why you SHOULDN'T buy a Seasonic Focus (Plus) (Gold/Platinum)

[LukeSavenije]

(This also counts for focus based PSUs like Antec Earthwatts and Asus Strix, with the exception of the nzxt-e and the new Focus GM, GX, PX and SGX lines (it meets 2.52 atx, which require hardware changes))

 

The Seasonic Focus line has been suffering major criticism on the PSU subforum lately. Why?

 

Old revisions (2017-2018) will shut off on some GPUs (970, 1080 ti, vega 64, Vega VII, 2080 ti). it'll will trigger the overcurrent protection, and will shut down immediately. This is likely due to the high transients the GPUs are known to put out

 

New revisions (2018-2019) have a bigger headroom, but aren't built for it and start to ripple at the loads where the PSU would shut down at with the older revision.

 

If you plan on buying one, either wait for the v2, or choose a different PSUs, for this you can check the PSU tier list, or ask around on the forum.

 

With that is focus known to be quite loud under load, has a staggering 200% opp on the 3.3v rail, but this isn't as concerning as the above mentioned problems.

 

edit: the 2019 based Focus GX/GM/PX have fixed mentioned issues

 

Sources: @PSUGuru, Tomshardware, Guru3d, seasonic, pceva

[PSUGuru]

In conclusion: Don't get a Seasonic Focus. There are better protected units out there. You can nab yourself an RMx, which is more silent and better protected. Hell, I'd even recommend a Corsair CX (2017) over a Focus. You also have the Bitfenix Formula Gold and Whisper M which are often in the 78-100$ price range.

[CircleTech]

Can I power my PC directly with a nuclear reactor?

[PSUGuru]

2 minutes ago, CircleTech said:

Can I power my PC directly with a nuclear reactor?

Easily. I don't know why more people do it.

[LukeSavenije]

2 minutes ago, CircleTech said:

Can I power my PC directly with a nuclear reactor?

 

[Turtle Rig]

5 minutes ago, PSUGuru said:

In conclusion: Don't get a Seasonic Focus. There are better protected units out there. You can nab yourself an RMx, which is more silent and better protected. Hell, I'd even recommend a Corsair CX (2017) over a Focus. You also have the Bitfenix Formula Gold and Whisper M which are often in the 78-100$ price range.

Yes I have read about Seasonic customers on amazon.  Like 80 percent of the reviews or posts are a botched PSU.  Grab a Be Quiet or a Corsair serries or a EVGA.  Seasonic is very shady and their warranty is not like Crucial which is 5 years and 10 years on their premium base.

[LukeSavenije]

1 minute ago, Turtle Rig said:

Seasonic is very shady

they're not shady, they just make mistakes

 

like any company ever

[PSUGuru]

Just now, Turtle Rig said:

Yes I have read about Seasonic customers on amazon.  Like 80 percent of the reviews or posts are a botched PSU.  Grab a Be Quiet or a Corsair serries or a EVGA.  Seasonic is very shady and their warranty is not like Crucial which is 5 years and 10 years on their premium base.

Well, remember: Brand doesn't matter.

EVGA has a lot of shitty PSUs on their lineup as well. For instance: N1, W1, B1, B2, B3, G1, G3(I'll explain that one), BT, BV, BR.

G3 I consider to not be recommendable due to two things: Iffy protections (OPP is set too high) and I've been reading various reports of them randomly popping.

Be quiet! has so many PSUs, I can't remember all of them

If we ignore Corsair's old PSUs (2014 and older) they have a solid track record. Only bad unit being the VS due to it being group regulated and an improperly working UVP.

[LukeSavenije]

1 minute ago, PSUGuru said:

G3 I consider to not be recommendable due to two things: Iffy protections (OPP is set too high) and I've been reading various reports of them randomly popping.

we have this as well

 

[Turtle Rig]

1 minute ago, PSUGuru said:

Well, remember: Brand doesn't matter.

EVGA has a lot of shitty PSUs on their lineup as well. For instance: N1, W1, B1, B2, B3, G1, G3(I'll explain that one), BT, BV, BR.

G3 I consider to not be recommendable due to two things: Iffy protections (OPP is set too high) and I've been reading various reports of them randomly popping.

Be quiet! has so many PSUs, I can't remember all of them

If we ignore Corsair's old PSUs (2014 and older) they have a solid track record. Only bad unit being the VS due to it being group regulated and an improperly working UVP.

True,, Also we are 100 percent sure its not the PSU anyway, cuz this problem doesn't happen with a 1060 card.  I don't see how a video card can be shot if its brand news.  Well my GPU fans make a chugging grinding noise unless I turn up the fan to 39 percent fan speed or higher.  So if they can't even sort out the video card fans then yes it is possible your sexy new GPU might be a mesed up product that needs RMA.  You pay twice the price for a whole new rig with 2080Ti and that should work properly,  But if your saying a 1060 works but 2080Ti doesn't then this is a tough one.  Mostly people would point their finger on PSU then mobo then ram.  You have seen its neither with a 1060 so I recommend grab a temp video card somehow and preferably a 2080Ti and see what happens.

[Princess Luna]

In shorts we simply have enough better alternatives on the same price point to disregard both the Focus and G3.

