It would be interesting and minimal effort on your part to post a PSD (power spectral density) plot. You can use the ~$300 Red Pitaya (STEMLAB) as a spectrum analyzer (DC-60MHz+). This is useful additional information for those concerned about switching noise.
Perhaps PSD measurements would be academically interesting but do not affect anything that would actually concern the end-user of a PSU, with maybe the exception of identifying excessive phase noise that would be easily identifiable in the time domain and I would see it anyway. It also is excessively difficult to take a proper PSD measurement off a device with a switching power circuit, especially of non-discrete signals, and would mean nothing in the end because it would be impossible to identify what is actually causing any given noise. The only stage that taking PSD measurements of a PSU is during its development stage, to test for EMC compliance and to empirically tweak the platform (if necessary). Other than that, PSD is very useful in communications but not in power electronics.
Noctua, and other companies have fans that are sealed. Good ones should be able to deal to deal with dust, and heat just fine with some cleaning. Idk if it's your radiators that go bad, but I'd run a tower cooler since the fins are easy to clean. Go with the bigger coolers on your graphics card. The rest of it is dusting when needed. It's not as bad here in California, but we get those 100c days, but my Noctua cooler, and triple fan GPU handle it fine.
I used to live in San Diego and the salt in the air (I was a block from the ocean) would corrode the inside of PC's like acid. The solution was to go passive cooled on the secondary components and liquid cooled on the primary. I still had a fan inside the otherwise sealed case to distribute air and help the water blocks absorb ambient heat, and the case was always very warm (around 110F-120F under load, down to 80F at idle at a 70-75F ambient)
The radiator 'tower' was external to the entire case, and since it was all aluminum and the fan bearings were sealed, never had a problem.
All of this was NOT cheap but it was cheaper than replacing every piece of steel or soldered component inside the case every few years.
While they generally do have the extra 4 pin, actually plugging it in is completely optional unlike the extra connector on gpu's. In terms of power requirements it's also completely unnecessary to use it. The extra 4 pin is mostly the motherboard manufacturer showing look at our beefy vrm rather then actual need.
I accidentally bought a Seasonic PSU thanks to Amazon’s infuriating inability to do a proper search. Still trying to decide whether to keep it or return it.
Small nitpick on the "Main Output" table on the Hot Test Results page. At 20% you read 5.05 V, at 50% you read 5.01 V, and at 100% you read 4.97 V. All two decimals of precision. However, at 75% load it's just listed as "5 V". Shouldn't that be "5.00"?
What's the point of being 100% modular? Is someone really going to use this without the main ATX motherboard connection? It looks nice in the box, but I don't see any real-world advantage.
I could see someone going with a shorter ATX power connector. Especially since in my case it really is a short distance and most cables are really long.
That doesn't explain why you'd want to remove the main ATX power connector. I grant that there ARE some situations where you don't want the motherboard power connector, but they are very rare and the people that need them are used to "manually reconfiguring" the power supply already.
"A trained eye will easily identify the OEM behind the NZXT C650 to be Seasonic" Ya know, it does expressly say right on the PSU label that Seasonic is the OEM...
Why are there almost no regular power supplies below 500W or so nowadays? A typical home PC build using an APU and SSD is never going to draw more than around 150W, yet unless you buy a flex ATX or similar PS, you are stuck using a massively overpowered PS that will have shit efficiency at typical operating powers of a regular PC. It seems that virtually all ATX PSs are aimed at the gaming market. For those who neither want nor need a separate GPU, there are very few viable choices. The sad thing is, most people buy a PC with a ridiculously overpowered graphics card simply because they might need it one day, or they simply don't know any better and think they actually need one. Vega graphics has proven that to be untrue (I have a 2400GE and yet do DTP and other graphical design and editing stuff for magazines etc without issue). Imagine how much energy is being wasted globally because of poor hardware choices and a lack of options from manufacturers.
Cuz it costs about the same to make a 500W power supply as a 350, and you can charge more for it.
