Seasonic PSU Models Help

Meridiusuk · 14 Jul 2019 at 16:17

The problem is that seasonic want a premium price for the PSU which i am fine with but they removed a premium fan for a cheaper version which seems to have clicking sound problem, also the first review video you can easily compare the sound to the other psu its not any louder as such its just has a different clicking sound which makes you think its faulty thats why he says it quiet in the review. I would prob pick up on a clicking sound like that, I mean you would have thought the Ultra models would use a higher quality fan like The X series since there more priced than the Focus.

If you read the comments below the video a lot of people are not happy about it as they have the same problem and not just that I own 3 seasonic PSU the X series which dont do that and seasonic expect me to pay more than i did back then and they removed a good quality fan. there is a post in here that people are not to happy about it and there brand will suffer from it.

I am still undecided as I might not be able to hear it but then again i might and i dont want to build it and take it back out to send it back if i can help it.

i know what you mean about reviews and what people say but it seems that this is wide spread and a lot of forums out there saying the same that seasonic have put a lower quality fan in there.

the only thing you could do is replace the fan yourself but the fan is about £25 for the same one as the X series and that would void your warranty and make your PSU £25 more.

mikeo · 14 Jul 2019 at 17:52

I can appreciate your angst when it comes to purchasing PC components, I tend to go through exactly this myself (even more so when it comes to graphics cards).

I read countless reviews etc. before deciding on which PSU to purchase this time round. And went through the "do I, don't I" and tended to find myself ending up re-reading the same reviews more than once. In the end I said sod it and bought what I considered (from everything that I'd read) was one of the best PC power supplies out there. Ultimately if not happy with any purchase (for whatever reason) you could still send it back for a replacement, or refund. No need to consider replacing the fan yourself.

You could buy pretty much any PSU and end up with unacceptable coil whine (or even fan noise). Case of damned if you do and damned if you don't.

I still reckon (even looking at the first review you link to), that move your ears more than a foot away from the fan, that you would not be able to hear anything (and my hearing is pin sharp, I can hear the HD in my SkyQ box clicking from the other side of the lounge when it updates the EPG and no one else can in my family)! And that's before the PSU is put in the correct configuration (IE. fan downwards), fitted in your case, with God knows how many case fans you have (mine are all gentle typhoons, which are among the quietest), plus CPU/GPU coolers etc.

I only bought the Seasonic to replace a Corsair RMA replacement with slight coil whine (now that you could hear over the case fans etc.). Just could not be bothered to send the replacement Corsair back. And it was one of the latest ones that was supposed to be top notch. Life...................

Good luck whatever you finally decide on. Let us know what you end up with.

PS. Final comment. If you run them in hybrid mode, the fan hardly ever comes on anyway.

Paul_RD · 14 Jul 2019 at 18:46

mikeo said:
I only bought the Seasonic............

Your signature panel says Seasonic Prime Ultra 850w - which one? Gold, Platinum or Titanium?

mikeo · 14 Jul 2019 at 20:36

Paul_RD said:
Your signature panel says Seasonic Prime Ultra 850w - which one? Gold, Platinum or Titanium?

Titanium. Picked it up for a decent price elsewhere.

Paul_RD · 14 Jul 2019 at 21:10

mikeo said:
Titanium. Picked it up for a decent price elsewhere.

I almost bought one of those but couldn't find one at a decent price (at the time) so I went for the Focus Platinum instead.
The Prime Ultra Titanium gets a good review from Toms Hardware: https://www.tomshardware.co.uk/seasonic-prime-ultra-titanium-1000w-psu,review-34284-12.html

Meridiusuk · 14 Jul 2019 at 21:12

@mikeo Been reading reviews all day, lol yep i know what you mean I am on the verge of saying sod it.

I am one of them people who like to make sure you get good quality electronice thats how i ened up with seasonic years ago, I am building a new system from scratch and i have not done that in 10 years so i am looking at all sorts of stuff at the moment, even motherboards are a mine field with all the different models and configs. well i got my gfx sorted anyway a sapphire vega 56.

Meridiusuk · 14 Jul 2019 at 21:16

Paul_RD said:
I almost bought one of those but couldn't find one at a decent price (at the time) so I went for the Focus Platinum instead.
The Prime Ultra Titanium gets a good review from Toms Hardware: https://www.tomshardware.co.uk/seasonic-prime-ultra-titanium-1000w-psu,review-34284-12.html

just so you know they use the same fans in all there PSU. I am still undecided as i might take a chance on a seasonic just to see for mysef but dont know if it will be a focus or ultra.

just read this

https://www.tomshardware.co.uk/seasonic-focus-plus-psu-compatibility-issues,news-59464.html
https://bit-tech.net/news/tech/psus/seasonic-warns-of-focus-plus-psu-compatibility-issues/1/

this is getting to be silly now i just got a vega 56 now this psu might fail with it looks like the FOCUS is out the picture unless i buy it and get seasonic to send me better power cables which makes me think this is a band aid for this PSU

Paul_RD · 14 Jul 2019 at 21:45

Meridiusuk said:
just so you know they use the same fans in all there PSU. I am still undecided as i might take a chance on a seasonic just to see for mysef but dont know if it will be a focus or ultra.
just read this
https://www.tomshardware.co.uk/seasonic-focus-plus-psu-compatibility-issues,news-59464.html
https://bit-tech.net/news/tech/psus/seasonic-warns-of-focus-plus-psu-compatibility-issues/1/
this is getting to be silly now i just got a vega 56 now this psu might fail with it looks like the FOCUS is out the picture unless i buy it and get seasonic to send me better power cables which makes me think this is a band aid for this PSU

From your link to Toms Hardware:
FOCUS PLUS & Vega 56/64
System shutdown may occur when the GPU is under load. Current testing showed users can see higher than normal peak current emitted by this particular range of GPUs when under load.
This triggers the PSU’s internal safety if it's a Focus Plus that came to market before April 2018.

