Info For Owners of Seasonic S12II 520W Bronze

[kubrat]

I am not trying to start a discussion, but just to provide some information!

Just an information for anyone that owns the PSU and is wondering if they need an upgrade (for whatever reason) or if they could keep their PSU.

Just as disclaimer: the PSU haven't been used on a PC that's been mining or anything with extreme use, such as overclocking. I mostly play games (most demanding game I've played so far is The Callisto Protocol), browsing the internet and I use light programs like Gimp.

Long story: I wanted to either upgrade my GPU or build a brand new PC. After posting a discussion here and after contacting the Seasonic team (with my full specs and explaining I intend to buy an RX 6600 GPU), aaaaaand after some thoughts, I decided to spend most of my savings for something else and go for what I thought to be a more viable option. So, I upgraded my PC with just a GPU - I bought SAPPHIRE RX 6600 Pulse (Light Edition) end of December 2022. For those wondering, the Light Edition is the version with 1 Display Port and 1 HDMI Port and the non-Light Edition has 3 DIsplay Ports and 1 HDMI Port.

Here's the reply from Seasonic team, which convinced me to stick with my PSU (the PSU I bought brand new in the summer of 2019). Here's the Seasonic team's reply:
''Hello,

Thank you for contacting Seasonic.

Despite using an older platform, the PSU still got safety and it's unlikely for the PSU to fry anything.
Also, a 3-year-old PSU does not lose its capacity and most likely, you still have the full capacity of your PSU specifications. Except to have really harsh ambient conditions of use, PSU after 3 years is still fine.
Right now, except to have a good deal on a new PSU with better platform, you can still use yours for a couple of years. ''

My Current PC after upgrading the GPU:
CPU: Ryzen 5 3600
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9S
Motherboard: MSI B450 Tomahawk
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX Black (2x8GB) 3000MHz CL16
Storage:

• Samsung 870 Evo 1 TB
• Sandisk Ultra 3D 500GB

GPU: SAPPHIRE RX 6600 Pulse (Light Edition)
Case: Deepcool Kendomen
PSU: Seasonic S12II-520 520W Bronze
Monitor: Acer Nitro XV242YP


So far, I'm not complaining from the PSU. I haven't played too many demanding games, other than Callisto Protocol. If you want me to post some gameplay info of it with certain settings - let me know.
I think I made a pretty good deal on the PSU, which on turn made it a good deal to upgrade to my current GPU. Despite other people saying it's too much of a risk - I guess we'll see how it goes.

No parts have been fried. yet. If that happens, I'll challenge the Seasonic team to a sword fight and whoever looses will deal with the financial damage.

Let me know if I need to edit the post, such as adding/removing some information.

If you have a problem with my post being too long - sorry , I guess you didn't have to read it but you did

 

[Gam3r01]

What led you to believe it would "fry" anything to begin with?
Sure its an older entry level model, but its a reliable unit with proper protections in place. Even if the unit did fail it would be extremely unlikely to damage anything else in the process.
You also chose a fairly low power card (similar models only pull ~150w under max load), so you arent quite at full capacity either.

 

[kubrat]

What led you to believe it would "fry" anything to begin with?
Sure its an older entry level model, but its a reliable unit with proper protections in place. Even if the unit did fail it would be extremely unlikely to damage anything else in the process.
You also chose a fairly low power card (similar models only pull ~150w under max load), so you arent quite at full capacity either.

If you were there to reply to my post back then, would tell me ''Go for an RX 6600'' without telling me that it might not be a good idea to keep my current PSU/better secure myself with new PSU?

Btw, I accidentally have added my old gpu, as I was copy-pasting my specs from an old thread. If your reply was, based on that GPU, then sorry. I've edited it.

 

[Gam3r01]

If you were there to reply to my post then, would tell me ''Go for an RX 6600'' without telling me that it might not be a good idea to keep my current PSU/better secure myself with new PSU?

With an S12II that is still relatively new, and still within the 5 year warranty period offered by Seasonic, combined with a GPU that draws under 150w under load, and the rest of your system specs, I would say its fine.
Sure youd be "better" off with a newer, more efficient PSU with more wattage headroom, but "better" does not mean the current setup wont work.
Plus, even if your system did need a larger PSU, it wouldnt kill your hardware.

