The wonderful new S12: 430 or 500 Watts?

Tiamat · Post by **Tiamat** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 6:50 am

Aphex wrote:Wow, this thread has certainly exploded from the original 10 replies it had when I last checked it

Well, I finally decided on the S12 500. Why? Here's a couple of reasons.

In less than a month, I will be upgrading to a SLI setup. Therefore, I want to have the PCIe connector which the 430w s12 does not.
Future proofing. When I run dual video cards, I want to be sure my power supply can handle it, even 5 years down the road when there will probably be 1 megawatt PSUs

It arrived this morning from newegg. I'm going to install it this evening. Thank you for your input, everybody, and if anyone has questions about the S12-500 just post em here and I'll answer them. Maybe I'll even post some pics if I'm not too lazy

Correct me if I am wrong, but the 500 W only has 1x PCI-E connector. If you sli, you still need another PCI-E connector right?

sthayashi · Post by **sthayashi** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 9:08 am

Aphex, though I still don't think you made the best decision and I believe both your reasons are flawed, I think you'll still be happy with what you purchased.

Tibors · Post by **Tibors** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 9:16 am

I think Aphex's first reason is quite valid. When using a 2 molex to PCIe power converter it is advised to take the power from different strands. Try to imagine the cable mess two adapters and all those strands will cause. By choosing a PSU with at least one PCIe connector he at least partially solved that.

ilh · Post by **ilh** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 9:20 am

Too bad Seasonic is not putting the PCIe in the S12-430 and below. Antec is in their TP 2.0 line.

Yes, the S12-500 has a single PCIe 6-pin connector for one card.

Aphex · Post by **Aphex** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 11:12 am

Tibors wrote:I think Aphex's first reason is quite valid. When using a 2 molex to PCIe power converter it is advised to take the power from different strands. Try to imagine the cable mess two adapters and all those strands will cause. By choosing a PSU with at least one PCIe connector he at least partially solved that.

Precisely. And while I will have to use an adaptor for the second card down the road, it is still better than buying one of those awful PCPower&Cooling SLI PSUs that look like they can rival a Boeing in terms of decibels.

akwok · Post by **akwok** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 4:07 pm

Arg. If Seasonic sleeved the ATX connector (and the other cables) I would be such a happy camper!

François L. · Post by **François L.** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 12:27 pm

Aphex wrote:Wow, this thread has certainly exploded from the original 10 replies it had when I last checked it

Well, I finally decided on the S12 500. Why? Here's a couple of reasons.

In less than a month, I will be upgrading to a SLI setup. Therefore, I want to have the PCIe connector which the 430w s12 does not.
Future proofing. When I run dual video cards, I want to be sure my power supply can handle it, even 5 years down the road when there will probably be 1 megawatt PSUs

It arrived this morning from newegg. I'm going to install it this evening. Thank you for your input, everybody, and if anyone has questions about the S12-500 just post em here and I'll answer them. Maybe I'll even post some pics if I'm not too lazy

Aphex: good choice

Just on the basis of having an extra SATA connector I think the 500 may be a better buy. I'm trying to have SATA only on my PC for better airflow (including new burner I am researching)

I got the 430 in my computer at the moment and my system is so noisy (the other components I mean) that I cannot even tell if this is a quieter power supply than my Antec 550 !!!!

Enjoy, and please let us know about the noise levels.

Thanks

François L.

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 5:48 pm

Just to make things more clear:

Unless you have a NVIDIA 6800 or higher video card, you don't need (and cannot use) a PCI-E power connector that only comes on the 500 and 600 watt versions of the S12. (Sorry, don’t know the ATI model numbers that need the power connector).

The 6800GT and below does not use the power connector. I would not think that many people interested in quiet computing would need or want something more powerful than a 6600GT (but I am sure there are some legitimate exceptions).

Techno Pride · Post by **Techno Pride** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 6:13 pm

ilh wrote:
I'm getting a bit tired of hearing how loud the S12-500 is and how stupid someone would have to be to purchase one, especially from folks who have never heard one. I'm not saying it isn't overkill, but it is not terribly loud either, and mine will not ramp up beyond 1000rpm even folding 24/7, so the noise it does make is absolutely constant.

Don't most "quiet" (even the ones recommended here) run pretty noisy ay heavy loads?

if your psu fan doesn't ramp over 1000rpm, it probably means your setup isn't drawing enough power for the psu to heat up and ramp up the fan. maybe a 430w version would be enough in your case.

just my personal opinion though

sad that we don't have seasonics here

François L. · Post by **François L.** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 6:17 pm

m0002a wrote:Just to make things more clear:

Unless you have a NVIDIA 6800 or higher video card, you don't need (and cannot use) a PCI-E power connector that only comes on the 500 and 600 watt versions of the S12. (Sorry, don’t know the ATI model numbers that need the power connector).

The 6800GT and below does not use the power connector. I would not think that many people interested in quiet computing would need or want something more powerful than a 6600GT (but I am sure there are some legitimate exceptions).

