So it was running in my PC for a few months and the other week I cracked open my PC to swap out the DVD writer, which is SATA.Then to my horror one of the orange wires coming from the first SATA connector broke off at the connector. That left 2 dead SATA plugs at the end of the cable. By looking at the severed connection it was apparent that only the bare wires were making the connection at the connector and the insulation was NOT taking any of the stress. This is in stark contrast to the other power connectors that use a very different scheme which is very robust.
So I call Seasonic last week and the techie says to e-mail him for the RMA information. I send him an e-mail and a week later I haven't heard anything. So I call them again, and find someone more helpful. I sent him an e-mail and within a few hours he replied with all the needed paperwork. I filled it out, provided the information for the cross-ship, and faxed it in. They responded within a few hours and shipped a replacement that very day. It was sent ground, but actually showed up the next day (today).
So I inspect the replacement unit, and just slightly wiggling the SATA power connector wires you can just tell it's ready to give way and that the insulation is not used to hold the wire in place.
What is interesting is that the rest of the power connectors are built like a tank and clearly have the insulation crimped very tightly. However the SATA connectors use a totally different connector style which merely relies on the bare wires to take any stress and strain. It seems to me a VERY shotty connector/design.
I'm not going to swap out my bad unit with the replacement since it seems very likely at some point down the road another wire will become separated from a SATA connector. I'm going to call them tomorrow and complain about the shotty design.
Has anyone else noticed the problem? The power supply seems to be built like a tank, including all connectors, except the crappy SATA plugs. I can't believe I'm the only person to experience the problem. I think they need to find a new SATA connector source that allows the wire jacket to be crimped like the other connectors so the bare wires aren't left to take the stress.
I'm not roughhousing the connectors or pulling them out of devices by yanking on the wires. Even VERY gentle wiggling of the wires you can feel how thin and stressed the wires are. I bet with a little more gentle rocking back and fourth I'll get another loose orange wire.