Seasonic PRIME 1000W Platinum Power Supply Review

Efficiency, Differential Temperature and Noise

Efficiency

Efficiency is defined by the power output divided by the power input and is usually expressed as a percentage.  If a PSU were a 100% efficient (which none are) 1000 watts of AC power going in would result in 1000 watts of DC power coming out (with no waste heat to dissipate).  In the real world there are always inefficiencies and power is lost in the form of heat during the conversion process. Newer revisions to the ATX12V Power Supply Design Guide V 2.2 have continued to increase the efficiency recommendations for PC switching mode power supplies and now lists both required and recommended minimum efficiencies.

We measured the AC power input to the PRIME 1000W Platinum PSU with an Extech power analyzer while the total DC load was found by adding all the individual +3.3V, +5V, +12V, -12V and +5VSB loads together.  

The overall efficiency of the PRIME 1000W Platinum power supply is excellent and easily meets the criteria for the 80 Plus Platinum certification, even while operating on 120 VAC and at elevated temperatures.

80 Plus Program

    Note: Tests conducted at room temperature (25°C)

Differential Temperature and Noise Levels

To simulate a demanding environment, some of the warm exhaust air from the PSU under test is recirculated back to the intake through a passive air duct, which allows the PSU air inlet temperature to increase with load, just like it would in a real PC.  

The differential temperature across the power supply was calculated by subtracting the internal case air temperature (T in) from the temperature of the warm exhaust air flowing out the back of the power supply (T out).  

Thermocouples were placed at the air inlet and exhaust outlet. The ambient room air temperature was 23ºC (74ºF) +/- 0.5ºC during testing.

T out = temperature of air exhausting from power supply
T in = temperature of air entering power supply
Delta T = T out – T in

Sound pressure level readings were taken 3’ away from the rear of the case in an otherwise quiet room.  The ambient noise level was ~27 dBA.  The power supply was tested with Hybrid Fan Control turned On (enabling fanless operation at low to mid power levels).

*Fan not spinning

The PRIME 1000W Platinum PSU cooling fan did not start spinning until we exceeded a 50% load. At the 75% load mark the fan noise was still relatively quiet but at the 100% load mark the fan noise became very noticeable. However, I was not able to take SPL measurements at the 100% load mark because of the high background noise generated by all the DC load cooling fans constantly cycling on and off.

(Courtesy of Seasonic)