 TB WD Red HDDs will have a slightly higher power consumption, however only perhaps 10W more or so. But since the G360W has a higher efficiency than the S12-380 I expect the power consumption measured at the power cord at full load to stay close to 100 W for such a system with the G360W.

In my case I intend to use small Mini-ITX enclosure, so I suppose the the "hot box" scenario may be what most resembles that. I guess it's just around the border of where the G360W fan may start ramping up depending on enclosure if I understand you correctly. You mentioned 80-90 W as that limit for the hot-box scenario, but according to the SPRC review I get the impression that the G360W fan should not start ramping up until at around 150 W in the hot-box scenario (and 200 W in the open scenario)?

quest_for_silence
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Re: Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

Post by quest_for_silence » Mon Oct 07, 2013 3:58 am

fjodor2000 wrote:You mentioned 80-90 W as that limit for the hot-box scenario, but according to the SPRC review I get the impression that the G360W fan should not start ramping up until at around 150 W in the hot-box scenario (and 200 W in the open scenario)?


I was answering to your question:
fjodor2000 wrote:Will the G360W be able to handle that without spinning up the fan above base RPM even under heavy workloads at around 25C ambient temperature?


At the above quoted 150W mark, the fan controller has already raised the rpm up to 17dB (a value which is still enough quiet but far from being either silent, or even "base RPM").
The review's author says that: "Hence, 150W is the point where the fan started to speed up.", but given also that Mike Chin himself stated: "Still, in the typical standard ATX mid-tower case with modern system featuring an IGP... it would be rare for the PSU fan to become intrusive" - so, just "rare" -, I suppose it could actually start somewhere in between 90W-150W DC (the mentioned 120-130W power range).
Another somewhat educated guess is that a miniITX box should have lower thermals than a quiet (poorly vented) mid-tower like the Antec Solo II, at least at equal quietness level, even if, due to the smaller volume of a miniITX box, maybe hypothetical airflow optimizations can impact on this further baseline supposition.

Long story short, the "guaranteed" power value shouldn't exceed the 80-90W DC (the one "certified" by SPCR tabulas), if it should be "without spinning up the fan above base RPM".

Obviously, if you relax a bit your original noise requirements, then the useable power range will broaden.

fjodor2000
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Re: Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

Post by fjodor2000 » Tue Oct 08, 2013 11:24 am

The review says:

"Seasonic G360 SPL: In Hot Box
<150W: 13 dB
150W: 17dB

Hence, 150W is the point where the fan started to speed up.
"

I interpret this as that the fan is at base RPM until 150W and the PSU stays at 13 dB up until that. At 150W the fan starts to speed up, so there is a jump in noise to 17 dB, and from there on it increases gradually with increased power consumption.

But I do agree it is not entirely clear. Is the noise really at 13 dB all the way up until 149W, and then jump to 17 dB all of a sudden? If not, up until what power consumption does the PSU still stay at 13 db? 90W, 120W, 140W, or something else?

@MikeC: If you read this, since you made the review perhaps you could clarify this for us so that we do not have to guess? :)

lodestar
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Re: Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

Post by lodestar » Tue Oct 08, 2013 12:25 pm

fjodor2000 wrote:But I do agree it is not entirely clear. Is the noise really at 13 dB all the way up until 149W, and then jump to 17 dB all of a sudden? If not, up until what power consumption does the PSU still stay at 13 db? 90W, 120W, 140W, or something else?
It would help if Seasonic published a fan profile graph for the G360 but they don't. A review by X-bit labs of the G360 does include this fan profile graph :

Image

This bears out that the G360 is relatively quiet up to about 60% of its nominal capacity but after that fan speed (and noise) will elevate rapidly.

quest_for_silence
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Re: Seasonic G360W gold for $60 - Review & Giveaway!

Post by quest_for_silence » Tue Oct 08, 2013 1:02 pm

fjodor2000 wrote:But I do agree it is not entirely clear. Is the noise really at 13 dB all the way up until 149W, and then jump to 17 dB all of a sudden? If not, up until what power consumption does the PSU still stay at 13 db? 90W, 120W, 140W, or something else?


Well, as far as I remember, with reference to load powers, the various values available should be discrete, not continuous: so, there should be nothing in between the 90W load bank and the following one (150W). If it were true, it would be difficult to answer such a question, and this is why I consider "guaranteed" only the 90W value while, over that, YMMV (so it's *just* "not guaranteed").

fjodor2000 wrote:@MikeC: If you read this, since you made the review perhaps you could clarify this for us so that we do not have to guess? :)


I think you could drop him an e-mail without too much worries, if you mind.

lodestar wrote:It would help if Seasonic published a fan profile graph for the G360 but they don't. A review by X-bit labs of the G360 does include this fan profile graph :

Image

This bears out that the G360 is relatively quiet up to about 60% of its nominal capacity but after that fan speed (and noise) will elevate rapidly.

Well, to be fair, I don't trust X-bit labs anymore since some years: anyway, given that it's not mandatory that rpm do scale linearly vs. noise, it seems to me that the quoted graph just resembles the SPCR findings in the "out" scenario, doesn't it?

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