Performance (40% of the final score) - the X series from Seasonic is their new top of the line platform. As such, I expected the performance to match up accordingly. I was not disappointed. With the best efficiency I've seen to date combined with outstanding rail stability and ripple and noise suppression good enough to give server grade units nightmares for months, Seasonic has a winner among winners here. 10.
Functionality (20% of the final score) - with completely modular topology, not much can be said against the cabling on this unit. No, not many people would find the need to unplug the main ATX cable from the unit, but I can't really say it's that big a deal as stable as this unit held its voltages. And fanless operation is nice... especially when this unit was able to remain fanless for a whole test in my hot box. 10 . Man, I'm throwing those tens around an awful lot lately.
Value (30% of the final score) - this unit has yet to make its way to the market in large numbers, so I'm going to be lazy and go look at Newegg. Let's see... $179.99. You know, that's actually a good price for something like this. Yes, the Corsair HX750 is a bit cheaper, but this unit is more efficient in general with slightly better build quality. But... uh oh... the 750W version of this unit is $20 more money. One hopes that these prices will go down just a bit, because that's getting to be a little much. 8.
Aesthetics (10% of the final score) - I've always liked matte black. But while this unit is good looking, I've seen a couple I've liked better. 9.5
Performance
10
Functionality
10
Value
8
Aesthetics
9.5
Total Score
9.5
Summary
Lately, it's gotten to be much harder for a power supply company to get ahead. The competition is fierce, and it's only going to get more so as time goes on. Seasonic decided that in the X series they were going to go out on a limb, design a new platform from the ground up, and then toss it into the shark tank that is the power supply market. And you know what? If I were a company swimming in that tank, I'd watch my tail fin. This is one really impressive platform Seasonic has here. It's incredibly efficient, it's incredibly stable, and it's hungry for market share. That's a deadly combination for the competition.
The Good:
goes fanless until it heats up... and fanless operation is actually attainable in a warm computer case for a change
