Seasonic S12-380 or Nexus NX-9003?

jschi · Post by **jschi** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 8:32 am

Hi all,

wanting to replace my old 350W PSU with a new one, and can't decide between these two:

S12: active PFC, good efficiency, very well accepted here at SPCR.
NX-9003: fans switched-off at low temperatures => no noise at all,
however, passive PFC.

Any opinions? I could not find much so far.

Thanks in advance,

Jan

Aris · Post by **Aris** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 8:50 am

well you could get an s12 and swap the fan for a 120mm nexus and have the best of both of those PSU's

Aleksi · Post by **Aleksi** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 9:36 am

Hi Jan,

haven't found any reviews on the new Nexus PSU. However I'm a bit sceptical about the functionality of the fan controller. I think (guess) you really don't need to stress your computer very much for the fan to kick in. The fan should start at PSU's internal temp of 45C, which atleast for an older Fortron FSP300-PN(PF) was achieved very quickly. This new model should have atleast a bit better efficiency, but not sure how much it will help. It also depends on your setup and exhaust airflow etc.

Nexus have before used the Yate Loon D12SM-12 in their PSUs (rebadged Fortron). It's a 120mm sleeve bearing fan with a top speed of about 1600RPM. So they haven't used the same fan they sell as case fans (1000RPM) in their PSUs.

That being said, with the new semi-passive PSU they might have used a lower speed fan than before. (a review or atleast a picture of the internals would tell...)

On the other hand, the S12 should have a pretty good fan controller. I think most people think the S12 is very quiet, especially in the low- to mid power range.

So a tough call. I would personally go for the Seasonic also, main reason being the lack of proper reviews for the new Nexus.

If you want to mod it at some point there's lots of posts on the fan and PSU forum about suitable replacement fans and PSU modding.

Hope this helps.

NapalmDeath · Post by **NapalmDeath** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 1:06 pm

That Nexus-9003 is an interesting PSU.
Does anyone have one, and personal experience to share?

link: http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/nx-9003.html

Lead for case fan temp sensor, and two 3 pin power leads dedicated to case fans. Pic looks like 80mm fans, I wonder how voltage is stepped and if it works well with 120mm fans?
<30C off
30-33C fans start up
33-40C Medium speed
40-55C Full speed
>55C Alarm and full speed above 55C

PSU 120mm fan (bottom)
temp sensor on outside of PSU chassis
<44C off
44-55C Fans starting
55-60C Medium
60-70C Full speed
>70C Alarm and full speed

Likif · Post by **Likif** » Sat Dec 03, 2005 1:43 am

IMO fanless PSUs are a cop-out, unless your machine is really, really quiet. I have the S-12, 330 model, and my Barracuda IV 80Gb and Samsung Spinpoint 160 Gb make much more noise together than it does. But if one uses 2,5" HDs, there might be something to gain. The S-12 really is very quiet.

Bitter Jitter · Post by **Bitter Jitter** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 7:13 am

Although i agree the Seasonic S12 is quiet, i do find the fan noise quality to be more disturbing than my SP80 hard drive.

The efficiency is excellent, i noticed a 22w drop in power consumption from my older Nexus NX-3000. I would say i preferred the fan in the nexus even though it was a little louder. I intend to swap the fan on S12 for a 120mm Coolermaster in a few months but for now the noise is quite easy to live with.

I was considering the Nexus NX-9003 but the price was nearly as high as a Fortron Zen and twice the price of the S12-380, so i decided to go the Seasonic route and don't regret it.

Aleksi · Post by **Aleksi** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 3:26 am

Finnish review of the Nexus:

http://www.skenegroup.net/fi/artikkelit/nexus_nx9003sfb

In short, it has a D12SH-12 fan and doesn't really keep itself passive even when idle.