Seasonic G Series 550 W

crmaris · Sep 21, 2012

In this review we will utilize our shiny new Chroma loaders and the Seasonic G-550 will have the honor to be the first PSU tested on them. The G-550 offers Gold efficiency, a semi-modular design, long warranty and promises very good performance. The best part is that all above won't cost you a fortune.

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LTUGamer · Oct 1, 2012

Looks very nice

Much better than FSP Aurum CM 550W

eidairaman1 · Oct 1, 2012

Seasonic, Antec, Enermax, Corsair, PC Power and Cooling, Thermaltake are the ones id go with anymore

dj-electric · Oct 1, 2012

I kinda can get 80$, but 100$ is too damn expensive

Frick · Oct 1, 2012

Dj-ElectriC said:
I kinda can get 80$, but 100$ is too damn expensive

Not for a gold rated modular unit. Here it's actually one of the cheaper ones in that category.

dj-electric · Oct 1, 2012

idk... how much can you pay some a couple of percentage in efficiency.
I would definitely take the money and buy this instead of the seasonic G 550
Antec TruePower New TP-750 750W Continuous Power A...

Frick · Oct 1, 2012

Dj-ElectriC said:
idk... how much can you pay some a couple of percentage in efficiency.
I would definitely take the money and buy this instead of the seasonic G 550
Antec TruePower New TP-750 750W Continuous Power A...

I'd take that one too, but the 650W unit. But that is us.

unholythree · Oct 1, 2012

I'd love to pick one up on sale some time, the hold up time worries me though. Will it play nice with a consumer UPS? They already seem to have trouble enough with Active PFC power supplys.

crmaris · Oct 1, 2012

no need to worry about the hold up time of this one, especially if you have a UPS.

Frogger · Oct 1, 2012

The PSU reviews here have reach the piont that is time to :slap:

jonnyguru to the curb
:toast:

crmaris GREAT work have fun with the new hardware

Wile E · Oct 2, 2012

Sweet review. I'm so glad somebody other than JonnyGuru is finally doing proper psu testing.

Great job.

Jambe · Oct 2, 2012

So does the fan constantly spin then, or only at 40W? How's the character of the fan's sound?

Frick · Oct 2, 2012

Wile E said:
Sweet review. I'm so glad somebody other than JonnyGuru is finally doing proper psu testing.

Great job.

crmaris have always done that imo.

crmaris · Oct 2, 2012

Jambe said:
So does the fan constantly spin then, or only at 40W? How's the character of the fan's sound?

The fan constantly spins even at low loads. Its noise isn't high but this is just my opinion, since db measurements and even more personal opinions cannot describe the fan's noise.

Ghost · Oct 2, 2012

crmaris said:
The fan constantly spins even at low loads. Its noise isn't high but this is just my opinion, since db measurements and even more personal opinions cannot describe the fan's noise.

A recording could.

:wink: :wink: :clue: :wave:

Frick · Oct 2, 2012

Ghost said:
A recording could.

:wink: :wink: :clue: :wave:

I'm sure the equipment used to test PSU's are pretty loud in themselves.

Jambe · Oct 2, 2012

crmaris said:
The fan constantly spins even at low loads. Its noise isn't high but this is just my opinion, since db measurements and even more personal opinions cannot describe the fan's noise.

I see. Would you say this unit could run without the fan at low power? If so, then the PWM setup for the G-Series units is just artificially made worse than the X-Series for marketing purposes, yeah?

I think the fan behavior of the X-560 would be worth the extra $25 to me (current Newegg pricing) if I was building a quiet-oriented computer (which is pretty much the only kind I assemble anymore).

crmaris · Oct 2, 2012

probably since it is a Gold unit but I am not 100% sure of it. At low RPMs the fan is inaudible especially inside a chassis, so apparently SS thought that a semi-fanless mode wasn't required.

extrasalty · Oct 2, 2012

Great review- all we need now is a "hot box" for testing. Either way- TPU is gonna make johnyguru jealous.

ozyris · Nov 15, 2012

Great review indeed

I'd like to confirm, whether this PSU isolates the inrush-current-limiting thermistor, once it has done it's job? Or is that thermistor only effective in a cold start scenario? You usually mention there is a relay for that purpose, but not this time...

Also, I feel it's rather strange, that part of the fan is not covered from the inside to improve airflow. Intuitively, it seems to make much sense to cover part of the fan.. what do you think about that?

crmaris · Nov 15, 2012

Indeed I don't remember a relay in this one, else I would mention it. But most times a diode is used instead of a relay, to isolate this thermistor. And most likely this PSU has a similar diode.

As for the fan shroud and more specific its absence. Most likely Seasonic didn't bother with it since the unit has minimal energy dissipation thanks to its high efficiency. Also a fan shroud usually increases noise so some manufacturers avoid it when they can.

mirec10 · Jan 13, 2016

This review is corrupted!
Indepentent (and skilled) reviewer measured much different results.
(you can try translate to this page)
http://diit.cz/clanek/seasonic-g-550-ssr-550rm-recenze-test/mereni
PSU has problem with pretty high ripple.
48,8 mV on +12 V, 34,4 mV on +5V, 32,8 mV on +5V SB (all with 80% load)
Another problem is dysfunctional overloading protection.
If you overload it, the PSU burns out !

EarthDog · Jan 13, 2016

Ummm, it could simply be a different unit. You get 10 of these shipped and their results will all be different. Not sure on the OCP though.

This review is YEARS old though mirec.................

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System Name	White DJ in Detroit
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Motherboard	Asrock B450M-HDV
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Memory	2 x 16GB Kingston Fury 3400mhz
Video Card(s)	XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319
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Display(s)	Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p
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Audio Device(s)	Plantronics 5220, Nektar SE61 keyboard
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System Name	red
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Seasonic G Series 550 W

crmaris

LTUGamer

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

dj-electric

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop

dj-electric

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop

unholythree

crmaris

Frogger

Wile E

Power User

Jambe

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop

crmaris

Ghost

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop

Jambe

crmaris

extrasalty

ozyris

New Member

crmaris

mirec10

New Member

EarthDog

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