Hello

I am that kind of bizarre person who wants a very fast card in a dead quiet system

Will install the silencer on my Ultra, let's hope it's quieter then

François

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 6:37 pm

François L. wrote:I am that kind of bizarre person who wants a very fast card in a dead quiet system

I know that lots of people want a very fast card and a dead quiet system. I said you can't have it. You have to make compromises (unless you want water cooled or can put the PC behind the wall or under the floor).

The 6600GT is quite fast. If you are playing games and want a faster card than that, will you really hear the higher speed fans necessary to keep it cool?

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 8:45 pm

m0002a wrote:Just to make things more clear:

Unless you have a NVIDIA 6800 or higher video card, you don't need (and cannot use) a PCI-E power connector that only comes on the 500 and 600 watt versions of the S12. (Sorry, don’t know the ATI model numbers that need the power connector).

The 6800GT and below does not use the power connector. I would not think that many people interested in quiet computing would need or want something more powerful than a 6600GT (but I am sure there are some legitimate exceptions).

I'm in the final stages of deciding on a new system. It will be an A64 3200+, Gigabyte nForce4 MB, XP-120, single SATA drive, and one of the Gigabyte heat pipe video cards either the 6600GT or X800XL. No overclocking. Can't see this system needing any more than about 300W so I was planning on getting one of the S12 PSUs, probably a 330 or 380.

But I'm a little confused by this talk of PCI Express ready and PCI-E connectors. Does the PCI-E connector plug into the top of the video card? Such as I see in this picture of a 6800GT? Since neither the 6600GT nor the X800 XL has this connector, am I correct that I don't need a PCI Express ready PSU for my planned configuration?

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 9:23 pm

DavidG wrote:Since neither the 6600GT nor the X800 XL has this connector, am I correct that I don't need a PCI Express ready PSU for my planned configuration?

Yes, you are correct.

stevil4 · Post by **stevil4** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 1:48 pm

just saw on another forum.

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=PS-S12-500&src=fr#

bout the same price for a 430W on the egg.save yourself 50 bucks if your goin the 500w route....

pm_ · Post by **pm_** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 7:45 am

Since neither the 6600GT nor the X800 XL has this connector, am I correct that I don't need a PCI Express ready PSU for my planned configuration?

FYI, even if you get a card that requires a "PCI-E" power connector, the card will probably come with an adapter that will take two of your 4-pin molex connectors and adapt them to the single PCI-E power connector.

Keep in mind that the PCI-E interface provides more power through the bus then the AGP interface. This is why, for example, a Nvidia 6600GT PCI-E does NOT require extra power from a 4 pin Molex connector, whereas a 6600GT AGP does.

Basically, the advantage of a PCI Express ready PSU is that it provides 1 or 2 extra PCI-Express specific power connectors for the PCI-Express cards that require external power. This way you don't have to use an adapter on your 4-pin molex connectors, so if you have a lot of drives or something, you won't run into a problem with having an insufficient number of connectors.

Post by **MikeC** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 10:28 am

A word of caution: The original poster asked about choosing between the S12-430 and the S12-500. These are fairly different, acoustically speaking.

In the S12-430 review, it was mentioned several times that the 330, 380 and 430 are basically updated, improved versions of the Super Tornado. The 500 and 600 are completely different machines altogether. Not only do they have a different circuit but they have a different fan. The difference is also reflected in the model numbering, discussed in the review article thread: SS-500HT/600HT rather than SS-330HB/380HB/430HB.

A pre-production S12-600 on hand in the lab has a higher power fan with the same fan controller as the S12-430. It is noisier, for sure, starting at a default level of ~25 dBA/1m. It ramps up similarly, staying pretty much unchanged almost to 200W output. It is quieter than the similarly rated Enermax Noisetaker 701.

Anyway, the bottom line for quiet lovers: If you don't need the higher power of the 500 and 600, stay with the smaller S12, which are the quietest fanned PSus. The 500 and 600 are about as quiet as you'll find for such high power PSUs but not in the champ quiet class (for all PSUs). if you don't need the power....

DG · Post by DG » Thu Apr 07, 2005 10:41 am

MikeC, what do you think of the Antec TruePower 2.0 380w? It's for sale in many places now, and it has much higher amps (16A\16A) than the S12 380W (10A\15A) and a PCI express video card conector. Can you please post some early impressions of it, if you have one for the review?

Post by **MikeC** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 11:03 am

DG wrote:MikeC, what do you think of the Antec TruePower 2.0 380w? It's for sale in many places now, and it has much higher amps (16A\16A) than the S12 380W (10A\15A) and a PCI express video card conector. Can you please post some early impressions of it, if you have one for the review?

No sample, no exposure, sorry.

jimcureton · Post by **jimcureton** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 10:17 am

I just received the Seasonic SS-500HT. My mainboard reports the RPM at 1020 and it is very quiet except for this weird sound every minute or so. It is like a rattle or a chatter sound that seems to come from the fan. You can tune it out but should it even be there? Has anyone else experienced this sound? Jim.

The wonderful new S12: 430 or 500 Watts?

Seasonic SS-500HT Rev.A1 periodic rattle sound.