From your link to Bit-Tech:
.....may spontaneously shut down when used with AMD Vega 56 and 64 graphics cards
PSUs manufactured after January 2018, the company has confirmed, have a less-sensitive protection trigger

I would suggest that if you bought a new Focus Plus now, there would be be very little chance in getting old inventory that would be affected by the above problem.

Meridiusuk · 14 Jul 2019 at 21:53

maybe but its another chance you have to take when ordering, is there anything on the box that says its been fixed or do you have to look for the manufacture date.

@Paul RD what is the date on yours ?

Paul_RD · 14 Jul 2019 at 22:10

The date is not clear, however, I did find a site that said:
The serial number of all Seasonic power supplies starts with the letter R followed by four numbers followed by lots more letters and numbers.
The first four numbers after the R represent the year followed by the month.

My Serial number is R1807xxxxxxxxxxx therefore if the above information is correct, mine was manufactured in July 2018 :eek:

Meridiusuk · 14 Jul 2019 at 22:27

am i readimg the post right you said

if it's a Focus Plus that came to market before April 2018.
PSUs manufactured after January 2018, the company has confirmed, have a less-sensitive protection trigger

that does not make sence as after jan 2018 they are fixed but then you said if its a focus its before april 2018

your date is very close

Paul_RD · 14 Jul 2019 at 22:31

I copied/pasted exactly what the respective websites said.

I interpret it as follows:

January 2018 - manufactured (date on the production line)
April 2018 - "came to market" (date it reached the shops after going through the supply chain)

Meridiusuk · 14 Jul 2019 at 22:34

ah never thought about after prodution, shiped out before they could fix the problem, you been lucky on that one then very close

Paul_RD · 14 Jul 2019 at 22:37

Since I wrote the above post, I've done a bit of searching and found out the following:

The Seasonic Focus PSU's where the Vega/970 problems have been solved are:

FOCUS Plus 650: Serial numbers starting from R1712AA1B156**** and newer.
FOCUS Plus 750: Serial numbers starting from R1712AB1B122**** and newer.
FOCUS Plus 850: Serial numbers starting from R1801AA1B365**** and newer.

Meridiusuk · 14 Jul 2019 at 23:21

strange as there before Jan 2018. wonder why it was only the focus models. thought the ultras would have the same problem but they dont seem to

did you get your psu on here ? or the A site ?

Paul_RD · 22 Jul 2019 at 18:45

My new CPU arrived last week so I installed my new Motherboard/CPU/RAM including my new Seasonic PSU in my PC over the weekend.
When it came time to switch it on, I initially switched it on with the sides off and the case fans disconnected (the only fan running was on the Noctua NH-D15S CPU cooler with a single Noctua NF-A15 PWM fan).
I tried to listen, but unfortunately, I was unable to verify if the PSU fan was even working. The Seasonic PSU was fastened in and the the fan was inverted and out of sight. Pushing the "fan-control" button in and out on the back of the PSU appeared to make no difference whatsoever.
I even shut the doors and windows (it was a hot day) turned off the dishwasher and managed to even get the wife to be quiet for a few minutes, but to no avail - I was still unable to hear if the fan was working.
Finally, I got a torch and mirror and was finally able to get a visual on the fan - and guess what? - it was spinning round and round - so I guess you could call it quiet :eek:

Anyway, that's when the trouble started - I forgot to turn the dishwasher back on and it appears that I am never going to hear the end of that one!

mikeo · 22 Jul 2019 at 21:14

Paul RD ... glad to hear that all is well.

This thread made me so paranoid. That I also ended up doing exactly what you did (IE. disconnect all case fans, except for the ultra quiet Noctua NH-U14S CPU cooler). And the only way that I could tell that the fan was even spinning, was to shine a small torch in the mesh of the exhaust port at the back of the PSU. But I shall use the hybrid mode, as it appears that I need a fair old load before the fan kicks in (as it should be I expect). Top quality product in my opinion.

PS. What's the trick to getting the wife to be quiet? Might come in handy at some point.

area51 · 23 Jul 2019 at 14:09

mikeo said:
Paul RD ... glad to hear that all is well.

This thread made me so paranoid. That I also ended up doing exactly what you did (IE. disconnect all case fans, except for the ultra quiet Noctua NH-U14S CPU cooler). And the only way that I could tell that the fan was even spinning, was to shine a small torch in the mesh of the exhaust port at the back of the PSU. But I shall use the hybrid mode, as it appears that I need a fair old load before the fan kicks in (as it should be I expect). Top quality product in my opinion.

PS. What's the trick to getting the wife to be quiet? Might come in handy at some point.

"Shine a light into her Ears" then turn it off quick stuns there brains into thinking it's night time so bed so go quiet!

area51 · 23 Jul 2019 at 14:11

Ive the Prime Titanium 850w hear the fan as starts to boot(Case open on desk)then stops/dies back so silent! mind once first put in kept restarting psu as thought was faulty! lol :rolleyes:

and had cut out

Darujhistan · 24 Jul 2019 at 17:02

All is well with Seasonic Prime Ultra Gold 750W. I'm assuming that when the Hybrid mode off button (ie button pushed in) is simply a button which allows the fan to run continuously, even at low speed? I can't tell because its so quiet I can't hear it.

I have it mounted 'grill down', below is a ventilated area with a mesh over it.