Seasonic's Connect PSU Is for Cable Management Nitpickers
The Seasonic Connect power supply can help with keeping cable management tidy.
We come across a lot of weird hardware, but this one makes me want to coin the term WHOTW: Weird Hardware of the Week. The product in question is Seasonic's SSR-750FA Connect PSU, and though it's weird, it's an interesting concept.
The idea behind the Seasonic Connect PSU is to tidy up the cable management behind your motherboard tray. It does this by taking the modular cable connectors that typically reside behind the power supply and instead placing them in the "Seasonic Connect" hub that gets placed as a spine behind the motherboard tray.
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The Seasonic Connect only exists as a 750W unit, but that's more than ample for most PC builds today. It comes with 80-Plus Gold certification and uses a huge 12V rail.
Due to the two-device configuration, the power supply itself isn't very big, though you'll need quite a bit of space to house the Connect hub. It measures 330mm tall, 64mm wide and is a hefty 21mm thick, so be sure to triple-check that you have the space for this unit. In most cases, you won't be able to run thick cables over it anymore, but you likely won't need to either, given that all the chunky power connectors are on it.
Seasonic hasn't announced what the PSU will cost or when it will be available but said it comes with a 10-year warranty.
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Niels Broekhuijsen is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He reviews cases, water cooling and pc builds.
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Giroro I like this idea.Reply
The connect hub itself doesn't look modular, but it should be. That way they could offer a range of sizes. -
grimfox I am surprised the hub is so thick. I would think you could get away with something slightly thicker than the molex sockets. They could probably source some different sockets that would enable an even lower profile. The hub itself, like Giroro said could be modular. Allowing you to place sockets on a clip on rail system for ultra short runs and orthogonal cable layouts.Reply
The next evolution would be for the case manufacturer to include a power distribution board in the back of the case so that you only need 3-6" cable runs from the distro-board to the component. You could easily include a fan controller and some awesome art or an epic amount of RGB. The board alone if done in a large scale would probably only be $50 premium. A one-off would be...$250 maybe more. -
Pat Flynn Giroro said:I like this idea.
The connect hub itself doesn't look modular, but it should be. That way they could offer a range of sizes.
From the pictures above, it does actually appear to be modular in that you can disconnect the distribution bar from the PSU's main cable. There's two plugs that can separate the bar, you can see it in the breakout picture in the middle - the connector is unplugged. -
JoBalz
This is the first product. I imagine if it sells they'll begin tweaking the design so that it can fit into smaller cases and be produced in a wider rage of wattages.grimfox said:I am surprised the hub is so thick. I would think you could get away with something slightly thicker than the molex sockets. They could probably source some different sockets that would enable an even lower profile. The hub itself, like Giroro said could be modular. Allowing you to place sockets on a clip on rail system for ultra short runs and orthogonal cable layouts.
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BlueCat57
And you'll be the first to break it.grimfox said:I am surprised the hub is so thick. I would think you could get away with something slightly thicker than the molex sockets. They could probably source some different sockets that would enable an even lower profile. The hub itself, like Giroro said could be modular. Allowing you to place sockets on a clip on rail system for ultra short runs and orthogonal cable layouts.
The next evolution would be for the case manufacturer to include a power distribution board in the back of the case so that you only need 3-6" cable runs from the distro-board to the component. You could easily include a fan controller and some awesome art or an epic amount of RGB. The board alone if done in a large scale would probably only be $50 premium. A one-off would be...$250 maybe more. -
BlueCat57 I don't get the obsession with neatness inside a case that no one will ever see. I somewhat understand Conquer d'elegance, but I'm happy if I get in my car and it doesn't smell.Reply
RGB RAM? Why? Cable management to some degree I understand, but if it ain't rubbing up against a fan or the the RAM then shut the case and get to work. -
grimfox
Why would you say that? Without any context or a more specific quote it sounds like a unprovoked veiled ad hominem attack. Perhaps you'd like to clarify?BlueCat57 said:And you'll be the first to break it.