750w Power Supply - Seasonic SSR-750FM vs. EVGA 750 G3

[Andrew_R]

I am currently looking to upgrade my PC with a 750w PSU. I'll have two GTX 970s in my PC for gaming as well as mining.

I think I've narrowed my choices down to the Seasonic FOCUS series SSR-750FM and the EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G3.

I am aware that the Seasonic is semi-modular, while the EVGA is fully modular. However, there is quite a price difference. The Seasonic is only $55 after rebate, and the EVGA is $80 after rebate (both from Newegg). I know the EVGA has many excellent reviews and I would not have a problem relying on it, but I cannot find any information or reviews about this specific Seasonic PSU anywhere online. So I am wondering if the Seasonic is a good choice to go with considering the price, or if I should "play it safe" and pay a bit more for the EVGA?

 

[jankerson]

Ah the old Semi Mod Focus.

The Focus is on sale.

Reg price is a $10 difference, it's the rebates and sale prices that make the difference.

 

[Karadjgne]

Most normally, ppl 'play it safe' by choosing a Seasonic unit over one they aren't sure about. Seasonic is, and pretty much has been for over 35 odd years, the psu to beat. If there ever was a 'standard' or 'bar', Seasonic is it. Most psus are worse than Seasonic, some few are better. The Evga Leadex just happens to be one of the few that are realistically better than a good portion of the Seasonic lines.

Honestly, it's a moot point, both are excellent examples of what a 750w psu should be, you really can't go wrong with either.

 

[Andrew_R]

Ah the old Semi Mod Focus.

The Focus is on sale.

Reg price is a $10 difference, it's the rebates and sale prices that make the difference.

Yes, I am looking at the prices after the sale + rebate as I will be purchasing some time in the next couple days. Would you particularly recommend one over the other?

 

[Andrew_R]

Most normally, ppl 'play it safe' by choosing a Seasonic unit over one they aren't sure about. Seasonic is, and pretty much has been for over 35 odd years, the psu to beat. If there ever was a 'standard' or 'bar', Seasonic is it. Most psus are worse than Seasonic, some few are better. The Evga Leadex just happens to be one of the few that are realistically better than a good portion of the Seasonic lines.

Honestly, it's a moot point, both are excellent examples of what a 750w psu should be, you really can't go wrong with either.

Right, I don't know a whole lot about PSUs but I was aware that Seasonic is sort of known as the "gold standard." I just was not sure with this particular model because it has no reviews anywhere, so it seems almost like a bit of a shot in the dark because the EVGA model is very highly praised.

I was sort of leaning towards the Seasonic unit anyways because it is very low cost compared to others (with the sale + rebate).

 

[dudio]

I don't think you can lose on either.
I have the EVGA 750 Gold and it's solid for a year and a half..always cool on a fairly beefy system

 

[Rexper]

"Most normally, ppl 'play it safe' by choosing a Seasonic unit over one they aren't sure about."

Which is where problems start. Not saying Seasonic is a bad company, in fact I respect the work they do, though choosing power supplies based on brand in general won't find you the best and suitable unit for you.

You can't really say most PSUs are worse than Seasonic, as Seasonic has made/makes PSUs in a large range of quality. For example the S12ii and m12ii series are still group regulated with a bad protection IC, not very ideal for a modern system, and in many cases there will be a better PSU at the price range.
They also offer some competitive, high quality like the Seasonic Focus Plus.

Though I haven't heard of the Semi modular Seasonic Focus. It seems to be a new series, unreviewed (as far as I know) yet. Warranty is reduced 3 years from the fully modular version, from 10 to 7 years.

For now I suggest the EVGA G3, due to the longer warranty and professional reviews (and fully modular as apposed to semi modular). Unless someone's provides evidence of the Seasonic Focus Semi Modular series' quality and performance, I don't recommend it.

 

[jankerson]

The M12ii EVO 750w and 850W are DC-DC, the older M12ii 650W was also DC-DC before they discontinued it, was replaced with the M12ii 620W EVO that isn't.

The Focus took the place of the G Series so from what it looks like they upgraded the G Series as the Focus has the same wattage models as the G did. So it looks like we will have a good 450W gold model again to recommend, and it's DC-DC like the G-450W.

They also improved the warranty from 5 to 7 years, the G-Series is rock solid with excellent reviews so I would expect the Focus to be the same. No reviews as of yet, but I am sure it will show very well once one is done.

The Focus doesn't have the same features as the Focus Plus, not modular and doesn't have Hybrid mode, basically an upgraded G Series as I said.

Like the Prime Gold took the place of the X-Series when they discontinued the X-Series.

