w[h]ich psu do u think is better?

tomera69 · Post by **tomera69** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 2:40 pm

hello,
this is my first time here, and i hope i could have usefull help.

which do u think is beter:
SeaSonic S12 II 380w
or
corsair VX450W

thanx in advance.

elpibe10 · Post by **elpibe10** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 4:35 pm

It really depends on how much power your system is drawing.

For example, my E6600 web surfing rig uses about 90W on typical load so I bought a Seasonic S12II 330W which is more than sufficient for a cool and quiet (as well as power efficient) operation.

Aris · Post by **Aris** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 5:20 pm

i prefer the 450w, just because it seems to be the best comprimise between the larger more expensive corsair models, and the seasonic S12 II 380w. It stays quieter up to around 250w instead of 200w which wont effect many people, but enough to consider if your system is in this neighborhood.

But like elpibe said, if you have a really low power system, around 100w, then the lower power unit would suite your needs better. It really depends on your specific needs.

There both very good though.

quest_for_silence · Post by **quest_for_silence** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 2:56 pm

The following are data collected from SPCR for several medium power PSU here reviewed (I've heavily taken inspiration from the work of SPCR user dhanson865, whom I thank)

Code: Select all

Model        Output (W)  65      90      150     200     250 
        
Antec Earth Watts 430         
 Efficiency             75.6%   78.3%   81.0%   83.5%   83.2%
 Temp Rise (Â°C)           5       6       6       7       5
 Noise (dBA@1m)          22      22      22      24      29
Antec NeoHE 430         
 Efficiency             75.5%   76.2%   79.0%   77.8%   77.2%
 Temp Rise (Â°C)           5       6       5       5       4
 Noise (dBA@1m)          20      20      21      26      31
Antec Phantom 500       
 Efficiency             74.7%   77.3%   81.0%   82.1%   82.6%
 Temp Rise (Â°C)          14      12      12      11       9
 Noise (dBA@1m)           0       0       0      24      30
Corsair HX520W
 Efficiency             72.5%   77.1%   81.0%   84.5%   85.2%
 Temp Rise (Â°C)           4       4       7       9      12
 Noise (dBA@1m)          22      22      22      22      22
Corsair VX450W
 Efficiency             79.1%   80.1%   82.6%   84.8%   83.3%
 Temp Rise (Â°C)           4       7       9      11      14
 Noise (dBA@1m)          21      21      21      21      22
Fortron Zen 300
 Efficiency             80.4%   83.0%   84.6%   84.6%   83.6%
 Temp Rise (Â°C)          10       9      13      15      18
 Noise (dBA@1m)           0       0       0       0       0
Seasonic S12-330
 Efficiency             75.5%   77.9%   80.3%   82.0%   80.9%
 Temp Rise (Â°C)           4       2       3       7       8
 Noise (dBA@1m)          21      21      22      30      35
Seasonic S12-430
 Efficiency             78.3%   80.5%   81.6%   81.8%   80.5%
 Temp Rise (Â°C)           3       4       5       5       7
 Noise (dBA@1m)          19      19      21      24      28
Seasonic S12II-380
 Efficiency             79.4%   81.5%   82.1%   84.0%   83.4%
 Temp Rise (Â°C)           4       7       9      11      14
 Noise (dBA@1m)          21      21      21      21      25
Seasonic S12-550E+
 Efficiency             74.7%   78.6%   81.9%   84.8%   84.3%
 Temp Rise (Â°C)           2       3       5       8      12
 Noise (dBA@1m)          20      20      20      20      21
Silverstone ST30NF
 Efficiency             75.6%   78.7%   80.8%   80.5%   79.6%
 Temp Rise (Â°C)           3      12      14      19      33
 Noise (dBA@1m)           0       0       0       0       0

*JUST AS A JOKE* I've also plotted a very simple small chart based upon them.
It's a relative and not absoute classification made by with a simple linear weighting mechanism: the best one in each and every quoted data took "10" points, the worst "0" (well, I've used a slight advantage to the PSUs which get the first and second position in each category of data: 10 to the first classificated, 8 to the second, 6 to the third, 5 to the fourth, and so on), and then I summed each score for every different power output ranges (I hope the chart would be almost self explanatory, as english is not my mother tongue: please be patient and forgive me for any misunderstanding, if in case).
There are also some issue in this "joking chart": the "overall" score is a spurious score representing all the position held by each PSU in every power range, and some PSU have not been plotted for some graphical reason only.
Please take note: it's not like a benchmark, it just shows in some way the relative ordinal positions in an hypothetical cross-comparison between each and every PSU, without any regard of the quantum of any single performance.

(Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting)

Anyway, the two PSU lines (the dark green and violet ones) are almost superimposed, there's not a clear winner between them, even if the Corsair gives its best at higher wattage than SS, while the same SS seems to better perform up to 150W. Therefore (according to me) price and warranty could bias the choice. As an example here the Seasonic is 15-20% cheaper than the Corsair, but the latter has a 5 years limited warranty while Seasonic offers a 3 years one.
The scores obtained by the venerable S12 430 (got the second place in what I called "overall") seems to guess that the new S12 II 430 could be a better candidate than the 380, while in a low powered system the SS12 II 330 could offer a somewhat comparable performance for a 40% price reduction (against the Corsair).

Luca

EliteKiller · Post by **EliteKiller** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 7:34 pm

The Seasonic built VX450 offers more power, less noise at higher loads, similar efficiency, a 5 yr. warranty, and it costs less than the S12II 380.

quest_for_silence · Post by **quest_for_silence** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 6:14 am

EliteKiller wrote:it costs less than the S12II 380.

In which country?

lebe0024 · Post by **lebe0024** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 9:12 am

I just purchased the VX450 from buy.com, it arrived DOA. Fantastic. Now it'll be weeks before I get it back from RMA.

Aris · Post by **Aris** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 5:11 am

lebe0024 wrote:I just purchased the VX450 from buy.com, it arrived DOA. Fantastic. Now it'll be weeks before I get it back from RMA.

newegg is your friend.

protellect · Post by **protellect** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 9:35 am

i got my VX450, am running it with a BE-2300 for a file server, all stock, with a micro-atx motherboard, 3 hard disks [2 seagates, 1 samsung]

Works great, idles at just under 60 watts.

Redbeard · Post by **Redbeard** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 11:19 am

lebe0024 wrote:I just purchased the VX450 from buy.com, it arrived DOA. Fantastic. Now it'll be weeks before I get it back from RMA.

Please email me with details at [email protected]

I would like to see how this happened and get your RMA number so I can test this PSU when it gets back. We did a 100% test on the VX450s when we got them in so I'm not sure how a bad one got out. I may be able to speed up your RMA as well.