Seasonic G-Series 450W PSU Review

[Guest]

Seasonic's G series consists of reliable, high-performance PSUs. Today, we're reviewing the G-450 with 450W capacity, which features a semi-modular cabling design.

Seasonic G-Series 450W PSU Review : Read more

 

[InvalidError]

0.4 ohm Rdson is not that bad for primary-side FETs where switching losses tend to be much worse than on-losses.

Also, FETs with better on-resistance usually have larger gate charge, which means you end up needing more gate drive power to achieve the same switching performance. Saving 3W on full-load on-losses does not sound as good if it costs you 2W in gate drive regardless of load.

Using FETs with lower on-resistance does not necessarily improve overall efficiency by much.

 

[TechyInAZ]

Good read. I personally have the 550W version of that PSU and it works very well. Very quiet too, however my entire system doesn't go beyond 350W at max load.

BTW...The 550W version is usually only $3-$5 more than the 450W. I've never seen the price change either, so it is a bit silly to buy the 450W version if the 550W is always only $5 more.

 

[Dunlop0078]

I also have the 550watt version, its been going strong for about two years now its very quiet even under load I think I pull about 450watts or so when I have all my overclocks applied. It has been totally stable not a single problem with my PC or the psu since I bought it.

However I think the price should be lowered a bit for the 550watt version because now it has to compete with the likes of the EVGA 550 G2 which is about the same price but it seems to perform a bit better and comes with a 10 year warranty.

 

[TechyInAZ]

I also have the 550watt version, its been going strong for about two years now its very quiet even under load I think I pull about 450watts or so when I have all my overclocks applied. It has been totally stable not a single problem with my PC or the psu since I bought it.

However I think the price should be lowered a bit for the 550watt version because now it has to compete with the likes of the EVGA 550 G2 which is about the same price but it seems to perform a bit better and comes with a 10 year warranty.

10 year warranty!!?? I've been using EVGA graphics cards for years now, I think ill start buying EVGA PSUs now.

 

[Dunlop0078]

I also have the 550watt version, its been going strong for about two years now its very quiet even under load I think I pull about 450watts or so when I have all my overclocks applied. It has been totally stable not a single problem with my PC or the psu since I bought it.

However I think the price should be lowered a bit for the 550watt version because now it has to compete with the likes of the EVGA 550 G2 which is about the same price but it seems to perform a bit better and comes with a 10 year warranty.

10 year warranty!!?? I've been using EVGA graphics cards for years now, I think ill start buying EVGA PSUs now.

Actually im wrong on that its a 7 year warranty for the 550watt model (still very good in my opinion) the 750watt g2 and above have the 10 year.

 

[10tacle]

I know Seasonic is good and an OEM to PSUs for Corsair and whatnot, but I was an unlucky one. My 620W S12II crapped out on an older backup rig after about a year of light use, maybe 250 hours. Unfortunately I voided the 5-year warranty when I had to break the screw seal and open it to get a screw out that accidentally fell in (PC was unplugged when that happened). I figured I'd never need to worry about dealing with a warranty RMA anyway since in nearly 20 years of PC building I've never had one die early on me. WRONG.

 

[InvalidError]

I figured I'd never need to worry about dealing with a warranty RMA anyway since in nearly 20 years of PC building I've never had one die early on me. WRONG.

Murphy strikes again!

 

[Blueberries]

This PSU isn't bad but I don't see why anyone would want to pay in the $70's for it when there are gold-- almost platinum rated Leadex PSUs for $80-$90.

The build quality is what I've come to expect from SeaSonic. Very well built with mostly Nippon Chemi-Con capacitors. Rubycon is also a good brand, and I like to see Infineon MOSFETs in PSUs. This PSU should last forever but isn't very efficient compared to similarly-priced competition.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

I also have the 550watt version, its been going strong for about two years now its very quiet even under load I think I pull about 450watts or so when I have all my overclocks applied. It has been totally stable not a single problem with my PC or the psu since I bought it.

However I think the price should be lowered a bit for the 550watt version because now it has to compete with the likes of the EVGA 550 G2 which is about the same price but it seems to perform a bit better and comes with a 10 year warranty.

10 year warranty!!?? I've been using EVGA graphics cards for years now, I think ill start buying EVGA PSUs now.

Yeah, aside from the fantastic quality, that was another reason I purchased the G2 over any other PSU.

 

[tsnor]

"... Seasonic doesn't use a fully modular design in its G series to keep production costs low. Of course, it would be nice if the company changed its strategy and went all-modular on its G-series models since many competing PSUs are, in fact, fully modular...."

Or maybe they
(1) know that people will always use the permanent cables that power the MB
(2) know that two less connectors is a good thing for product reliability
(3) want to ship a product for people like me that prefer this configuration to a fully modular configuration

 

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(3) want to ship a product for people like me that prefer this configuration to a fully modular configuration

On a normal day, I would agree that modular cables are way overrated. Even if I had a modular PSU, I would probably end up putting all the cables in the case anyway just to make sure I won't lose any.