Looks like Seasonic has been doing some consolidations of their lineup lately and there is another new model coming soon, high end model from what I heard.

 

[Rexper]

https://seasonic.com/focus-gold Platform is same as the Focus plus, so performance would be similar to the Focus Plus. Though given the large price difference, I suggest that Focus.

 

[Karadjgne]

Honestly semi or fully modular really doesn't make a hill of beans difference except for the original installation might require some thought to wiring and if for any reason you decide to move the psu in/out of the case. The hard wires are ones you'll use anyways.
The 7? 8? year old M12-II design is perfectly fine for any pc. It was solid and quality when first built with (at the time) great outputs that are still well within specs. The only real quirk with group regulated designs is the low power modes used by Haswell and newer Intel cpu's at C4-C7, which is nothing more than a deeper sleep mode and can be turned off in bios.
When you consider the world wide market, which Seasonic is a good portion of anywhere outside the US, even the old M12-II series is a better built, higher quality psu than the vast majority of the market. It's biggest competition being the Corsair CX and Thermaltake TR2 lines. Saying Seasonic makes a better psu than most isn't a stretch at all if you consider the big picture and don't limit it to just the US market.

I'd honestly be more inclined to trust a Delta or Seasonic OEM 400w psu than any aftermarket I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[Rexper]

The M12ii lower wattage versions and S12ii lack OTP which is an important protection, as well as UVP, and OCP on minor rails. Voltages is crossload tests are loose, which is a result from the group regulated design. Not sure how this is "perfectly fine for any pc". With that logic, what is the point of all these professional reviews and Seasonic selling more expensive, and new units when the 7 year old m12ii will be perfectly fine for any PC...
Outputs aren't always in spec in crossload.
Those units aren't good in general nowadays, unless one could find one at a dirt cheap price.

In the end it just isn't a good idea to choose PSUs by brand. It will depend on the PSU models available, location, budget, and what is important to the consumer (efficiency, noise, modular, etc)

 

[jankerson]

Honestly semi or fully modular really doesn't make a hill of beans difference except for the original installation might require some thought to wiring and if for any reason you decide to move the psu in/out of the case. The hard wires are ones you'll use anyways.
The 7? 8? year old M12-II design is perfectly fine for any pc. It was solid and quality when first built with (at the time) great outputs that are still well within specs. The only real quirk with group regulated designs is the low power modes used by Haswell and newer Intel cpu's at C4-C7, which is nothing more than a deeper sleep mode and can be turned off in bios.
When you consider the world wide market, which Seasonic is a good portion of anywhere outside the US, even the old M12-II series is a better built, higher quality psu than the vast majority of the market. It's biggest competition being the Corsair CX and Thermaltake TR2 lines. Saying Seasonic makes a better psu than most isn't a stretch at all if you consider the big picture and don't limit it to just the US market.

I'd honestly be more inclined to trust a Delta or Seasonic OEM 400w psu than any aftermarket I can think of off the top of my head.

Modular or Semi Modular doesn't really matter for the most part since the attached cables are the ones that will be used anyway.

Yeah the M12ii is better than what is normally available outside the US, mostly the Corsair VS and Thermatake TR2 among the other ones that I wouldn't trust to power an LED light.

I have a couple of M12ii's, 620W and 650W now retired, but they were solid units for me, used the 620W for over 7 years 24/7/365 and the 650W for over 5 years 24/7/365. Both still work fine, nothing wrong with them, back in the original boxes just in case I need a backup unit etc.

I wouldn't have a problem putting one in a new system if the person was on a budget and or outside the US were PSU's can get VERY expensive. Actually they are the 1st ones I look for when recommending to people outside the US, then compare to what else is available.

 

[Zerk2012]

The M12ii lower wattage versions and S12ii lack OTP which is an important protection, as well as UVP, and OCP on minor rails. Voltages is crossload tests are loose, which is a result from the group regulated design. Not sure how this is "perfectly fine for any pc". With that logic, what is the point of all these professional reviews and Seasonic selling more expensive, and new units when the 7 year old m12ii will be perfectly fine for any PC...
Outputs aren't always in spec in crossload.
Those units aren't good in general nowadays, unless one could find one at a dirt cheap price.

In the end it just isn't a good idea to choose PSUs by brand. It will depend on the PSU models available, location, budget, and what is important to the consumer (efficiency, noise, modular, etc)

Their nothing wrong with these power supplies and are good enough to put in ANY modern PC.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=185

5 pages of people that bought a poor PSU and don't even know it.

https://pcpartpicker.com/builds/by_part/fZyFf7

 

[jankerson]

The M12ii lower wattage versions and S12ii lack OTP which is an important protection, as well as UVP, and OCP on minor rails. Voltages is crossload tests are loose, which is a result from the group regulated design. Not sure how this is "perfectly fine for any pc". With that logic, what is the point of all these professional reviews and Seasonic selling more expensive, and new units when the 7 year old m12ii will be perfectly fine for any PC...
Outputs aren't always in spec in crossload.
Those units aren't good in general nowadays, unless one could find one at a dirt cheap price.

