Seasonic S12II Series Heatsinks

[EdT]

I know the 330ii has the smaller sinks than the 430ii, anyone know which one starts with a bigger sink after the 330ii ?

[dhanson865]

All of the PSUs in the S12II series have the same undersized heatsinks.

Only the older S12 models without the II in the model name have a significant variation in heat sinks.

If you want the equivalent of a S12II with better noise characteristics you should get a Corsair VX450.


http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsu ... i=3096&p=4 330 and 500 watt versions heatsinks pictured here.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article753-page3.html S12II-380 heatsinks pictured here.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article751-page3.html VX450W heatsinks pictured here. (looks the same but the fan controller and some electrical components are different)

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article596-page2.html OLD S12 330 that you may not be able to buy any more heatsinks pictured here.

[EdT]

Thanks for the info, unfortunately the two local retailers for the Corsair don't seem to carry the 450VX and only the larger VX550 and up, guess they make more profits that way !

Trying to find a local Seasonic or Corsair retailers here in Montreal is a nightmare and a full time job !

[dhanson865]

I'm not much of a fan of Enermax due to concerns about past quality issues but if you feel like taking a chance the Pro 82+ and Modu82+ have gotten decent reviews.

Enermax PRO 82+ 425W
Enermax Modu82+ 425w

Maybe the list below will give you some other items to look for at your preferred retailer. The prices are outdated and in US dollars but the list I check prices on in Feb 2008 was

OK, I took my short list of PSUs to compare and did a price search on SPCR's pricegrabber and Google shopping (previously known as Google products, previously known as Froogle).

I live in one of the states that Newegg charges sales tax for so even for US users these prices could vary a chunk between that and shipping differences.

Given those caveats it's still a way to compare the price of the major SPCR recommended PSUs at as similar a wattage label as possible.

Here is the list sorted by Price:

Code: Select all

                 dBA at   Price Shipped
                250/300W   to my Zip
Earth Watts 430   29/37       $60
Corsair VX450W    22/26       $83
     S12II-430    25/31       $85
     S12-430      29/32       $87
     M12II-430    28/35      $104
Corsair HX520W    22/22      $111
     S12-550E+    21/25      $113

Antec Earthwatts being the cheapest and Corsair VX450W being the quietest of the under $100 crowd.

Here is the list sorted by noise:

Code: Select all

                 dBA at   Price Shipped
                250/300W   to my Zip
Corsair HX520W    22/22      $111
     S12-550E+    21/25      $113
Corsair VX450W    22/26       $83
     S12II-430    25/31       $85
     S12-430      29/32       $87
     M12II-430    28/35      $104
Earth Watts 430   29/37       $60

The Corsair HX and Seasonic Energy+ are neck and neck on noise and price with the Corsair VX450W pulling a respectable 3rd place.

The Seasonic M12II still looks oddly out of place being about the price of the Corsair HX but louder and with lower wattage. The price needs to drop another 10% to 20% on that one. It's a decent low end gamers PSU but it's no SPCR champ.

The M12II did drop in price about 10% since then. It's no quiet PSU but at least it isn't as overpriced as it used to be.

There is a $20 US rebate on the Corsair HX520 that is valid for Canadian use but you'd have to buy it today or tomorrow.

[EdT]

Ok, I picked up the TX650 on Monday for $100 and with the $20 rebate it comes to $80 ...not too bad !, surprise it was third on SPCR's list of recommended picks !

So far it is running as quiet as my Phantom 350 less the coil resonance and heat.

[dhanson865]

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article813-page3.html for pics of it's heatsinks.

and At 21/23 that makes it quieter than the vx450w I recommended (and stays quieter at all wattages than the vx).

In short it was a decent choice.