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Pros, Cons, And Final Verdict
Seasonic is making quite an impression with its new Prime units. Previously, Super Flower's dominance in the 80 PLUS Titanium category was unrivaled, and everyone wondered why Seasonic wasn't doing anything about it. The fact is, though, that Super Flower's Leadex platform is one of the best, making it difficult to come up with something better. Seasonic didn't want to risk its reputation, so the company took its time coming up with a response. The final result is a design worth waiting for.
The performance of every Prime unit we've tested is high enough to put them on top of the Titanium efficiency class. It is amazing that an analog design achieves such high efficiency, even under tough operating conditions, and at the same time offers ultra-tight load regulation and excellent ripple suppression. Meanwhile, the hold-up time we measured is way above than what the ATX spec requires.
Another impressive aspect of this platform is that it manages to offer such low ripple on the DC outputs without using special modular cables equipped with filtering capacitors. That's something Super Flower needs on its high-end PSUs to reduce ripple. We prefer Seasonic's way, of course, since you don't have to deal with bulky cables and you can swap them in or out without affecting ripple performance.
There is no doubt that the Prime 850 is an amazing product, and the only thing missing now from Seasonic's most efficient line-up is a flagship able to battle Super Flower's 1.6kW model. Such monstrous units might not sell well, since only a handful of enthusiasts need that much capacity, but they clearly show the platform's potential.
As you no doubt know, the Prime 850 W Titanium left a good impression on us. Seasonic does a terrific job with this unit, and although the company was late to the 80 PLUS Titanium game, the resulting platform was worth the wait. Finally, enthusiasts have a strong alternative to EVGA's T2 line-up based on Super Flower's Titanium-class Leadex platform.
For the first time, Seasonic is using a fan larger than 120mm in its high-end offering, and the result is impressive: lower than 20 dB(A) noise output. The Prime 850 W Titanium is almost silent, and only EVGA's 850 T2 is quieter.
The only significant downside of the Prime PSUs is the high price you'll pay for the pleasure of owning one. But all Titanium-rated power supplies carry hefty premiums, and it'll take some time before they get more affordable. Nonetheless, if you want one of the best PSU offerings that money can buy, a Prime Titanium model will easily meet your demands.
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