Details for Seasonic S12II 520W Bronze owners
Details for Seasonic S12II 520W Bronze owners
I am not trying to start a discussion, but just to provide some information!
Just an information for anyone that owns the PSU and is wondering if they need an upgrade (for whatever reason) or if they could keep their PSU.
Just as disclaimer:
the PSU haven't been used on a PC that's been mining or anything with extreme use, such as overclocking. I mostly play games (most demanding game I've played so far is The Callisto Protocol), browsing the internet and I use light programs like Gimp.
Long story:
I wanted to either upgrade my GPU or build a brand new PC. After posting a discussion here and after contacting the Seasonic team (with my full specs and explaining I intend to buy an RX 6600 GPU), aaaaaand after some thoughts, I decided to spend most of my savings for something else and go for what I thought to be a more viable option. So, I upgraded my PC with just a GPU - I bought SAPPHIRE RX 6600 Pulse (Light Edition) end of December 2022. For those wondering, the Light Edition is the version with 1 Display Port and 1 HDMI Port and the non-Light Edition has 3 DIsplay Ports and 1 HDMI Port.
Here's the reply from Seasonic team, which convinced me to stick with my PSU (the PSU I bought brand new in the summer of 2019). Here's the Seasonic team's reply:
''Hello,
Thank you for contacting Seasonic.
Despite using an older platform, the PSU still got safety and it's unlikely for the PSU to fry anything.
Also, a 3-year-old PSU does not lose its capacity and most likely, you still have the full capacity of your PSU specifications. Except to have really harsh ambient conditions of use, PSU after 3 years is still fine.
Right now, except to have a good deal on a new PSU with better platform, you can still use yours for a couple of years. ''
My Current PC after upgrading the GPU:
CPU:
Ryzen 5 3600
CPU Cooler:
Noctua NH-U9S
Motherboard:
MSI B450 Tomahawk
RAM:
Corsair Vengeance LPX Black (2x8GB) 3000MHz CL16
Storage:
Samsung 870 Evo 1 TB
Sandisk Ultra 3D 500GB
GPU:
SAPPHIRE RX 6600 Pulse (Light Edition)
Case:
Deepcool Kendomen
PSU:
Seasonic S12II-520 520W Bronze
Monitor:
Acer Nitro XV242YP
So far, I'm not complaining from the PSU. I haven't played too many demanding games, other than Callisto Protocol. If you want me to post some gameplay info of it with certain settings - let me know.
I think I made a pretty good deal on the PSU, which on turn made it a good deal to upgrade to my current GPU. Despite other people saying it's too much of a risk - I guess we'll see how it goes.
No parts have been fried. yet. If that happens, I'll challenge the Seasonic team to a sword fight and whoever looses will deal with the financial damage.
Let me know if I need to edit the post, such as adding/removing some information.
If you have a problem with my post being too long - sorry , I guess you didn't have to read it but you did
What caused you to think it would "fry" initially?
It's an older entry-level model, but it's a dependable unit with built-in safeguards. Even if it did fail, it would be highly improbable to harm anything else during the process.
You also picked a relatively low-power card (similar ones only draw about 150w under maximum load), so you're not operating at full capacity either.
If you had replied at the time, would you suggest 'Go for an RX 6600' without mentioning the potential risks of sticking with your current PSU? Also, I mistakenly added my old GPU because I copied my specs from a previous thread. If your answer was based on that GPU, then I'm sorry. I've updated it.
With an S12II that is still fairly new and within the 5-year warranty Seasonic offers, paired with a GPU consuming less than 150w under load, and the rest of your system specifications, I believe it's fine.
You might get "better" with a newer PSU offering more headroom, but that doesn't mean your current configuration won't function.
Even if a bigger PSU was necessary, it wouldn't damage your hardware.
Yeah, I'm still using S12-I from 2005 and even its earlier model the Seasonic Super Tornado from 2003. Well-made PSUs don't lose functionality when they fail (like the Bestec ATX-250-12e does), so just keep them until their power rating or connectors become obsolete.
If you or anyone else would suggest securing myself—whether by being firm or warning me to be careful—then that would be sufficient for me to consider upgrading. If a bad PSU won’t affect other components but could damage itself, then why would people recommend changing it because of outdated technology? I’m assuming caution is advised since a faulty PSU might harm other parts, right? If that’s not true, then there’s no need to upgrade unless it causes any issues elsewhere. In that case, just buy a new one.
Anyway, I’m mainly sharing this as an info point, not to start a debate since I’ve already upgraded. I’m not being rude, just clarifying my intentions. Thanks for responding!
I see you've encountered the PSU police before. I get their perspective since PSUs often don't just fail outright—they gradually produce enough ripple to trigger strange crashes and other odd issues. Yes, having a reliable backup PSU is important for troubleshooting, but it doesn't mean you should replace every machine with a brand-new one.
The main reason these units are no longer favored is that they are subject to group regulation. If one rail carries the majority of the load, it can cause regulation problems and ripple issues, potentially leading to stability concerns. Today's hardware mostly use 12V rails, which puts minimal strain on the 5V and 3.3V rails, making group-regulated power supplies generally unsuitable.
I'm using the Seasonic SS-500et on my server. It's running a dual Xeon e5-2470 system with a GTX 1070 for five years now, and there haven't been any problems. The PSU was installed when I got it. However, just like with other computer parts, a newer PSU is likely to perform better in every way, even if the rating is the same. Also, newer GPUs tend to be more sensitive to load spikes than older ones, so some older PSUs might struggle with that.
Breaking news: A company promoting their product shares favorable opinions about it. They mention how the product fits well with their taste preferences and encourage trying the latest flavor, highlighting its appeal. The message suggests it's acceptable to use the product.
The SeaSonic is considered safe, though not exceptional, and the advice is to avoid outdated regulations when purchasing new equipment.