Anyone else have heat issues with the Seasonic S12 series?

[Ackelind]

Ackelind --

At this point, there are a couple possibilities:

1) The S12-430 is audible to you even though it is the quietest PSU out there. Maybe you have v. good hearing and/or very low ambient, which contribute to this. Have you compared it to anything else? We have. There are only a couple others that come even close.

2) Maybe your sample has an iffy fan. The ones I've heard aren't without some bearing chatter, but it's quiet enough that it's still better than anything else in actual operation (ie, not just at no-load idle).

The part that's a little odd is not that you can hear the S12-430, but that it "the loudest component by far". With 2 hdds, this seems abnormal.

I sure hope it is the second possibility. When I crank my nexus fan up to 12V, it drowns some of the noise made by the S12, but the characteristics of it can still be heard in the background. For me, a nexus fan at 12V is really loud actually. Maybe I'm just really anal about noise. I guess I will have to live with it, or sell my S12 and buy a fanless PSU.
This is getting really expensive.. the Phantom costs about 150-200% as much as the S12 (and even more than the P180 did!), which is already really expensive.

[jermaink]

Slightly off topic, but does the 600W S12 have an 8 pin motherboard connector?

[Dirty-Harry]

Here's my 2 cents to the discussion:

I put an S12-430 in my P180 with the hopes that the fan in the S12 would cool my HD by drawing air in through the front of the case. My HD temps were in the 50s. I put a Nexus fan in the center of the lower chamber and now my HD temps are 36-40C. It seems that the S12-430 does not help in cooling my HD. I have a Phantom 350, maybe I should put it back in the P180.

My rig specs are in my sig.

[hmronin]

Here's my 2 cents to the discussion:

I put an S12-430 in my P180 with the hopes that the fan in the S12 would cool my HD by drawing air in through the front of the case. My HD temps were in the 50s. I put a Nexus fan in the center of the lower chamber and now my HD temps are 36-40C. It seems that the S12-430 does not help in cooling my HD. I have a Phantom 350, maybe I should put it back in the P180.

My rig specs are in my sig.

Your drive temps are relatively high, though still in the manufacturer recommended range. How did you measure them? Most drive manufacturers suggest an operating temperature of less than 60 degrees C, before reliability begins to be affected.

I run with an S12-330 in a P180 case, and have measured the 2 HD temps in the lower chamber to be averaging 34 degrees C. Your high HD temps maybe due to factors other than the S12.

By adding an additional Nexus fan in the lower chamber, you now have 2 fans in series, so I would expect the greater air flow to cause your HD temperatures to decrease.

The real interesting test would be comparing your HD temps after replacing the S12 with your Phantom, and then running the Nexus fan at the same rpm as you did in your first test. A comparision of these 2 temps (S12 only vs. Phantom+Nexus@5v), would tell you if there is any real differences between a fanless PSU and a good fanned PSU in a P180.

It would also be interesting to note what acoustical differences you would hear, if any.

I'd try the test myself, but I'm not so fortunate to have a Phantom handy to do this....

[dhanson865]

Hey all,

I've mentioned in other threads that my Sesaonic S12 is dumping heat into my case out the little back and side vents. I'm wondering if I'm the only one. Anyone else notice this? If so, did you replace it and with what?

Thanks,
BoB

This is an excellent thread. I've seen lots of good information and thought provoking statments.

Would you consider changing the title of the thread to be more specific? Maybe "Seasonic S12 heat recirculation" or "Seasonic S12 vents heat into case".

[dhanson865]

Rules of thumb for Seasonic S12?

Always try to mount drives lower than the power supply in traditional cases to allow hot air to vent above the optical drives.

Consider using a case with more cubic volume to give further clearance front to back between drives and the power supply (side benefit of possibly giving you more drive bays to allow repositioning of drives below the PS level, and of course more air volume to absorb waste heat)

When using a dual chamber case like the Antec P180 be sure to tape off intake holes that aren't needed to force air to come in from openings that would cool the drives better. See http://www.silentpcreview.com/article255-page8.html for a picture and some text describing this interaction.

No matter what power supply you use do not assume what fan configuration is best. Test muliple configurations with an open mind and objective measurments.

:!: If after all other factors are modified to the best configuration you still feel the need to do so you shouldn't tape up ALL the inward vents on the S12, tape up as few as possible to help direct airflow, do not stop the venting completely at the risk of lower effeciency (higher electric costs), higher fan speed/noise, and lower life of the power supply.

[ultrachrome]

• S12-380
  Sonata I (logo vents closed, no other physical mods)
  Nexus case fan @ 12V
  Clawhammer 3500+, fanless Ninja, ducted to case fan
  Asus A8V Deluxe w/ 4 x 512MB
  1 x HDD
  2 x Optical in lower drive bays
  6800GT w/ VF700-Cu
  Netgear PCI WiFi

Observations:

• - I do feel some warm air in front of the PSU but more warm air coming out the back of the PSU.
  - Thread test reveals air is being pulled in through the drive bays even with door closed.
  - Optical drives feel cool.

I think Nina's concern might be resolved by spending some time on other parts of the case.