Funny thing is, even when you find a decent 350-ish unit, it'll probably cost more than you'd pay for a 500+ because volumes and channels and other such malarkey. Frustrating.
Lesson number one. Two components to never cheapen out on. First is PSU, and the other is motherboard. Most intermittent problems people have can be traced to those two. It may cost more, but it may go through several rebuilds as well.
Well I'm a gamer with a Vega, and occasionally I can see the struggles with the latest games. So, no, "overpowered" is a moving target, especially in a seven year time-frame.
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YB1064 - Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - link
It would be interesting and minimal effort on your part to post a PSD (power spectral density) plot. You can use the ~$300 Red Pitaya (STEMLAB) as a spectrum analyzer (DC-60MHz+). This is useful additional information for those concerned about switching noise.If you are not familiar with the Re Pitaya, here it is:
https://www.redpitaya.com/f135/spectrum-analyzer
E.Fyll - Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - link
Perhaps PSD measurements would be academically interesting but do not affect anything that would actually concern the end-user of a PSU, with maybe the exception of identifying excessive phase noise that would be easily identifiable in the time domain and I would see it anyway. It also is excessively difficult to take a proper PSD measurement off a device with a switching power circuit, especially of non-discrete signals, and would mean nothing in the end because it would be impossible to identify what is actually causing any given noise. The only stage that taking PSD measurements of a PSU is during its development stage, to test for EMC compliance and to empirically tweak the platform (if necessary). Other than that, PSD is very useful in communications but not in power electronics.YB1064 - Wednesday, August 12, 2020 - link
Thank you for the clarification.rocketman122 - Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - link
nothing is durable and lasts here in the middle east. dust will break down anything and everything. horrible climate.hehatemeXX - Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - link
If they make a complete passive PSU, that does not get crazy hot, and has a rather large heatsink... maybe ;)Showtime - Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - link
Noctua, and other companies have fans that are sealed. Good ones should be able to deal to deal with dust, and heat just fine with some cleaning. Idk if it's your radiators that go bad, but I'd run a tower cooler since the fins are easy to clean. Go with the bigger coolers on your graphics card. The rest of it is dusting when needed. It's not as bad here in California, but we get those 100c days, but my Noctua cooler, and triple fan GPU handle it fine.GreenReaper - Wednesday, August 12, 2020 - link
100C days? Man, global warming is worse than I thought! :-DWe're getting 34C here and it's bad enough; but we lack A/C in UKia.
MrVibrato - Monday, August 17, 2020 - link
Days with 100C? Press F to pay thermic respects...Samus - Wednesday, August 12, 2020 - link
I used to live in San Diego and the salt in the air (I was a block from the ocean) would corrode the inside of PC's like acid. The solution was to go passive cooled on the secondary components and liquid cooled on the primary. I still had a fan inside the otherwise sealed case to distribute air and help the water blocks absorb ambient heat, and the case was always very warm (around 110F-120F under load, down to 80F at idle at a 70-75F ambient)The radiator 'tower' was external to the entire case, and since it was all aluminum and the fan bearings were sealed, never had a problem.
All of this was NOT cheap but it was cheaper than replacing every piece of steel or soldered component inside the case every few years.
Amoro - Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - link
The main downside to this PSU is the lack of a second 8-pin for the CPU. Most X570 motherboards seem to require an 8 and a 4 pin.qlum - Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - link
While they generally do have the extra 4 pin, actually plugging it in is completely optional unlike the extra connector on gpu's. In terms of power requirements it's also completely unnecessary to use it. The extra 4 pin is mostly the motherboard manufacturer showing look at our beefy vrm rather then actual need.MrVibrato - Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - link
No. Your AM4 CPU doesn't require 8+4. It's called gamer street cred.Wait...
Is it even possible for gamers to have street creds?