 

[BFG-9000]

Bah, I am still using S12-I from 2005 and even its predecessor the Seasonic Super Tornado series from 2003. Well designed PSUs don't take other stuff out when they die (as something like the Bestec ATX-250-12e will) so just use them until their wattage or outdated connectors will no longer serve.

 

[kubrat]

With an S12II that is still relatively new, and still within the 5 year warranty period offered by Seasonic, combined with a GPU that draws under 150w under load, and the rest of your system specs, I would say its fine.
Sure youd be "better" off with a newer, more efficient PSU with more wattage headroom, but "better" does not mean the current setup wont work.
Plus, even if your system did need a larger PSU, it wouldnt kill your hardware.

If you (or anyone else) would advise me to secure myself (whether saying it firmly or telling me to be cautious,) then that would be enough for me to have a doubt and go for an upgrade. If a faulty PSU is not going to cause problems with any other PC parts but only fry itself, then why else would people advise me to change PSU because it might be faulty (due to old technology)?

I'm guessing people advise caution because faulty PSU might damage other parts, no? If that's not the case then I don't see a reason to having to upgrade but let it go, if it doesn't harm any other part. Then buy a new one.

Anyways, I am really looking to post this as an information, not really to start a discussion as I already did my upgrade. Not trying to be rude, just stating my intent. Thanks for replying, though.

 

[BFG-9000]

Ah I see you've had a run-in with the PSU police. Well I can understand their viewpoint because often PSUs don't just up and die--they merely start to generate enough ripple to cause unexplained crashes and other mysterious problems. So yes, you should always have a known good spare PSU around to diagnose such issues, but that doesn't mean you need a brand spanking new PSU in every machine.

 

[bignastyid]

The reason most don't recommend these units anymore is that they are group regulated so if one rails carries most of the load they can have regulation and ripple issue that can lead to stability issues. Modern hardware mainly use 12v rail and puts little load on the 5v and 3.3v rails so group regulated PSUs are generally not recommended.

The M12 II and S12 II were great back in their day, but for newer hardware not so much.

 

[Viking2121]

Im using the Seasonic SS-500et thats getting a bit old in my server, powers a dual Xeon e5-2470 system with a GTX 1070, not a single issue for the 5 years I've been running it, and the PSU was used when I got it. But just like anything related to computer hardware, a newer PSU will most likely be better in every single way even at the same rating.

Also with how newer GPU's are and how they boost, they are more sensitive to load spikes than previous cards, some older PSU's may have an issue with that.

 

[DSzymborski]

Also, a 3-year-old PSU does not lose its capacity and most likely, you still have the full capacity of your PSU specifications. Except to have really harsh ambient conditions of use, PSU after 3 years is still fine.
Right now, except to have a good deal on a new PSU with better platform, you can still use yours for a couple of years. ''

BREAKING: Company that sells a product says positive things about their product.

"Guys, I know some of you don't think you should Doritos with every meal, but Doritos customer service assured me that 'any time is the right time for Cool Ranch© Doritos© with its combination of creamy buttermilk and zesty spices. Try our new flavor, Sweet & Tangy BBQ© Doritos© now for more enjoyment' so I think it's OK."

The SeaSonic certainly isn't dangerous -- it's probably about as good as a group-regulated PSU can be -- but if you're buying new hardware, ditch the archaic group regulation.

 

[rcald2000]

I know what you mean. For a family friend, I reutilized a SeaSonic M12II 520 on both the old and upgraded rigs. The PSU went from handling a 60 watt GPU, to a 250 watt GPU. I originally purchased it for that same friend back in December of 2017 from NewEgg. I paid $54.90 USD, and their was even a $20 mail-in rebate, but I can't remember if I submitted it or not.

* old rig *
Intel Core i3-4130 / 8GB DDR3 / Samsung 850 Evo M.2 500GB / EVGA GTX 750 Ti SC / SeaSonic M12II 520

* upgraded rig *
AMD Ryzen 5 5600 / 32GB DDR4 3200MT CL16 / Intel 660p 2TB / EVGA GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 / SeaSonic M12II 520