Seasonic Launches New FOCUS GX (2024) PSU Series With OptiSink Design

[GFreeman]

Having received much positive feedback from partners and visitors during its first announcement at Computex 2024, Sea Sonic is proud to launch the new Seasonic FOCUS GX (2024) Series. In the footsteps of the popular FOCUS Series power supplies, this new iteration introduces innovative features that aspire to follow the legacy and position the FOCUS GX (2024) at the new Center of Attention.

Introducing a Technological Milestone: OptiSink
The FOCUS GX (2024) was redesigned with a brand new PCB layout and is produced during a new manufacturing process involving automated surface mount technology. Improved design also includes the use of smaller MOSFETs and heat sink components, which increases the internal space within the PSU to promote better airflow. All these enhancements not only improve the overall quality of the FOCUS GX (2024) Series, but also make it more efficient and more reliability in the long run.

Transitioning from Traditional to New Technology
Compared to traditional thermal solutions, this upgraded layout, termed OptiSink, increases internal space by approximately 48 %, facilitating better air movement. At full load, the power supply fan can exchange heat at a significantly faster rate due to the larger space available, resulting in improved overall efficiency, and promoting an environmentally friendly operation.

Key Thermal Design Innovation
During manufacturing, the MOS (Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) is directly soldered onto the copper surface of the PCB (Printed Circuit Board), in order to harness the superior thermal conductivity of copper. This approach contrasts sharply with the older method of using screws and thermal pads to mount the MOS onto aluminium heat sinks.



Features

• ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1
• 80 Plus Gold Certified
• Fully Modular Cabling Design
• Native 12V-2x6 Cable
• Compact Size (140 mm)
• 135 mm Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) Fan
• Seasonic Digital Fan Control
• Highly Reliable Japanese 105°C aluminium Electrolytic Capacitors
• Tight Voltage Regulation (12 V, 5 V and 3.3 V) [± 3%]
• Cable-free Connection Design
• Multi-GPU Technology Support
• 10 years warranty

Availability and MSRP

• China: Available, Europe: October 2024, North America: Mid-November 2024, ROW: End of Q3 / Q4 2024 onwards

• FOCUS GX-750: $129.99 (USA) / €119.90 (Europe) / $119.99 (ROW)
• FOCUS GX-850: $149.99 (USA) / €139.90 (Europe) / $139.99 (ROW)
• FOCUS GX-1000: $189.99 (USA) / €169.90 (Europe) / $169.99 (ROW)
• FOCUS GX-750 White: $139.99 (USA) / €129.90 (Europe) / $129.99 (ROW)
• FOCUS GX-850 White: $159.99 (USA) / €149.90 (Europe) / $149.99 (ROW)
• FOCUS GX-1000 White: $199.99 (USA) / €199.90 (Europe) / $179.99 (ROW)

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[Onasi]

Oh, finally, an update to their mid-range go-to SKUs. About time. Also wouldn’t be surprised if this platform becomes the base for a lot of PSUs from other vendors - well performing 80 Gold (for whatever it’s worth nowadays) are typically the most in-demand models for DIY from what I’ve seen. See also the RM/RMx, EVGAs line, Pure Power and so on.

 

[Chaitanya]

Oh, finally, an update to their mid-range go-to SKUs. About time. Also wouldn’t be surprised if this platform becomes the base for a lot of PSUs from other vendors - well performing 80 Gold (for whatever it’s worth nowadays) are typically the most in-demand models for DIY from what I’ve seen. See also the RM/RMx, EVGAs line, Pure Power and so on.

80+ Gold these days is what 80+ Bronze was nearly a decade ago.

 

[Vayra86]

Opti Sink.

I can imagine its difficult to innovate in this space but man... who the hell cares about this?

 

[Space Lynx]

ya, titanium 80 ratings are basically non existent anymore. i really regret not getting one when they were like 179 bucks back in the day. bequiet still has one, but i don't think it has as good of reviews as corsair/seasonic

 

[lepudruk]

Only one 12V-2x6 socket? Interesting. Asus, MSI and Enermax are releasing their new PSUs with 2 sockets (claiming it's for the next gen GPUs).

 

[Chrispy_]

Optisink looks like an example of "Work smarter, not harder"

Relying on thermal pads or globs of extremely viscous zinc oxide grease to transfer heat away from the plastic outer casing of a MOSFET always seemed like a dumb way to do things when the bulk of the heat from these things is transferred to the PCB anyway. Cool the PCB better and you won't need half a kilo of heatsink that's barely connected to the heat-generating components in the first place.

 

[dirtyferret]

if it improves reliability why are they keeping the same ten year warranty as the ATX 3.0 GX line? Nothing more than marketing speak for cost cutting with their third party SMT provider.

Opti Sink.

I can imagine its difficult to innovate in this space but man... who the hell cares about this?

I have a car with Corinthian leather I would like to sell you.

 

[Vayra86]

if it improves reliability why are they keeping the same ten year warranty as the ATX 3.0 GX line? Nothing more than marketing speak for cost cutting with their third party SMT provider.


I have a car with Corinthian leather I would like to sell you.

Nice, can I park it on this bridge with optimized pillars?

 

[dirtyferret]

Nice, can I park it on this bridge with optimized pillars?

and we can take a picture of it and sell the NFT rights!

 

[Readlight]

Cooler master?

 

[Synthwave]

Opti Sink.

I can imagine its difficult to innovate in this space but man... who the hell cares about this?

Anyone who's even remotely interested in good engineering and buying reliable hardware.

