Seasonic S12II v1/v2: The Differences

[Droidbot]

The Seasonic S12II is a pretty solid PSU for the money. Seasonic reliability, amazing price, and enough wattage for pretty much everything a budget-concious gamer needs.

Heck, I own a M12II (non EVO) myself, and I run a freaking 1070 and an OC'd 4670K off it. But there's two revisions of the S12II, a v1 and a v2, with the v2 having one seemingly minor difference that may confuse a lot of people.

 

So what's the difference? 

Instead of 1x6+2 and 1x6 pin PCI-E, it has 2x6+2. And the cables are flat and black like the M12II, and there's an updated internal design. 

 

How do I tell? 

v1 will just have a fan on top, no grille

v2 has a honeycomb grille on top and looks almost like a different unit, as well as flatter black cables. The v1 has sleeved Yellow and Red cables. 

 

 

 

Why does this post exist?

Because builds with aftermarket 1070s and R9 Furies are popping up powered by the S12II. But while it shows up on PCPP that the S12II has two 6+2pins, not all units do, and usually when retailers put it on sale they want to clear old v1 stock. 

 

I wrote this bored at a bus stop on my phone, so mind any spelling/grammatical errors. 

 

[Guest]

Now do it for Corsair CX

[PlayStation 2]

5 hours ago, deXxterlab97 said:

Now do it for Corsair CX

To be honest, if you can't tell between green and grey you deserve your outcome.

[Guest]

Just now, Dan Castellaneta said:

To be honest, if you can't tell between green and grey you deserve your outcome.

http://www.corsair.com/en-eu/cx430-80-plus-bronze-certified-power-supply

 

http://www.corsair.com/en-us/builder-series-cx430-v2-80plus-certified-power-supply

[PlayStation 2]

5 hours ago, deXxterlab97 said:

http://www.corsair.com/en-eu/cx430-80-plus-bronze-certified-power-supply

 

http://www.corsair.com/en-us/builder-series-cx430-v2-80plus-certified-power-supply

ignore this

my brain is dead and can't read

[Droidbot]

4 minutes ago, deXxterlab97 said:

http://www.corsair.com/en-eu/cx430-80-plus-bronze-certified-power-supply

 

http://www.corsair.com/en-us/builder-series-cx430-v2-80plus-certified-power-supply

The first is V3, the second is v2, just saying. V2 has 80+ White and a worse 12v rail

[quan289]

It won't soon to be matter anymore, as the S/M12II-B series will soon be replace by the Core / Core+ series with an updated, modern design sometime this year.

[Droidbot]

1 minute ago, quan289 said:

It won't soon to be matter anymore, as the S/M12II-B series will soon be replace by the Core / Core+ series with an updated, modern design sometime this year.

Awesome news, thank you. Will it still retain the same amazing price considering the quality?

[quan289]

57 minutes ago, Droidbot said:

Awesome news, thank you. Will it still retain the same amazing price considering the quality?

The S/M12II-B is being phased out, so the lower cost you see them at may be them clearing up stocks in shipping warehouses to allow in these new units. These newer units will likely priced a bit higher at MSRP for a few weeks before setting down to better compete. Of course, there is a marketing strategy that they can do, where they sell them at a lost / near lost initially to give it more attention before raising the price back up.

[Sinudra]

So apart the additional cables amd design...whats the difference in performance?

[TVwazhere]

I bought one of amazon not that long ago, it came as the V2 which was nice. Cables look much better IMO, though the 8 pin cable I felt was a bit too short for the mid tower I was putting it in

[quan289]

9 hours ago, deXxterlab97 said:

Now do it for Corsair CX

CX400 = Seasonic S12II

CX430-600 = Channel Well Technology DSAII

CX430-600v2 = CWT DSAII

CX430-600v3 and CX430M-600Mv1 = CWT DSAIII

CX750-850 / M V1 = CWT PUQ-B

CX450M-650M = CWT Custom design that resembled the original Corsair RM which in turn resembled the CWT CSG platform.

CX750-850 / M V2 = CWT PUQ-B

 

Within the first year of release, there was complaints regarding the quality of the first revision of the CWT build CX, where some of the components seem to be underrated for it respective wattage. It also have a shorter 2 warranty and no 80+ certification.

 

A year later, this component was upgraded along with it is now certified for the standard 80+ and has a longer 3 year warranty.

 

With the release of a modular version of the series, Corsair had it updated to 80+ Bronze, higher 12V rating, and updated the primary cap as it had reported failures within warranty period.

 

The higher wattage 750-850w units are based on a more superior, modern DC-DC regulated design (despite what some people have said and call it the "worse" of the batch).

