Seasonic Platinum Series Fanless 520 W

crmaris · Nov 8, 2012

Seasonic has decided to upgrade the platforms of their smaller PSU models, which includes the fanless ones. The fresh SS-520FL features Platinum efficiency, increased capacity, and promises sky high efficiency. Read our review to find out how good this new Seasonic PSU is.

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LAN_deRf_HA · Nov 14, 2012

It's not digital right? Seems to match the regulation and efficiency numbers of the 760i/860i.

crmaris · Nov 14, 2012

nope this is old school, but still manages to register this level of performance.

Frick · Nov 14, 2012

Pretty nice price too!

Ikaruga · Nov 14, 2012

Amazing PSU, but I'm really curious how this thing ages tho.

Chaitanya · Nov 14, 2012

In cons you mentioned only 2 pci-e connectors. Most of the PSU in this power ratings(500-550W) have only 2 pci-e connectors. Also most people who plan to use this psu wont be using multi-CPU/GPU setup rather a PC with single mid-range graphics card and 2-3 hdds. So personally IMO that is not a con.

crmaris · Nov 14, 2012

the competition (Super Flower Golden Silent 500W and its rebranded versions) provide 4*PCIe

PLAfiller · Nov 14, 2012

Chaitanya said:
In cons you mentioned only 2 pci-e connectors. Most of the PSU in this power ratings(500-550W) have only 2 pci-e connectors. Also most people who plan to use this psu wont be using multi-CPU/GPU setup rather a PC with single mid-range graphics card and 2-3 hdds. So personally IMO that is not a con.

+1 to that. Highly improbable that someone going for a 500W will plug in 4 GPUs or something. I understand the comparison with the competition, but I don't find a con too. Man I want this one.

I have a CM Silent Pro 500W, and it really is almost inaudible, but fanless..............I'd take that any day.

Melvis · Nov 14, 2012

Im not sure if im a fan of that lol

blibba · Nov 15, 2012

lZKoce said:
+1 to that. Highly improbable that someone going for a 500W will plug in 4 GPUs or something. I understand the comparison with the competition, but I don't find a con too. Man I want this one. I have a CM Silent Pro 500W, and it really is almost inaudible, but fanless..............I'd take that any day.

A lot of cards use two connectors on their own.

Still, I think the market for passive PSUs for even dual-GPU rigs must be pretty small. It's difficult to make an SLI/CF setup silent. There were passive 6850s, but the 6850 only needs one connector.

scaminatrix · Nov 15, 2012

Way to raise the bar! Titanium efficiency PSU's

Nice review crmaris. I wonder what the extra 5 deg. C on the OTP would let you do?

crmaris · Nov 15, 2012

nothing special. It is just that some extra headroom would be nice. Since the PSU is fanless I expect its temperature to raise significantly in a system with not optimal airflow. And in this case a higher OTP would prevent unexpected restarts or shut downs (assuming that the PSU easily handles 45C internal temp). After all the normal ambient at the internals of a system according to ATX spec is 43C and this is why the latter recommends 50C as max operating temperature.

Rei86 · Nov 15, 2012

Oi...that price is just out of this world.

Picked up a X650 during a egg sale for around 69.99 and found that to be good value for the htpc, saw these fanless PSUs but couldn't justify the price of these things.

pokazene_maslo · Nov 16, 2012

Thanks for great review. I still wonder why there is no PSU manufacturer that makes PSUs with integrated UPS. Batteries could be stored in 5.25"drive bays. That way unnecessary power conversions could be avoided (UPS is converting 12VDC to 230VAC then power goes to power supply and power supply is converting it back to 12VDC)
Such solution could be cheaper than dedicated PSU + dedicated UPS. Simply because some unnecessary power conversions could be avoided so less electronics is needed.

