Seasonic Focus Plus 750 Gold PSU Review

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Teardown & Component Analysis

Parts Description

Before proceeding with this page we strongly encourage you to a look at our PSUs 101 article, which provides valuable information about PSUs and their operation, allowing you to better understand the components we're about to discuss. Our main tools for disassembling PSUs are a Thermaltronics soldering and rework station and a Hakko FR-300 desoldering gun. Finally, for the identification of tiny parts we use an Andonstar HDMI digital microscope.

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General Data
Manufacturer (OEM)Seasonic
Platform ModelFX
Primary Side
Transient Filter4x Y caps, 2x X caps, 2x CM chokes, 1x MOV, 1x CM02X
Inrush ProtectionNTC Thermistor & Diode
Bridge Rectifier(s)2x GBU1506 (600V, 15A @ 100°C)
APFC MOSFETs2x UTC GPT18N50DG (500V, 18A @ 100°C, 0.265Ω)
APFC Boost Diode1x STMicroelectronics STTH8S06D (600V, 8A @ 125°C)
Hold-up Cap(s)1x Nippon Chemi-Con (400V, 560uF, 105°C, CE)
Main Switchers4x UTC GBT10N50ADG (500V, 10A @ 25°C, 0.61Ω)
APFC ControllerChampion CM6500UNX
Resonant ControllerChampion CM6901T6X
TopologyPrimary side: Full-Bridge & LLC Resonant Controller Secondary side: Synchronous Rectification & DC-DC converters
Secondary Side
+12V MOSFETs4x Nexperia PSMN2R6-40YS (40V, 100A @ 100°C, 2.8mΩ)
5V & 3.3VDC-DC Converters: 6x Infineon BSC0906NS (30V, 40A @ 100°C, 4.5mΩ) PWM Controller: APW7159
Filtering CapacitorsElectrolytics: Chemi-Con (1-5000 @ 105°C, KZE), Chemi-Con (4-10,000 @ 105°C, KY), W Polymers: Chemi-Con
Supervisor ICWeltrend WT7527V (OVP, UVP, OCP, SCP, PG)
Fan ModelHong Hua HA1225H12F-Z (120mm, 12V, 0.58A, 2200 RPM, Fluid Dynamic Bearing)
5VSB Circuit
Standby PWM ControllerExcelliance EM8569

This looks to be a fresh Seasonic platform, featuring a full-bridge topology and an LLC resonant converter on the primary side. A synchronous design is used on the secondary side in combination with a couple of DC-DC converters for generating the minor rails. All of the filtering caps come from Chemi-Con (good), while the cooling fan comes from Hong Hua (bad). We don't expect much from Hong Hua, but apparently Seasonic does since it's guaranteeing the SSR-750FX for 10 years.

The first part of the transient filter is hosted on a small PCB located right behind the AC receptacle. A couple of Y caps and a single X cap are there, along with a CM02X that blocks current through the X cap discharge resistor when AC voltage is connected. It also automatically discharges the X cap through the discharge resistor when AC is disconnected. The EMI filter continues on the main PCB with two more Y caps and a single X one, two CM chokes, and an MOV.

A couple of bridge rectifiers (GBU1506) are bolted onto a dedicated heat sink.

The APFC converter uses two UTC GPT18N50DG FETs and a single STMicroelectronics STTH8S06D boost diode. The bulk cap is provided by Chemi-Con and has 560uF of capacity. Although this looks low for a 750W PSU, we measured a >17ms hold-up time (the ATX spec's minimum), so it's all good.

There is an NTC thermistor and bypass relay for protecting against large inrush currents.

The APFC controller is installed on the main PCB's solder side, along with the LLC resonant controller. The former is a Champion CM6500UNX, while the latter is a well-known CM6901T6X.

The primary FETs are four UTC GBT10N50ADGs, configured in a full bridge topology. An LLC resonant converter is also used for boosting the unit's efficiency.

On the secondary side, the +12V rail is rectified by four Nexperia PSMN2R6-40YS.

Filtering caps on the secondary side come from Chemi-Con and belong to its KZE, KY, and W lines. Besides electrolytic caps, a few Chemi-Con polymer caps are also used for filtering purposes.

The pair of DC-DC converters is hosted on small vertical PCB. We dismantled this circuit on a previous Focus PSU, discovering that it uses six Infineon BSC0906NS FETs and a single Anpec APW7159 PWM controller.

