Seasonic Super Tornado 400W PSU reviewed

Highview · Post by **Highview** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 9:27 am

See ohls-place.com

Sledge · Post by **Sledge** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 9:54 am

I will wait for the SPCR review so I can see the dB numbers, but I doubt it would be much worse (noise-wise) than the 300W.

Gnerma · Post by **Gnerma** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 6:33 pm

Here is a direct link to the review. You know after you've read a SPCR PSU review all others seem half ass.

I have a semi on topic prayer of a question for anybody who happens to be reading this. Is a 460w super tornado planned? My dual AMD demands good rails and a lot of work from a PSU..

Post by **MikeC** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 7:39 pm

460W model -- I thought I saw it on their web site; it might have been announced in my review, too. I think's it's already being sold in the retail channels.

Gnerma · Post by **Gnerma** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 8:22 pm

In the 300W Super Tornado review you seem to be sure of the 350W and 400W models but don't mention any others

There are at least 2 other models slated for release in the fall -- a 350W and a 400W model.

These two models are available in retail (I'm sure you are personally abusing them as I type this)

Also there is no mention of a 460W ST on the Seasonic USA site.

I'd go for the Super Silencer 460W model but I want the extra airflow of the tornado. Perhaps I'll try out a 400W model..

Post by **MikeC** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 9:32 pm

Sorry Gnerma, you're right, the ST line only goes to 400; it's the Silencers that go to 460.

TheLongshot · Post by **TheLongshot** » Fri Oct 31, 2003 12:17 pm

Of the 350w...

http://www.lanaddict.com/rev.php?ID=100&PAGE=1

They had a problem with it being undervolted on all rails, and that there is a discrepency between what stats are on the PS and what is on their web site. 6/10 from them.

(Edit: I was wrong, that was the 300 that they reviewed...)

Jason

Gnerma · Post by **Gnerma** » Mon Nov 03, 2003 1:11 am

I've got a quiet system except for my wailing power supply. It's become a real sticking point for me. I want a quiet system but this thing sure does suck its share of juice. I have accepted the fact that it will never be silent or inaudible sitting just a couple feet away but I want to do what I can.

I've read through all the threads about the 300w Tornado and from what I understand the fan would not stay very slow or quiet when running this thing which is a deal breaker.

MikeC, ARE you going to do a review of the 400w Tornado? If so, I'd be greatly interested in just how much wattage it takes for that unit to turn up to 7 volts +. And it would be great if it would be in an actual, high power system. I ask this because of the admitted differences some users saw with their numbers (real system) and yours (load tester) in the 300w review regarding to fan speeds and power draw.

You DID say that you are trying to figure something out in one of the other threads, and I'm sure you will, thanks

Post by **MikeC** » Mon Nov 03, 2003 1:29 am

the fan would not stay very slow or quiet when running this thing

Others may have said that, I never did. In my system, it stays virtually silent almost all the time. I keep it running below the threshold for fan speedup. Every thermal fan PSU has this point -- it's a matter of making sure your system keeps under it.

trying to figure something out

BUt without making the test procedure any longer and demanding than it already is. There may be no way to achieve this.

TheLongshot · Post by **TheLongshot** » Mon Nov 03, 2003 9:37 am

The question is, would the higher watt rating increase this threshold? It sounds like people are running PS that run too close to the upper end of the rating. Maybe more headroom is the answer?

Jason

Post by **MikeC** » Mon Nov 03, 2003 11:53 am

TheLongshot wrote:The question is, would the higher watt rating increase this threshold? It sounds like people are running PS that run too close to the upper end of the rating. Maybe more headroom is the answer?

yup. When in doubt with a smart thermal fan controller like the Seasonic's, a higher wattage PSU will give yoy more headroom. The difficult thing is to assess just how much more, because load conditions are dynamic -- ie, a 150W DC load is not always the same as every other 150W DC load. Some motherboards & VGA cards seem to be not only high current draws but more complex loads, perhaps due to poor power regulation design.

Riffer · Post by **Riffer** » Mon Nov 03, 2003 1:56 pm

The question is, does it actually have different innards, or does it just run the fan faster to be rated at 400W vs 350 or 300?

Post by **MikeC** » Mon Nov 03, 2003 3:13 pm

If you are referring to the Seasonic PSUs, absolutely they have different innards! The circuit topology is the same, but the core components are higher rated. These guys are not a fly-by-night outfit who have 3 stickers for the same PSU. Some do, you know. You oder a 300W, you get this stick. Order a 400, you get that one.