MrVibrato - Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - link
Darn... wrong reply button... was supposed to be a reply to Amoro's post...eek2121 - Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - link
I wouldn’t say most. The more affordable boards do not. My board has a single 8 pin. Anything above and beyond that is a gimmick.ArmedandDangerous - Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - link
You only need the 1 8 pin. Anything extra is for much more exotic overclocking the majority of people will never need.PenGunn - Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - link
As always, just get the Seasonic that fits your purpose.eek2121 - Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - link
I accidentally bought a Seasonic PSU thanks to Amazon’s infuriating inability to do a proper search. Still trying to decide whether to keep it or return it.evilspoons - Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - link
Small nitpick on the "Main Output" table on the Hot Test Results page. At 20% you read 5.05 V, at 50% you read 5.01 V, and at 100% you read 4.97 V. All two decimals of precision. However, at 75% load it's just listed as "5 V". Shouldn't that be "5.00"?fred666 - Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - link
What's the point of being 100% modular? Is someone really going to use this without the main ATX motherboard connection?It looks nice in the box, but I don't see any real-world advantage.
eek2121 - Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - link
The cables can easily be replaced. For example, cablemod allows you to purchase custom length cables. Also, what if a connector or cable breaks?Threska - Monday, August 31, 2020 - link
I could see someone going with a shorter ATX power connector. Especially since in my case it really is a short distance and most cables are really long.plonk420 - Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - link
less clutter in your case if you don't have very many components. my daily driver is a 2400G + m.2 ...and 3 SATA devicesLord of the Bored - Wednesday, August 12, 2020 - link
That doesn't explain why you'd want to remove the main ATX power connector.I grant that there ARE some situations where you don't want the motherboard power connector, but they are very rare and the people that need them are used to "manually reconfiguring" the power supply already.
GreenReaper - Wednesday, August 12, 2020 - link
You may, however, wish to replace it if the cable has been frayed somehow, or a connector broke.Might not happen for most people, but you'll be (relatively) glad if it does for you.
Arbie - Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - link
Very important info missing from your cables chart is their lengths. At least, this becomes very important if one neglects to check it...Stele - Wednesday, August 12, 2020 - link
"A trained eye will easily identify the OEM behind the NZXT C650 to be Seasonic" Ya know, it does expressly say right on the PSU label that Seasonic is the OEM...MrVibrato - Wednesday, August 12, 2020 - link
That's what makes a trained eye: To know where to look (:NeatOman - Wednesday, August 12, 2020 - link
Would have liked to see ripple measurements and at different loadsjonnyGURU - Friday, August 14, 2020 - link
Hey guys! This PSU is designed to last while all other PSUs are not!!!! What kind of bullshit marketing is that?Alien88 - Sunday, August 16, 2020 - link
Why are there almost no regular power supplies below 500W or so nowadays? A typical home PC build using an APU and SSD is never going to draw more than around 150W, yet unless you buy a flex ATX or similar PS, you are stuck using a massively overpowered PS that will have shit efficiency at typical operating powers of a regular PC. It seems that virtually all ATX PSs are aimed at the gaming market. For those who neither want nor need a separate GPU, there are very few viable choices. The sad thing is, most people buy a PC with a ridiculously overpowered graphics card simply because they might need it one day, or they simply don't know any better and think they actually need one. Vega graphics has proven that to be untrue (I have a 2400GE and yet do DTP and other graphical design and editing stuff for magazines etc without issue). Imagine how much energy is being wasted globally because of poor hardware choices and a lack of options from manufacturers.80-wattHamster - Monday, August 17, 2020 - link
Cuz it costs about the same to make a 500W power supply as a 350, and you can charge more for it.Funny thing is, even when you find a decent 350-ish unit, it'll probably cost more than you'd pay for a 500+ because volumes and channels and other such malarkey. Frustrating.
Threska - Monday, August 31, 2020 - link
Lesson number one. Two components to never cheapen out on. First is PSU, and the other is motherboard. Most intermittent problems people have can be traced to those two. It may cost more, but it may go through several rebuilds as well.Threska - Monday, August 31, 2020 - link
Well I'm a gamer with a Vega, and occasionally I can see the struggles with the latest games. So, no, "overpowered" is a moving target, especially in a seven year time-frame.