And i have one suggestion, could you please add to reviews if output capacitors can be upgraded and if yes how? Many PSUs share the same PCBs and on lower models are some capacitors not present. By adding the missing capacitors you could cheaply extend hold-up time.

crmaris · Nov 16, 2012

adding caps in the APFC firstly will void your warranty and secondly can cause issues since different caps have also different ESR which will affect the whole design. The manufacturer has tuned the circuit accordingly and the balance can go off rail if you mess with different caps. The same applies to the secondary, too.

Coroner666 · Nov 17, 2012

Still Kingwin Absolute Platinum 550 W is both more efficient and cheaper

vc9966 · Nov 20, 2012

#1 in performance

Only 12V and 5Vsb regulation at 2nd place (lose to AX 860i) all other performance surpass all test units (3.3V/5V regulation, low load/average efficiency, inrush current, acustics noise....)

I really want one!!

I feel 2 PCIe is good enough for a 520w unit!!

Liquid Cool · Dec 10, 2012

Definitely consider the 2 pci-e connectors to be a plus for this size unit. I've owned...or should I say tried to own several of these fanless units from Seasonic. I ended up returning them because of a high pitch hum/whine. About the 3rd unit I tried, I could only hear the high pitch whine from about a foot...but it bothered me that the unit wasn't silent.

I ended up just going with the 650w units. I've used quite a few of the 650's. The San Ace fans are very quiet when running and the units are virtually dead silent when the fan isn't running.

Best,

LC

grendizer · Jul 9, 2017

Hello I'm currently upgrading my HTPC. The case is a Silverstone Lascala LC20M.
I just purchased the PSU Seasonic Platinium 520 fanless. I noticed that on the user manual, it is written that "The power supply unit must be mounted into the computer case with the ventilation top cover facing UP". The problem is that my HTPC case is not a vertical "tower", it is a horizontal case, just like many HTPC's. So the PSU does not stand horizontaly inside the case, it stands vertically. So is this Seasonic 520 PSU suitable for my HTPC? Will it heat too much?
Thanks,
Gz

INSTG8R · Jul 9, 2017

grendizer said:
Hello I'm currently upgrading my HTPC. The case is a Silverstone Lascala LC20M.
I just purchased the PSU Seasonic Platinium 520 fanless. I noticed that on the user manual, it is written that "The power supply unit must be mounted into the computer case with the ventilation top cover facing UP". The problem is that my HTPC case is not a vertical "tower", it is a horizontal case, just like many HTPC's. So the PSU does not stand horizontaly inside the case, it stands vertically. So is this Seasonic 520 PSU suitable for my HTPC? Will it heat too much?
Thanks,
Gz

As long as th fan/vent in this case is not obstructed(as in put it the only other way the manual describes) it should be fine.

System Name	Obelisc
Processor	i7 3770k @ 4.8 GHz
Motherboard	Asus P8Z77-V
Cooling	H110
Memory	16GB(4x4) @ 2400 MHz 9-11-11-31
Video Card(s)	GTX 780 Ti
Storage	850 EVO 1TB, 2x 5TB Toshiba
Case	T81
Audio Device(s)	X-Fi Titanium HD
Power Supply	EVGA 850 T2 80+ TITANIUM
Software	Win10 64bit

System Name	White DJ in Detroit
Processor	Ryzen 5 5600
Motherboard	Asrock B450M-HDV
Cooling	Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2
Memory	2 x 16GB Kingston Fury 3400mhz
Video Card(s)	XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319
Storage	Kingston A400 240GB \| WD Black SN750 2TB \|WD Blue 1TB x 2 \| Toshiba P300 2TB \| Seagate Expansion 8TB
Display(s)	Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p
Case	Fractal Design Define R4
Audio Device(s)	Line6 UX1 + Sony MDR-10RC, Nektar SE61 keyboard
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x v3
Mouse	Logitech G602
Keyboard	Cherry MX Board 1.0 TKL Brown
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	Rimworld 4K ready!

