Seasonic Platinum Series 860W - Platinum without the Fuss
by Martin Kaffei on February 24, 2012 12:00 AM ESTIntroducing the Seasonic Platinum Series 860W
In a short time we've seen quite a few companies come out with their first 80 Plus Platinum power supplies. A couple weeks ago we reviewed the Enermax Platimax with 750W, which was a good PSU even though our testing showed slightly less than the advertised efficiency. Enermax also has a 500W Platimax unit, and there are several other brands launching or ready to launch 80 Plus Platinum offerings. Today we'll look at another sample, this time in the form of Seasonic's Platinum Series 860W.
One thing that all of the 80 Plus Platinum models have in common is that they are very expensive. Something else to consider is that there are only a limited number of companies that actually manufacture PSUs, building various models according to the specifications their partners request. Seasonic is one such company, and we can expect other brands to use variations of the Seasonic Platinum Series we're reviewing today. The 860W model we're looking at includes two different modes for controlling the fan speed, a fullly modular connector system, and DC-to-DC converters for two of the smaller output voltages.
It's been nearly a year since we reviewed Seasonic's X-560 80 Plus Gold power supply, and it's still one of the best PSUs available. The Platinum Series looks set to continue from where the X-Series left off, as their new Platinum Series is very similar to the previous generation Gold products in many respects. Which raises an interesting question: are they even able to surpass their previous generation, especially when we factor in pricing and availability? On the following pages we will show the differences between the new series and the older models, along with all the important measurements and test results.
While efficient PSUs are all the marketing rage in the world of power supplies, we should keep in mind that many manufacturers are trying to reach 80 Plus Platinum levels via "cheap tricks". Enermax and FSP decided to cut the EMI filtering while SuperFlower still has an aversion to over current protection. Shunt resistors for example transform some of the power into power loss when current flows through it, since there is a voltage drop, but that's actually their job as they measure and prevent overcurrent. We are looking forward to see a better solution from Seasonic -- which doesn't mean other solutions would be bad.
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kmmatney - Friday, February 24, 2012 - link
Yup. I'd really like one of these, but find it hard to justify the big price jump to get to platinum efficiency. You can get all the PSU you need (Corsair GS800) for $115. It is nice, though. I'm still running a Corsair TX650 which I bought 5 years ago for $90 or so.Hrel - Friday, February 24, 2012 - link
Most seasonics have NO noise under about half load. Why is this one noisy? Also what's with the "electrical noise". I don't wanna hear a damn thing. "Best power supply ever", psh, not if I can hear it.palindrome - Friday, February 24, 2012 - link
Martin,It is hard to take much stock from your review. Especially when you write a garbage conclusion that claims Super Flower products a bad product because of their name. The last Super Flower manufactured PSU reviewed on Anandtech was 10/16/2008 by Christoph Katzer. Also, your testing equipment and methodology is not listed in this article. For all we, as readers, know, you could be using a kill-a-watt and a RadioShack multimeter. You should also list your error tolerance for your readings, no matter what equipment you are using. When I read this article, I thought I might have mistakenly been redirected to Tom's for a moment.
I'm sure reviewers such as yourself all have opinions and incentives to write nice reviews for the generous companies who give you free, expensive toys to play with. However, you should let your test results do the talking and provide some of the basic information, such as methodology, just like we all learned in 5th grade science class, so that you can be much more credible. This isn't the worst PSU review I've seen from a major tech site (Tom's has that locked down tight), but I certainly expect more from Anandtech.
Time to get flamed by the herd.
smilingcrow - Friday, February 24, 2012 - link
We’re not worthy.I have the 400W Gold fanless version and we’ve set a date for the autumn.
Crypticone - Friday, February 24, 2012 - link
I would really like to see some real world usage testing. Clearly every uses computers in a different manner and I am not sure the best way to go about it.Much like you have a very standardized testing bed for computer cases. It would be nice to have some measure of power usage over a certain period of time.
Using the same computer setup run the system for two hours at idle speed measuring power usage. Then two hours looping some gaming type benchmark. Then two hours of scripted web browsing. Then an hour fully loading the CPU with prime. Then maybe two hours of streaming media to a media player of some sort.
Then it would be nice to see how much power is saved between the units. It would be interesting to see where the mock breakeven point is power savings vs the added cost of these new pricey power supplies vs a gold or silver rated PSU.
This might be more of a feature article then something done for every PSU you review.
John Doe - Friday, February 24, 2012 - link
That SuperFlower you just threw off in a whim makes a unit that outdoes the Platinum 1000; the LZP-1000.http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article/2012/01/04/k...
It gets about 30mV ripple against the 60's of the SeaSonic, has quicker transient turn-on response and sells for $70 cheaper.
One of the main goals of a review is to be subjective, which is what this review is not. This is a load of garbage.
smilingcrow - Saturday, February 25, 2012 - link
From the review you linked to:“If you want the absolute best power supply we have seen then you still want the Seasonic Platinum-1000.”
And you want a review to be objective not subjective!
Martin Kaffei - Saturday, February 25, 2012 - link
John,I got an XFX PSU which is exactly like the 1KW version from Seasonic and I never saw more than 30 mV as well.
Does HardOCP measure with capacitors conformable to ATX specification? You need them to simulate system load, otherwise the results do not apply to a real PC.
Hereunder Seasonic might be worse than SuperFlower, but your PC doesn't get the pure ripple. With ATX test environments Seasonic is always as good as or even better than SuperFlower.
John Doe - Saturday, February 25, 2012 - link
What're you on about? Yes, Paul puts all the units in an incubutor for at least 8 hours. And you? Have you even explained your test methodology? You aren't making any sense and aren't fooling anybody with little SMPS knowledge.If you look at Oklahoma Wolf's results, you can find the same. The Golden King 1000 (which you labeled as a joke just because of it's name) usually has lower ripple, better transient response, better cooling and sells for cheaper. The only thing the SeaSonic has over it is better regulation.
It's clear that either you're unknowledgeable or you have a personal agenda, with the latter making more sense. Excuse my bluntness, but you're diviving into pure nonsense.
DanNeely - Saturday, February 25, 2012 - link
You've got 28 pins on the PSU for a 24pin cable.