On the other hand, my PSU's fan started rattling intermittently a few weeks ago. If I had a modular PSU, I could get the PSU out, lube/swap the fan and put the PSU back in in something like 15 minutes. With hard-wired cables though, it will probably take me more than an hour to remove all the wiring tucked away behind the motherboard tray and put it back, so I decided to forgo the repair until it sounds more urgent.

 

[Blueberries]

(3) want to ship a product for people like me that prefer this configuration to a fully modular configuration

On a normal day, I would agree that modular cables are way overrated. Even if I had a modular PSU, I would probably end up putting all the cables in the case anyway just to make sure I won't lose any.

On the other hand, my PSU's fan started rattling intermittently a few weeks ago. If I had a modular PSU, I could get the PSU out, lube/swap the fan and put the PSU back in in something like 15 minutes. With hard-wired cables though, it will probably take me more than an hour to remove all the wiring tucked away behind the motherboard tray and put it back, so I decided to forgo the repair until it sounds more urgent.

This is an excellent point, actually. I prefer the look of soldered cables, especially when there's no leftovers or semi-modular adaptability, but having a modular PSU is just too nice. I think you hit the nail on the head here.

 

[RedJaron]

"... Seasonic doesn't use a fully modular design in its G series to keep production costs low. Of course, it would be nice if the company changed its strategy and went all-modular on its G-series models since many competing PSUs are, in fact, fully modular...."

Or maybe they
(1) know that people will always use the permanent cables that power the MB
(2) know that two less connectors is a good thing for product reliability
(3) want to ship a product for people like me that prefer this configuration to a fully modular configuration

Yeah, I prefer semi-modular PSUs too. The 24-pin mboard and 4+4-pin CPU cables are always used. A single fixed PCIe 6+2 cable generally isn't amiss either, depending on wattage capacity ( on 450W and up ). Fixed SATA/peripheral power cables are iffy since it's hard to generalize how long you need those cables or whether you need two, four, or more connectors on the cable.

 

[Brian_R170]

On the other hand, my PSU's fan started rattling intermittently a few weeks ago. If I had a modular PSU, I could get the PSU out, lube/swap the fan and put the PSU back in in

Don't forget just pulling your PSU regularly to do a thorough compressed-air dusting. A fully modular PSU definitely makes that easier. I still prefer a semi-modular PSU, though, just for the reduction in connections. I just make sure not to overly wire-manage the non-modular cables.

 

[InvalidError]

Don't forget just pulling your PSU regularly to do a thorough compressed-air dusting.

Dust inside my cases is rarely a problem since I have air filters. 99% of the dust does not make it to the fans.

I had already gone through the trouble of removing that PSU from my case due to "Anti-Surge" shutdowns a year ago to see if it may have been caused by caps failing. After not finding anything visually wrong in the PSU, not even any dust worth mentioning, I noticed while putting the PSU back in that the case's PSU filter was completely clogged. No more anti-surge issues since and my room temperature hit 40C a few times during summer.

Dedicated PSU intakes sound nice in theory. In practice, I do not like the idea of my PSU randomly acting up due to a clogged filter I cannot see.

 

[TechyInAZ]

Don't forget just pulling your PSU regularly to do a thorough compressed-air dusting.

Dust inside my cases is rarely a problem since I have air filters. 99% of the dust does not make it to the fans.

I had already gone through the trouble of removing that PSU from my case due to "Anti-Surge" shutdowns a year ago to see if it may have been caused by caps failing. After not finding anything visually wrong in the PSU, not even any dust worth mentioning, I noticed while putting the PSU back in that the case's PSU filter was completely clogged. No more anti-surge issues since and my room temperature hit 40C a few times during summer.

Dedicated PSU intakes sound nice in theory. In practice, I do not like the idea of my PSU randomly acting up due to a clogged filter I cannot see.

You never knew the dust filter was there?

 

[InvalidError]

You never knew the dust filter was there?

I knew it was there but it is a PITA to install/remove and I was not expecting it to clog up that quickly and thoroughly.

To make sure this won't happen again, I removed a chunk of the gasket between the case/intake and PSU.

 

[10tacle]

On my backup rig that has a downward-intake for the PSU from the bottom, I solved my PSU bottom dust filter (which was black) problem by removing the case PSU filter screen and cutting up a 24"x24" HVAC filter screen (which is white and easy to tell when needing changing) into 6"x6" pieces and taping one to the bottom on the outside. It takes all of about 90 seconds to do and who cares what it looks like since nobody sees the bottom of my case. This only works though with the case slightly elevated off the surface to allow clearance for the ~1/2" height of the filter.