System Name	PLAHI
Processor	I5-10400
Motherboard	MSI MPG Z490 GAMING PLUS
Cooling	120 AIO
Memory	32GB Corsair LPX 2400 Mhz DDR4 CL14
Video Card(s)	PNY QUADRO RTX A2000
Storage	Intel 670P 512GB
Display(s)	Philips 288E2A 28" 4K + 22" LG 1080p
Case	Thermaltake URBAN R31
Audio Device(s)	Creative Soundblaster Z SE
Power Supply	Fractal Design IntegraM 650W
Mouse	Logitech Triathlon
Keyboard	REDRAGON MITRA
Software	Windows 11 Home x 64

System Name	Night Rider \| Mini LAN PC \| Workhorse
Processor	AMD R7 5800X3D \| Ryzen 1600X \| i7 970
Motherboard	MSi AM4 Pro Carbon \| GA- \| Gigabyte EX58-UD5
Cooling	Noctua U9S Twin Fan\| Stock Cooler, Copper Core)\| Big shairkan B
Memory	2x8GB DDR4 G.Skill Ripjaws 3600MHz\| 2x8GB Corsair 3000 \| 6x2GB DDR3 1300 Corsair
Video Card(s)	MSI AMD 6750XT \| 6500XT \| MSI RX 580 8GB
Storage	1TB WD Black NVME / 250GB SSD /2TB WD Black \| 500GB SSD WD, 2x1TB, 1x750 \| WD 500 SSD/Seagate 320
Display(s)	LG 27" 1440P\| Samsung 20" S20C300L/DELL 15" \| 22" DELL/19"DELL
Case	LIAN LI PC-18 \| Mini ATX Case (custom) \| Atrix C4 9001
Audio Device(s)	Onboard \| Onbaord \| Onboard
Power Supply	Silverstone 850 \| Silverstone Mini 450W \| Corsair CX-750
Mouse	Coolermaster Pro \| Rapoo V900 \| Gigabyte 6850X
Keyboard	MAX Keyboard Nighthawk X8 \| Creative Fatal1ty eluminx \| Some POS Logitech
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64 \| Windows 10 Pro 64 \| Windows 7 Pro 64/Windows 10 Home

System Name	The one under the desk / Media Centre
Processor	Xeon X3730@3.6GHZ / Phenom II X4 805E
Motherboard	Gigabyte P55M-UD4 / Asus Crosshair III
Cooling	Corsair H70 + 2*PWM fan / Arctic Alpine 11
Memory	16GB DRR3-1333 9-9-9-27 / 4GB Crucial DDR3-1333
Video Card(s)	Asus DirectCU GTX 680 / Gigabyte 560TI
Storage	Kingston V200 128GB, WD6400AAKS, 1TB Seagate 7.2kRPM SSHD / Kingston V200 128GB
Display(s)	Samsung 2343BW + Dell Ultrasharp 1600*1200 / 32" TV
Case	C'M' Silencio 550 / Some ancient SilverStone brushed aluminium media centre
Audio Device(s)	No.
Power Supply	Thermaltake Toughpower XT 675W / EVGA 430W
Mouse	Mionix Naos 3200 / Generic PS2
Keyboard	Roccat Ryos TKL Pro / Evoluent Mouse Friendly Keyboard (Logitech OEM)
Software	Windows 7 Ult x64
Benchmark Scores	Nah.