I know lots of people have a hard time conceptualizing about PSU power ratings.

Here's one way:

2 identical cars, one has a 150 hp engine, the other a 200 hp version of the same engine, made possible by better respiration (oxygen/air delivery). Let's say that somehow the weight is the same.

Put them both on cruise control at 60mph. Let's say it takes 80hp to make this happen. Both cars put out the same amount of power, consume the same amount of gas to do this. No differences.

Now make them go uphill at a 15 degee incline hill at 100mph. Let's say this takes 175hp. The first car does its best, it puts out 150hp, but never quite hits 100mph. The second car puts out 175hp, reaches 100mph & uses more gas & dissipates more heat doing so.

PSUs work no differently. In practical terms, there should be little or no electrical difference between a high and lower model (of the same family) until and unless at least one of the voltage line's output capacity is exceed on the lower model. Even in terms of heat, the amount generated should be the same -- up to the rated limit.

What differs, however, is that the higher rated PSU has higher rated components (caps, coils, transistors, etc) that can handle more voltage & current & temp. So it can be allowed to run a bit hotter. That's what Seasonic does, calibrating its fan controller to speed up at higher temp points as the power rating increases. This is what they tell me, and it is what I have observed. However I have not yet documented it systematically. Will try with the next Seasonic review.

Drewscriver · Post by **Drewscriver** » Sat Nov 08, 2003 10:21 pm

I just got my hands on a SS Tornado 400 that I ordered last week. I've been playing with it all day (finally found the time to put together my new system) and have been very pleased. No occurance of the no/start fan buzz, quiet operation overall. Speedfan has the RPM at around 820. My case temps is 28, and I'm not drawing very much juice.

I know 400 watt is overkill for my system, but all this talk of buzzing psus had me spooked. I figured I might as well spend more money now than risk having to turn around and replace a new supply...

At any rate, as I mentioned I've been putting together a new system and installing an OS, so lots of power cycles and no problems yet. The one thing I haven't done is really stress the PSU (P4 2.4c, Aopen AX4SPE Max, two optical drives, Spinpoint SP1614N, 7000ALCU, and a few case fans) and I'm not sure if I can. Then again, that's kind of the point of buying a 400 watt supply. From reading the posts here, I've gotten the impression that the Tornado fan speed is based on power draw and not a thermistor. So a higher rated supply would result in lower fan speeds.

FYI, I got the tornado at lillicomputers.net They got posted a while ago, and they are the only ones I've seen that have a full line of Seasonic supplies... (next purchase will be a 460 watt for my 6-drive silent-only-because-its-in-the-laundry-room raid server. Hoping that 78% efficiency will pay for itself with a 24/7 machine)

Anyhow, thought I'd contribute my experiences.

wumpus · Post by **wumpus** » Sat Nov 08, 2003 10:51 pm

next purchase will be a 460 watt for my 6-drive silent-only-because-its-in-the-laundry-room raid server. Hoping that 78% efficiency will pay for itself with a 24/7 machine

It will take a few years to "pay for itself" unless you have EXTREMELY expensive electricity in your area.

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... efficiency

HammerSandwich · Post by **HammerSandwich** » Sun Nov 09, 2003 7:17 am

Drewscriver wrote:FYI, I got the tornado at lillicomputers.net They got posted a while ago, and they are the only ones I've seen that have a full line of Seasonic supplies...

Axion has almost the complete line, and the prices are a little lower.

beans · Post by **beans** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 1:54 am

Central Computer in the California Bay Area has Tornados on sale this week.

http://www.centralcomputer.com/emerchan ... line=HPOWP

I was hoping to see a review at SPCR on the Tornado 400W, but couldn't wait so I got one. I can't really judge how quiet it is as my drives make a ton of noise. The fan definitely started spinning faster after I put the side of my case on as my system doesn't have very good cooling. My main goal was to get a PSU that was efficient, more powerful than my old generic 300W PSU, and to start me on my way to making my whole system more quiet.

Hopefully we'll get a review on this site in the next couple days so that I can still return it if the Tornado 400W is not a good PSU. I don't know how and don't have the tools to do the testing myself.

Seasonic Super Tornado 400W PSU reviewed

Seasonic Super Tornado 400W PSU reviewed

Another review...

Tornados on sale