In the end it just isn't a good idea to choose PSUs by brand. It will depend on the PSU models available, location, budget, and what is important to the consumer (efficiency, noise, modular, etc)

Their nothing wrong with these power supplies and are good enough to put in ANY modern PC.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=185

5 pages of people that bought a poor PSU and don't even know it.

https://pcpartpicker.com/builds/by_part/fZyFf7

There are more than a few of them that are unpowered somewhat, pushing the limits of the S12ii 520 as it's a 480W PSU really. They really needed to go with the 620W vers. But yeah it's a good PSU, nothing wrong with it and that is the only reason it's holding up.

 

[Zerk2012]

If you look at the hot box test page 3 of that link test 5 was at 515 watts with no problems.
For the UVP that is a option on power supplies the OVP is required on all of them but they can set it to trip at 15 volts if they wish as long as it's their.

 

[Rexper]

I've already pointed to you the problems. If you still can't under stand there is no point trying to further convince you. I'll just put it out one more time. OTP is crucial! And the units lack in Crossload test. If you believe that's good enough for any modern PC, I suggest doing some research.

I think this is more than fanboyism rather than facts, so I'm going to leave it there.

 

[Zerk2012]

I've already exam pointed to you the problems. If you still can't under stand there is no hope. I'll just put it out one more time. OTP is crucial! And the units lack in Crossload test. If you believe that's good enough for any modern PC, I suggest doing some research.

I think this is more than fanboyism rather than facts, so I'm going to leave it there.

No your trying to prove a point when they are none the OTP is not a CRUCIAL selling point and your Crossload test is hog wash their absolutely nothing wrong with buying or using that power supply. I believe you need to do a lot more researching on what your saying.

 

[Rexper]

Bsides risking your build to poor protections, and lowering your parts liifespan with the loose crossload voltages which is what PCs nowaday are using (more 12V rather than the minor rails). Not to mention in most places there much better competitors for the price.

Also it isn't "my" crossload test. It's crossload tests carried out by professional reviewers.

 

[jankerson]

Bsides risking your build to poor protections, and lowering your parts liifespan with the loose crossload voltages which is what PCs nowaday are using (more 12V rather than the minor rails). Not to mention in most places there much better competitors for the price.

Also it isn't "my" crossload test. It's crossload tests carried out by professional reviewers.

Used a M12ii 620W to power one of my machines for over 7 years.

I still have the machine, just updated the PSU to a G-550W, retired the old 620W due to age.

Here it is currently, I7 870 with an RX 480 etc...

 

[Karadjgne]

OCP/OVP is (I believe) covered by the MOV, which is common to many units. The M12-II does have all ATX specified protections otherwise.

(quote JG personal)
And the S12-II/M12-II is missing OCP and UVP because it uses a HY-510N IC

(quote JG review)
While the first CL test did see the 12V climb out of spec, the second CL test did not see a corresponding out of spec increase on the 5V. It gets close, but does not go out of spec. This unit is remarkably well behaved for a group design.

This is what I like to see - not many rigs these days will present a load like the one from test CL1. Such loads went out with the Pentium III and a few select Socket A motherboards. CL2, on the other hand, is possible on modern rigs, and I love that I did not see out of spec numbers there. Well done, Seasonic.
(end quote)

(quote)
A lot of power supplies advertise having OCP when they don't; they just have OPP. General rule of thumb is a lot of single-rail units lack any form of OCP. Whether OCP is present on the minor rails or not depends. But OCP is useless for the 12V rail if it's a single-rail unit and OPP is present since they essentially do the same thing.
(end quote)

In other words, in modern rigs that might present enough CL to put the 5v rail out of spec (that's 20 odd ide drives?) you'd still be good.

JG rated a 9.7, that's seriously good for a group regulated Bronze psu.

Granted in the US there's probably better units, sometimes cheaper, such as the CXM450/550, but for a sizable chunk of the rest of the world, this is the budget psu if choice, and it's usually on the higher side of the budget. Options are severely limited.

The S/M12-II (and derivatives like the XFX and Antec HCG-M) was and still is a solid architecture, even considering newer ATX revisions. Just because it's lacking a bunch of bells and whistles that new platforms are calling standard issue, doesn't make it 'poor', just makes it old.