ocaholic - PSUs > Seasonic Prime Platinum 1000W Review

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Preview

Page 2 - Preview

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Delivery and Specifications

Delivery
Cable	Length
1 x ATX 20+4 pin	61 cm
2 x EPS/ATX 12V 8 & 4+4 pin	65.5 cm
4 x PCI-E 6+2 pin	68 cm + 8 cm
3 x 4 SATA	45, 57, 69, 81 cm
1 x 2 Molex	35, 47 cm
1 x 3 Molex	45, 57, 69 cm
1 x 5.25'' to 3.5'' Berg	10.5 cm

The delivery of the Prime Platinum 1000W is very good. Considering the wattage we like that there are four PCIe cables with two connectors. Apart from that up to 12 devices with SATA power plug as well as 5 devices with Molex connectors can be provided with power.

With this power supply Seasonic is offering a single rail design regarding 12V. In total you get 83A, which can be turned into heat by the graphics cards for instance.

Specifications (according to Seasonic)
Voltage	Current	Power
+ 3.3 V	25 A	125 Watt	850 Watt (Total)
+ 5.0 V	25 A	125 Watt
+ 12 V	83 A	996 Watt
- 12 V	0.3 A	3.6 Watt
+ 5 Vsb	3.0 A	15 Watt

The Prime Platinum 1000W has been 80Plus Platinum certified. This means, that the efficiency of this PSU should be above 90% at 20% load, above 92% at 50% load and above 89% at 100% load.

At this point the feature list:

80Plus Platinum
OVP, UVP, OCP, SCP, OPP, OTP
Dimensions (W x H x D): 150 mm x 86 mm x 170 mm
135 millimeter fan
Passive while below 50% load
Warranty: 12 Years
Price: 235 CHF / 216 Euro

Page 3 - Delivery / Specs

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A Look Inside

The first hint, that this is a high-quality power supply comes when looking at the casing. The enclosure features an elegant design and a very solid lacker. The black face-plate at the top is a subject to personal taste. We would have loved to find differently colored, exchangeable fan grills in the delivery in order to make the unit blend in perfectly also in modded systems. Removing the lid reveals a fan from Hong Hua, which comes with an FDB bearing (fluid dynamic bearing), which does a great job, keeping the unit cool at very low noise.

Right behind the AC receptable there starts the input filtering stage. There is a separate PCB, where two Y and one X capacitor can be found. Going on step further to the main PCB there are two coils, one X and four Y caps as well as surge protection. Now four 5R250P power transistors from Infineon follow, which have been mounted on a thick aluminum profile receiving efficient cooling. Meanwhile we’re where power factor correction is happening and for that purpose there is one SCS110AG Schottky diode, two 6R099 MOSFETs and two big APFC bulk capacitors. Combined they’re offering 1010uF capacitance, while there are two different ones being used. The bigger one features 560uF at 400v and the smaller one is good for 450uF at 400V. If we now were to have a close look at the voltage regulation stage we’d have to disassemble the unit completely, which means unsoldering components from the main PCB. Since we do not do that, we cannot tell you what components have been used here, but we will make an educated guess at a later stage. Let’s jump to a small daughter board, which features all the protection mechanisms, of which a WT7527 chip is taking care. In this area of the PSU, after the voltages haven been regulated to 12V, 5V and 3.3V, there are electrolyte capacitors from Nichicon. Continuing to the PWM controller we find a CM6901. Last but not least, there is the large daughter board, that has been equipped with a full set of connectors for the modular cables. As we can see here all the soldering points have been equipped with connectors, which is the case with all the Seasonic Prime series power supply that have more than 850 Watt output power. Checking the capacitors, we see a mixture of ones from Nichicon and Chemi-Con.

Page 4 - A Look Inside

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Result Analysis and Discussion

Efficiency
Load	Pin(W)	Pout(W)	Efficiency
10 %	112.12	102.19	91.14 %
20 %	220.84	205.51	93.06 %
50 %	556.40	517.49	93.01 %
100 %	1166.40	1045.91	89.67 %

The 80Plus Platinum certification requirements (87% - 90% - 87%) are surpassed especially at 20% Load. The full Load efficiency is a bit higher at 230V AC. This is the case with most of todays PSU's an it mainly originates from the reason of lower losses in the AC filtering stage and the PFC at 230V AC. The 230V AC 100% Load efficiency is 89.67%.

Output Stability
Load	Rail	Loading(A)	Output(V)
10 %	3.3V	1.32	3.39
	5V	1.32	5.01
	12V	7.3	12.26

20 %	3.3V	2.64	3.38
	5V	2.62	5.01
	12V	14.64	12.31

50 %	3.3V	6.61	3.36
	5V	6.56	4.99
	12V	36.5	12.45

100 %	3.3V	13.18	3.33
	5V	13.09	4.96
	12V	72.72	12.66

The Voltage Regulation of this PSU is very good. It makes use of a DC-DC topology. This means, that the Seasonic Prime Platinum 1000W is mainly a 12V PSU and then generates its 5 and 3.3V from 12V. This is a modern approach, and since the Load is mainly on 12V it makes a lot of sense. For almost any PSU which makes use of this topology crossload tests do not present a problem.

Noise
Load
10 %	Noiseless
20 %	Noiseless
50 %	Noiseless
100 %	silent

If we listen closer with the power supply, there is no noise until 50%. The Seasonic Prime Platinum 1000W is a semi passive power supply and the fan kicks in, when 50 percent load is being surpassed. Even at 100% load the unit can still be described as silent.

Page 5 - Result Analysis and Discussion

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Conclusion

With the Prime Platinum 1000W Seasonic released an absolute high-end power supply. There is a costly AC filtering stage, an extremely high end fan, and the massive use of Japanese capacitors, which - amongst other parts - add up to a great product. All the components mentioned comply with highest standards and its hard to find other PC PSU's which are built according to similar guidelines. Furthermore this PSU is very reliable even if you plan with it for long term usage. Overall there is simply nothing to complain about this unit and judging by the 12 year warranty plan you get with these units, the vendor is also highly confident that this is a solid product. Should such a unit ever break down, then you'll receive a brand now model at that point in time. As we already mentioned, the only thing we'd like to see are exchangable cover plates in different colors. Would there be such cover plates, then unit would blend in absolutely perfect in any high-end modding build as well.

This high-end power supply is absolutely worthy of receiving five out of five stars.