The supervisor IC is a Weltrend WT7527V. This IC supports OCP at +12V for up to two channels, even if this PSU only exposes a single +12V rail. The same IC supports all important protection features except for OTP, which is implemented through another circuit. Finally, OPP is usually implemented in the APFC converter.

An Excelliance EM8569 serves as the 5VSB circuit's standby PWM controller.

On the front of the modular board, four polymer and four electrolytic caps from Chemi-Con form another ripple-suppression layer.

Seasonic's soldering quality is good. However, we did find a number of long component leads.

Here are some pictures of the long component leads found on the main PCB. 

The fan is provided by Hong Hua, and its model number is HA1225H12F-Z. Although this is an FDB fan, we'd rather see something from Sankyo Denki, backed up by a relaxed profile.

FDB fans might make less noise, but under tough conditions, ball bearing-based ones are simply more reliable. Moreover, we've seen a lot of FDB and HDB fans lately with plain sleeve bearings and minor improvements (rather than true FDBs). Nevertheless, Seasonic seems to be quite confident in this fan's reliability. Otherwise, it wouldn't provide a 10-year warranty.


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Aris Mpitziopoulos
Contributing Editor

Aris Mpitziopoulos is a contributing editor at Tom's Hardware, covering PSUs.

  • none77
    Thank you for the detailed review.
    In the transient response test
    Advanced Transient Response at 50 Percent – 200ms
    the +3.3 pass.
    Reply
  • BugariaM
    As always, here are the most detailed reviews on the PSU.
    Thank you and keep it up!

    The only thing that is not quite clear to me. What is the criterion for voltage drop in % to get PASS/FAIL in "Advanced Transient Response Tests"?

    You declare that:

    "In all tests, we measure the voltage drops." The voltages should remain within the ATX specification's regulation limits. "

    For ATX 2.2 we have:

    12v - 10%
    5v - 5%
    3.3v - 5%
    5VSB - 5%


    However, looking at your reviews, there are often situations where, at <5%, the power supply gets the FAIL mark and vice versa, some at >5% receive PASS

    Why is this happening?
    Reply
  • BugariaM
    Sorry, a typo
    Of course for 12v - 5%
    Reply
  • Aris_Mp
    the limit is 5% however the voltage rails of the PSUs' under test in the majority of cases aren't at the nominal voltages, but higher, so even with 5% deviation voltages go don't bellow the limits that the ATX spec sets (11.4V, 4.75V, 3.14V). Only if a rail goes below those voltage levels it fails. The 5% is just an indication that the ATX provides to specify the voltages above.
    Reply
  • BugariaM
    Now everything became clear to me.
    Thank you.
    Reply
  • fredlaso
    Dell Inspiron 5675 Desktop, PSU (power supply unit), upgrade. Would this PSU compatible with Dell Inspiron 5675 Desktop. It came with 460W I would like to replace it with PSU between 650 to 750W. I tried at Dell forums but cannot get a clean link which one would be compatible.

    I would greatly appreciate if someone could help me out. Thank you kindly in advance:

    http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/20019321?pi21953=1#21018407
    http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/p/20024419/21031446#21031446

    System Comp,:
    Compatible Power Supply needed for Inspiron 5675 Gaming Power Supply
    Specs:

    AMD Ryzen 7 1700X 3.4GHz Octa-Core Processor
    8GB 2400MHz DDR4 RAM
    1TB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
    AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB GDDR5 Graphics Card
    DVD+RW Drive
    Dual Band WiFi 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.1
    Windows 10 Home (64-bit)
    460 Watt Power Supply w/ Polar Blue LED
    Includes: Dell KB216 Wired Keyboard + Dell MS116 Wired Mouse
    Ports:
    6x USB 3.0
    1x USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 1
    2x USB 2.0
    1x Audio Combo Jack
    1x 3-in-1 Media Card Reader
    1x P/S 2
    1x 7.1 Channel Audio Out
    Expansion Slots:
    3x 3.5" bay
    2x 2.5" bay
    2x PCIe x1
    2x PCIe x16

    http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/20019321?pi21953=1#21018407
    http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/p/20024419/21031446#21031446
    Reply
  • paulinosaka
    My Seasonic Platinum began failing under load after only 10 months. Paid cash here in Japan at Joshin - couldnt find reciept - honestly never thought I would need it ever. Seasonic would not help me.?
    REPLY
    Reply