 

[dirtyferret]

good engineering and buying reliable hardware.

I can agree with the former (or at least new and interesting engineering) but on the latter, if the previous GX has a ten year warranty and the new GX has a ten year warranty than how is it "more reliable" when the company doesn't even put it's money where it's mouth is.

 

[Upgrayedd]

Anyone who's even remotely interested in good engineering and buying reliable hardware.

I swapped my Evga 850 P2 with a Seasonic 850 TX. I now get power spike crashes with a 3090. Never happened with the evga "superflower". The evga is another PC now.

 

[Vayra86]

Anyone who's even remotely interested in good engineering and buying reliable hardware.

So it wasnt good before?

 

[Synthwave]

So it wasnt good before?

How on earth you came to that conclusion?

I can agree with the former (or at least new and interesting engineering) but on the latter, if the previous GX has a ten year warranty and the new GX has a ten year warranty than how is it "more reliable" when the company doesn't even put it's money where it's mouth is.

Read my post again.

 

[Vayra86]

How on earth you came to that conclusion?

Because they released PSUs without this extra special piece of metal and they did fine and carried the same warranty, so why did they need this extra special 'innovation' to begin with?

If you cared about buying good and reliable hardware, you didn't need OptiSink and you never will.

 

[Synthwave]

Because they released PSUs without this extra special piece of metal and they did fine and carried the same warranty, so why did they need this extra special 'innovation' to begin with?

If you cared about buying good and reliable hardware, you didn't need OptiSink and you never will.

So making an already good product even better with better ventilation is bad, since nobody ever needs that. I see. Figures.

 

[Vayra86]

So making an already good product even better with better ventilation is bad, since nobody ever needs that. I see. Figures.

Is it even better? Seasonic wants to sell you that story, indeed.

Its called marketing. And buying into that is really just being gullible. It takes just a bit of logic to figure that out. The PSUs already did fine and were awarded 10 year warranty without this change. Its not rocket science.

Now, if Seasonic was willing to extend that warranty to say 12 years because 'now they have OptiSink', then we're talking about something substantial. They're not. Ergo, its a bullshit story.

 

[Synthwave]

Is it even better? Seasonic wants to sell you that story, indeed.

Its called marketing. And buying into that is really just being gullible. It takes just a bit of logic to figure that out. The PSUs already did fine and were awarded 10 year warranty without this change. Its not rocket science.

The logic you speak of is needed to see that smaller components, thus better ventilation often leads to longer lifespan, and it that regard, Seasonic already has my vote. They earned their trust, both hardware- and support-wise. You don't have to be an engineer to realize this (even though I saw quite a few people with corresponding backgrounds coming to the same conclusion, that yes, the new design is indeed better than the old one), but being a sarcastic sceptic is in fashion nowadays, it seems, even towards companies, who don't deserve it.

 

[Vayra86]

The logic you speak of is needed to see that smaller components, thus better ventilation often leads to longer lifespan, and it that regard, Seasonic already has my vote. They earned their trust, both hardware- and support-wise. You don't have to be an engineer to realize this (even though I saw quite a few people with corresponding backgrounds coming to the same conclusion, that yes, the new design is indeed better than the old one), but being a sarcastic sceptic is in fashion nowadays, it seems, even towards companies, who don't deserve it.

All companies deserve scepticism. The PSU is already done and has been done for decades. But they need to keep selling them. Thát is why these changes happen and what motivates them. Its also cost reduction while guarding reliability standards. If the reliability has truly gone up, and its lifespan, again, you would have to see that reflected in the product specs. But its not reflected in anything.

Its far more likely they just managed to find a way to use fewer materials to achieve similar results. So yeah, that's better. But it doesn't affect you in any way, despite the fact Seasonic tries to play make believe that it does. If it did, again, they'd have extended their warranty or something other to underline it.

 

[dirtyferret]

thus better ventilation often leads to longer lifespan, and it that regard

yes assuming ventilation was bad in the first place and we are talking about the same exact parts

see that smaller components,

actually they rotate the platform in design and I can't say what the unit is in the second marketing photo (2024) but what stands out is the one less bulk cap and the lack of heat sinks. Now typically heat sinks are good for keeping parts in temp spec. Not sure on the bulk cap but I know the the GX 1000w has two (850w and below have one) so the first pic is the GX1000w unit. Not sure what the second pic is, it could be a 750w so there can be some marketing in play there.

Its far more likely they just managed to find a way to use fewer materials to achieve similar results.

most likely and extremely common in manufacturing especially on a mid level line like the GX.

@Vayra86 @Synthwave
first review is in

The new Seasonic Focus V4 line uses an interesting PCB design, allowing for lots of room between components, so airflow can be high without pushing the fan speed. Nevertheless, the PSU’s average noise output is not among the lowest in this Wattage category. The same goes for its average efficiency and overall performance. It seems that the new design didn’t help in improving the overall performance, with the previous GX-1000 model scoring a bit higher than the new model. The low starting voltage level of the 12V rail affecting its load regulation, the average power factor readings, the sky-high inrush currents, the increased vampire power at 230V, and the high voltage drops at 12V in the ATX v3.1 transient response tests are the main culprits behind the unit’s low overall performance. At least, ripple suppression is good.

Seasonic Focus GX-1000 V4 ATX v3.1 PSU Review - Page 11 of 11 - Hardware Busters

Hardware Busters - Seasonic Focus GX-1000 V4 ATX v3.1 PSU Review - PSUs

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