[PSUGuru]

Just now, Turtle Rig said:

True,, Also we are 100 percent sure its not the PSU anyway, cuz this problem doesn't happen with a 1060 card.  I don't see how a video card can be shot if its brand news.  Well my GPU fans make a chugging grinding noise unless I turn up the fan to 39 percent fan speed or higher.  So if they can't even sort out the video card fans then yes it is possible your sexy new GPU might be a mesed up product that needs RMA.  You pay twice the price for a whole new rig with 2080Ti and that should work properly,  But if your saying a 1060 works but 2080Ti doesn't then this is a tough one.  Mostly people would point their finger on PSU then mobo then ram.  You have seen its neither with a 1060 so I recommend grab a temp video card somehow and preferably a 2080Ti and see what happens.

A PSU can be responsible for killing certain components. It can kill anything it's connected to if it's bad enough.

Also, I'm not sure where you're going with the whole GPU thing. Care to elaborate?
 

[GoldenLag]

16 minutes ago, Turtle Rig said:

Crucial

did you mean corsair? because Crucial (AKA Micron) makes memmory and nand flash. 

16 minutes ago, Turtle Rig said:

Grab a Be Quiet or a Corsair serries or a EVGA.

never recommend on a brand by brand basis. all of these brands have their poor PSUs. 

17 minutes ago, Turtle Rig said:

Seasonic is very shady

no? i dont see what would make them shady. they have their good PSUs. they also have a undeserved rep akin to Asus when it comes to motherboards and GPUs. 

9 minutes ago, PSUGuru said:

It can kill anything it's connected to if it's bad enough.

El Diablotek can demonstrate

/s

[Fasauceome]

1 hour ago, LukeSavenije said:

we have this as well

 

Thanks, I've added both these threads to my signature

[LukeSavenije]

16 minutes ago, fasauceome said:

Thanks, I've added both these threads to my signature

have another one

 

[Shreyas1]

But if I have one currently is it worth changing? I use it to power a 1070 non-ti and r5 2600. It's been working fine for almost 2 years now

[hello_there_123]

29 minutes ago, Shreyas1 said:

But if I have one currently is it worth changing? I use it to power a 1070 non-ti and r5 2600. It's been working fine for almost 2 years now

No.

[Fasauceome]

1 hour ago, Shreyas1 said:

But if I have one currently is it worth changing? I use it to power a 1070 non-ti and r5 2600. It's been working fine for almost 2 years now

You don't really have to worry about OCP with stock on a 1070 ti, not a very demanding card.

[EdyMaster]

I was thinking of buying the following PSU "XFX XTR2 550 FULL MODULAR GOLD 80PLUS (P1-0550-XTR2)" and heard that it is a rebrand of this Focus model from Seasonic. This is true? Can you tell me if the risk is the same? The price here is really attractive, so maybe I will end up buying it because it would use with mid tier GPU anyway.

[LukeSavenije]

9 hours ago, EdyMaster said:

XFX XTR2 550

nope, if orion is to be believed, it's a prime gold, not a focus

[EdyMaster]

3 hours ago, LukeSavenije said:

nope, if orion is to be believed, it's a prime gold, not a focus 

Thanks for the feedback. So does it fit the Tier A+? That would be amazing but hard to believe. For reference, the purchase I refer to costs the same price range as a Corsair CX550, and a RM550x costs about 50% more at the same store. And yes, it's a reliable store, not a scam, just a promotion. It is difficult to find information of this specific model, I only found review of XFX XTR and none of XTR2 (not even info on the official site). Perhaps this is the case of moving the issue to a new topic so as not to deviate from the subject here.

[LukeSavenije]

22 minutes ago, EdyMaster said:

So does it fit the Tier A+?

it would

 

the only downside of prime at that wattage is a fan that's rather cheap for the pricepoint, but if you're paying that little, i approve

[LienusLateTips]

shit i posted this on Reddit but not here, now I don't have a total monopoly over angry threads yelling at people not to buy something

[LukeSavenije]

7 hours ago, LienusLateTips said:

shit i posted this on Reddit but not here, now I don't have a total monopoly over angry threads yelling at people not to buy something

 

[LienusLateTips]

The Focus lines have been really popular lately, yet a lot of experts recommend against them? Why?

 

For units, manufactured prior to January of 2018, the OCP is set too low. This leads to select GPUs, such as 2080 Tis, Vegas, 970s, and 1080 Tis shutting down randomly, due to triggering OCP and OPP, or because of high ripple at load.

 

SeaSonic produced a "fix", which is active on all units made after January of 2018. This really didn't fix it, however.

 

With the OCP being lifted higher, the units would produce absurd amounts of ripple at load. This can lead to instability and long-term component failure. Then, SeaSonic produced ANOTHER "fix", which was just a cable, with a capacitor and extra shielding, that reduced ripple. However, you would have to contact them to get one, and SeaSonic didn't include them in units.

 

In addition to this, OPP on the (less important) 3.3V line is set at 200%, which is EXTREMELY high. The fan is also quite loud for a power supply, with quieter units near in price.

 

TL;DR THE FOCUS HAS MAJOR ISSUES

All these risks and issues can be avoided with just buying another unit. You can check out the PSU Tier List in my signature below, or, some common good units available for similar prices are the Cooler Master MWE Gold, Corsair RMx, BitFenix Whisper/Formula, and the Be Quiet! Straight Power 11 and Pure Power 11.

 

Rebrands of the Focus include the Antec EarthWatts Gold Pro, Antec High Current Gamer Gold, and whatever XFX might make in the future.

The NZXT E-series PSUs are rebrands, however they have a working fix.

 

EDIT: In addition to all this, ripple is also OUTSIDE ATX SPEC. Not even the lowly Corsair VS goes out of ATX spec. DO NOT BUY THE FOCUS.