Seasonic Platinum Series Fanless 520 W

crmaris

LAN_deRf_HA

crmaris

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop

Ikaruga

Chaitanya

crmaris

PLAfiller

Melvis

blibba

scaminatrix

crmaris

Rei86

pokazene_maslo

crmaris

Coroner666

New Member

vc9966

New Member

Liquid Cool

grendizer

INSTG8R

Vanguard Beta Tester

System Name	Benny
Processor	Phenom II 1055t @ 3.3GHz; 300x11; 1.380v; NB 2700; HT 2400
Motherboard	ASUS Crosshair IV Formula (2002 BIOS)
Cooling	Thermalright TRUE 120 Black + 2 Xilence Red Wing PWM 120mm (push/pull) + polycarbonate fan holders
Memory	8GB GeIL Ultra 2133MHZ C9 running at 1600MHz @ 7-7-7-21 1T 1.5v
Video Card(s)	MSI Twin Frozr II GTX470 @ Stock w/CPU fan cable-tied on, as one of the GPU fans broke.
Storage	60GB OCZ Agility3 (OS);500GB WDC Grn; 1x1TB WDC Blk (Backup)
Display(s)	ASUS PA823Q
Case	Silverstone Raven 2 (all cables custom sleeved with velcro mod on side panel...)
Audio Device(s)	X-Fi (Onboard) + Harmon Kardon HK6100 amp powering JVC HA-RX700's with Zalman mic
Power Supply	Corsair HX650W
Software	Win7 Pro x64
Benchmark Scores	No benchies so making this space useful! Corsair M90, Logitech G19. Phobya FlexLight LED's (gawjus)

System Name	For now
Processor	Intel i7-4790K
Motherboard	ASRock Extreme9 Z97
Cooling	Corsair H100i
Memory	Kingston HyperX
Video Card(s)	Asus GTX 980 Strix x 2
Display(s)	Overlord
Case	Corsair 900D
Power Supply	Corsair AX1200i

Processor	Core i7 5820k
Motherboard	MSI x99s Mpower
Cooling	Zalman Reserator 1, XSPC RX120, Koolance QDCs, Koolance MVR-40, EK Supreme HF, EK vga supreme HF
Memory	4x8GB crucial 3000MHz
Video Card(s)	R9 290x 4GB with EK fullcover waterblock.
Storage	Intel SSD 330 180GB, Samsung HD103UJ 1TB, Seagate ST31500341AS 1,5TB, Seagate ST4000DM000 4TB
Display(s)	HP LP3065 30"
Case	Silverstone Fortress FT02B
Audio Device(s)	ATI HDMI audio device -> Yamaha RX-V1600
Power Supply	Corsair AX860 80plus platinum
Software	Windows 8.1 prof. x64 eng retail.

System Name	Graphics Card Free...
Processor	Ryzen 5 5600G
Motherboard	MSI B450 Gaming Plus MAX Wifi
Cooling	Cryorig M9a w/ BeQuiet! PureWings 2 ~ 92mm
Memory	Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4 3200 ~ 16GB(2x8GB)
Storage	Samsung EVO 870 SSD - 1TB
Display(s)	AOC 24G2
Case	Cardboard...
Power Supply	eVGA SuperNova 550w G3
Mouse	Logitech t400 Zone Touch Mouse
Keyboard	IBM Model "M" Keyboard
Software	Manjaro ~ KDE Plasma
Benchmark Scores	She's a Runner!

System Name	Hellbox 5.1(same case new guts)
Processor	Ryzen 7 5800X3D
Motherboard	MSI X570S MAG Torpedo Max
Cooling	TT Kandalf L.C.S.(Water/Air)EK Velocity CPU Block/Noctua EK Quantum DDC Pump/Res
Memory	2x16GB Gskill Trident Neo Z 3600 CL16
Video Card(s)	Powercolor Hellhound 7900XTX
Storage	970 Evo Plus 500GB 2xSamsung 850 Evo 500GB RAID 0 1TB WD Blue Corsair MP600 Core 2TB
Display(s)	Alienware QD-OLED 34” 3440x1440 144hz 10Bit VESA HDR 400
Case	TT Kandalf L.C.S.
Audio Device(s)	Soundblaster ZX/Logitech Z906 5.1
Power Supply	Seasonic TX~’850 Platinum
Mouse	G502 Hero
Keyboard	G19s
VR HMD	Oculus Quest 3
Software	Win 11 Pro x64