Power Jitter Observations - Motherboard

Voltage jitter is read by accessing the power options displayed in the motherboard BIOS, with the system obviously in an unloaded state. *All voltages were read from the BIOS of an MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum SLI motherboard.

Listed Voltages	Lower Voltage	Upper Voltage	Jitter
+3.3V	3.3V	3.33V	0.03V
+5.0V	4.99V	5.00V	0.01V
+12V	11.9V	11.9V	0.00V
-12V	-11.99V	-12.00V	0.01V
-5.0V	-4.99V	-4.99V	0.00V
+5.0Vsb	5.0V	5.0V	0.01V

The voltage readings from the motherboard are very solid indeed and the Seasonic S12 600 does very well here.

Power Jitter Observations - Multi-meter

Listed Voltages	Lower Voltage	Upper Voltage	Jitter
+3.3V	3.35V	3.35V	0.00V
+5.0V	5.0V	5.0V	0.00V
+12V	11.8V	11.8V	0.00V

It's funny to see the voltage differences between a multimeter and BIOS readings. The voltages as read through the multimeter were solid and did not move one bit during testing.

Seasonic Load Tests	Source: Seasonic

When looking at the Seasonic Power Supply test results we see two values, wattage and volt-amps. Since it might not be clear what they measure, here's a brief overview.

The volt-amp (VA) value is how much real power is being consumed by the power supply being tested to provide the wattage (W) value. The higher the VA value is, the more electricity is being used by the power supply. Because no electrical device is 100% efficient, there will always be some loss when converting AC to DC. The closer the volt-amps and wattage figures are to each other, the more efficient a power supply is. This is called the Power Factor: wattage / volt-amps = PF.

Since we're testing with a 120W dummy load, the load on the power supply (wattage) should be as close to this figure as possible. Anything above this load in apparent power describes the overhead and wasted energy (given off as heat) for the particular power supply being tested. For the unloaded tests, the wattage and volt-amp figures should be as close as possible to one another. The lower the figures are, the less power is being used.

Measurements were taken with the Extech 380803 Power Analyzer.

Seasonic Power Load Tests
Power Supply	Wattage	Test Type	Loaded	Unloaded
Seasonic SuperTornado	400 W (A-PFC)	Active Power	177 W	6 W
		Apparent Power	182 VA	7 VA
Vantec iON2	350 W	Active Power	192 W	10 W
		Apparent Power	277 VA	21 VA
Antec TruePower 330	330 W	Active Power	195 W	22 W
		Apparent Power	289 VA	38 VA
Ultra X-Connect Green UV 500W	500 W	Active Power	193W	22 W
		Apparent Power	307 VA	40 VA
AOpen Silent Power AO400-12AHN	400 W	Active Power	179W	9 W
		Apparent Power	275 VA	18 VA
Seasonic S12-430	430 W (A-PFC)	Active Power	179W	6W
		Apparent Power	180VA	9VA
PC Power and Cooling Turbo-Cool 510 Express/SLI	510 W (A-PFC)	Active Power	200 W	29 W
		Apparent Power	202 VA	32 VA
HEC Ace Power 580UB	580 W	Active Power	183 W	12 W
		Apparent Power	272 VA	26 VA
HEC Win 550UB	550 W	Active Power	184W	10W
		Apparent Power	263VA	22VA
Akasa PowerPlus AK-P550FF	550 W (A-PFC)	Active Power	194W	38W
		Apparent Power	197VA	40VA
AOpen Prima Power AO700-12ALN	700 W (A-PFC)	Active Power	172W	3W
		Apparent Power	181VA	9VA
PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW	1000 W (A-PFC)	Active Power	205W	25W
		Apparent Power	207VA	32VA
Seasonic S12 600	600 W (A-PFC)	Active Power	164W	7W
		Apparent Power	173VA	9VA

The Seasonic S12 600 is definitely very efficient in converting AC to DC and does not waste much power as heat requiring only 164W of energy to power the 120W dummy power load.

Hello Mr. Efficient

There are a lot of expensive power supplies on the market but unfortunately most are expensive due to gimmicks like flashy LED fans, see through PSU containers and detachable cables. What you should look for instead is for a power supply that has passed industry certification (like nVIDIA's SLI certified PSUs) and do your homework by posting in computer forums asking the more experienced users what they think of certain models. This way you can get yourself a truly reliable power supply, not some pretty piece of junk.

Seasonic has swept through the enthusiast community pretty quickly and for good reasons too. Its 30 years of experience manufacturing power supplies means Seasonic knows how to deliver the goods and that's exactly what has made the brand so popular. Simply put, Seasonic power supplies are rock solid and give even the most hardcore users great peace of mind.

The new flagship Seasonic S12 600 has a high standard to live up to but as you saw it had no problems. While reading the specs listed on the Seasonic power supply might not seem as impressive as other models available, please keep in mind that they are sustained which means the Seasonic S12 600 can deliver a true 600W of power while under load and not just during peak times.

The performance of the Seasonic S12 600 was excellent as expected from a Seasonic power supply. With a retail price of $171 CDN ($155 US, £83 GBP) , the Seasonic S12 600 is expensive but compared to other power supply's in that price range offers you better value.

If you're looking for a new power supply for that hot rod system of yours, make sure you check out what Seasonic and the S12 600 has to offer. You'll definitely be impressed as has everyone who has used a Seasonic power supply.

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