Contents
Conclusion and evaluation
The Seasonic S12G 550 W (SSR-550RT) prototype did not pass the combined and crossload testing in accordance with the ATX specification, so per my evaluation methodology, it is not deserving of an evaluation. The final result is that while it was ultimately able to survive overloading without burning out, the ripple rose so high that it went completely out of ATX spec. And while the voltage regulation was only equally as disappointing as the previous model we tested, the efficiency is now worse.
But we did learn something out of all this though, and that is that Seasonic is at least trying to fix the problems their units have. I will attempt to do some more tweaking to see whether I can improve the ripple. Seasonic themselves seem to be using slightly slower and much more silent fans in units made from Summer 2015 and later. But even with this improvement, I do think that it’s perhaps finally time for them to retire this platform and come up with something new. Most of the competition has either come up with newer and better platforms, or in the least dropped the price of their older ones to reflect their age. And all the manufacturers are also offering longer and longer warranties, so Seasonic had better change something if they want to stay in the game.
Pros | + protections finally working + quality components + longer warranty + fan is quieter than before |
Cons | − ripple out of spec − sub-average voltage regulation − still very fast fan (loud) − worse efficiency |
Be aware of… | /?\ |
Thanks
I thank the Seasonic company for providing the prototype of the Seasonic S12G 550 W unit.