 

The current CXM series with the gray label has a longer 5 year warranty, its temperature tolerance rating had been updated to 40C, updated DC-DC secondary, and black cables. The connectivity of the 450w and 650w is better for the 6/8pin PEG connectors, as it has 2 and 4 of them for it respective wattage.

 

And finally, the new CX that is going to be release. It's going to be manufactured by Great Wall instead. One thing that I know will be different is that the better connectivity that I had mentioned isn't factored in these particular units which is disappointing.

[Sinudra]

56 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

I bought one of amazon not that long ago, it came as the V2 which was nice. Cables look much better IMO, though the 8 pin cable I felt was a bit too short for the mid tower I was putting it in

So what did u do?:)

[TVwazhere]

30 minutes ago, Sinudra said:

So what did u do?:)

Had to run the cable underneath the GPU between the PCI slot and the I/O shield, its not the most elegant solution but it works.

[Droidbot]

4 hours ago, Sinudra said:

So apart the additional cables amd design...whats the difference in performance?

Nothing. The PCB inside is different to save SeaSonic some extra money, and that's it

[Sinudra]

3 hours ago, TVwazhere said:

Had to run the cable underneath the GPU between the PCI slot and the I/O shield, its not the most elegant solution but it works.

Mmmm... i hope it will fit my antec gx200 case (mid tower)

[TVwazhere]

3 minutes ago, Sinudra said:

Mmmm... i hope it will fit my antec gx200 case (mid tower)

I think you should. My issue was the top "cut out" on the case the friend was using was hiding behind the motherboard (budget cases.... )so I had to take her motherboard out to get the cable through, but it had to wrap around a couple of things. I jsut looked at the interior layout of your case and you should be okay. if not, just get a 6" 8 pin CPU extender

[Stef_77]

It boggles my mind...

Having a such a trusted name, and the S12II having a such a good image amongst PC builders, why didn't Seasonic take the opportunity to comply this PSU with Intel's Haswell C-states?

 

V2 should've supported C6/C7 states. I would've sure bought a S12II 520. Now I'm waiting for my Corsair CX550 to arrive.

[Droidbot]

1 hour ago, Stef_77 said:

It boggles my mind...

Having a such a trusted name, and the S12II having a such a good image amongst PC builders, why didn't Seasonic take the opportunity to comply this PSU with Intel's Haswell C-states?

 

V2 should've supported C6/C7 states. I would've sure bought a S12II 520. Now I'm waiting for my Corsair CX550 to arrive.

The design is well over 7-8 years old at this point, and they didn't bother modifying it other than surface changes.

 

CX series is the way to go, now. DC-DC on the minor rails FTW.

[Stefan Payne]

On 16.3.2017 at 6:15 AM, Droidbot said:

The Seasonic S12II is a pretty solid PSU for the money. Seasonic reliability, amazing price, and enough wattage for pretty much everything a budget-concious gamer needs.

10 Years ago maybe, but not in 2018.

In 2018 that unit is totally overpriced shit that should not be recommended or even thought about.

 

Because what you are missing is:
lack of protection -> No UVP on +12V, no OCP anywhere, no OTP

Group Regulated -> Voltages will go out of spec when +12V or +5V is loaded heavy while the other is only loaded lightly if at all.

And also:
They lied on the Label!

The label of the "V1" as you call it states two +12V Rails! But the used protection IC only supports one +12V Input for OVP - not even Under Voltage Protection.....

 

 

The more you knew about that PSU; the less you could like it. 

Its just a cheap design/layout with some Marketing Points that make the PSU look good in the eyes of people who don't know much about the insides...

[Stefan Payne]

8 hours ago, Stef_77 said:

It boggles my mind...

Having a such a trusted name, and the S12II having a such a good image amongst PC builders, why didn't Seasonic take the opportunity to comply this PSU with Intel's Haswell C-states?

 

V2 should've supported C6/C7 states. I would've sure bought a S12II 520. Now I'm waiting for my Corsair CX550 to arrive.

No, the S12II was never that great as people were talking it to...

 

Just look at it. Its loud, has tiny heatsinks, a really bad Protection IC (HY-510N) that doesn't even have UVP on +12V.

 

And the most important part: Its group regulated.

That means that if you load +5V heavily and +12V not at all, +12V will go high, +5V go low.

And vice versa if you do it the other way around.

 

And there is the price.

 

A good DC-DC unit from a competitor is usually a couple of € cheaper than the S12II/M12II variants...

And having DC-DC and working protection is more important than the stuff this thing had to offer.

 

Hell, I'd even prefer a be quiet Pure Power L8 430/530W over the Seasonic S12II/M12II...

 

 

The 750 and 850W versions are OKish though.

They really have two +12V Rails and DC-DC