I can't understand Seasonic's PSU cable compatibility chart, want to swap PSUs

[Cyber Akuma]

I am having trouble figuring out Seasonic's Cable Compatibility chart listed here: https://seasonic.com/cable-compatibility#

 

I have two PSUs, a Seasonic PRIME 750 Platinum SSR-750PD2 which was purchased in 2019 here: 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075M4SJL6/

 

And a Seasonic FOCUS GX-750 SSR-750FX that was purchased in 2021 here: 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/seasonic-focus-gx-750-750w-80-gold-psu-full-modular-fan-control-in-fanless-silent-cooling-mode-10-yr-warranty-black/6414263.p?skuId=6414263

 

I don't understand which ones are which in this compatibility chart. Is this chart saying that the Prime 750 Platinum uses special cables for the 24 pin, 8-pin CPU and 6+2 pin PCIe with capacitors in them that are not compatible with newer models? Or can the cables for the Prime Platinum work on the GX-750 but not the other way around? 

 

Basically, I want to test if my friend's PC (the one with the Prime 750 from 2019) has been having issue lately due to a possibly failing PSU, and I have an older system that I just replaced the PSU on (The FOCUS FX-750 from 2021) that I could use to test. Some of the wiring though was a HUGE pain to do on said system though and I really REALLY don't want to have to un-do and then re-do it if I can avoid it. Would I be able to take out the PRIME 750 and put the FOCUS GX-750 in it's place without having to re-do the cabling? It's not clear if that chart is saying yes or no, or if the capacitor thing is even required or just simply recommended, and if so if you can use the capacitor cables on a non-capacitor PSU or vice-versa (the model numbers for the cables all being the same in that chart doesn't help matters...)

[seon123]

12 minutes ago, Cyber Akuma said:

Is this chart saying that the Prime 750 Platinum uses special cables for the 24 pin, 8-pin CPU and 6+2 pin PCIe with capacitors in them that are not compatible with newer models?

The chart says recommends, not that it won't work otherwise. In cable capacitors do not affect compatibility, but they do make the PSU perform better in reviews, at the cost of real world usability. 

[Cyber Akuma]

3 minutes ago, seon123 said:

In cable capacitors do not affect compatibility, but they do make the PSU perform better in reviews, at the cost of real world usability. 

Huh, never heard of that before. How does it improve reviews but make the PSU overall worse?

[seon123]

1 minute ago, Cyber Akuma said:

Huh, never heard of that before. How does it improve reviews but make the PSU overall worse?

It helps reduce ripple, although the PSU performs well enough already without them. They make the cable bulkier and harder to manage. 

[Cyber Akuma]

Hmm, would that help if the computer is having stability problems? Also, so then would it be any issue if I plug those cables which have the capacitors in them into my PSU whose cables apparently do not come with the capacitors?

[--SID--]

3 hours ago, Cyber Akuma said:

Hmm, would that help if the computer is having stability problems? Also, so then would it be any issue if I plug those cables which have the capacitors in them into my PSU whose cables apparently do not come with the capacitors?

No and no.

But why do you want to replace the Prime? Inside the Prime Gold/Platinum up to 850w there's a Focus platform so in that case there's no reason to replace it.

[Spotty]

3 hours ago, Cyber Akuma said:

Hmm, would that help if the computer is having stability problems? Also, so then would it be any issue if I plug those cables which have the capacitors in them into my PSU whose cables apparently do not come with the capacitors?

No, won't help with stability since the difference in ripple is marginal. If you had a PSU with extremely high ripple it might cause issues, but with or without the inline caps the Seasonic prime/focus units would be well within spec. Intel spec allows for up to 120mV ripple peak to peak on 12v, while the Seasonic prime is likely around ~20mV without the inline caps - way within spec, not going to cause issues.

 

Cable compatibility between power supplies requires them using the same cable pinout. It doesn't matter if they have capacitors in the cable or not. The prime and focus units from Seasonic share cable compatibility and you can swap cables between them.

 

 

What's the system specs and what issue is it having?

[Cyber Akuma]

14 minutes ago, --SID-- said:

But why do you want to replace the Prime? Inside the Prime Gold/Platinum up to 850w there's a Focus platform so in that case there's no reason to replace it.

 

Like I said, a friend's system is having a lot of issues and I want to rule out that it's the PSU by temporarily swapping one of my known good ones.

 

7 minutes ago, Spotty said:

What's the system specs and what issue is it having?

 

It's pretty long-winded, I asked on a different forum for help but didn't get much advice, so I guess it would not hurt to ask on this forum too. I posted about it with a few updates of new things we tried here: 

 

 

[Cyber Akuma]

Just to clarify, Seasonic contacted me and confirmed that the PSUs can be swapped:

 

Quote

Thank you for contacting Seasonic.

If you have a SSR-750PD2, you have a PRIME Ultra so with black and flat cables. Not the previous model PRIME 750 Platinum (SSR-750PD) that had inline capacitors on the cables.
From there, if both of your PSU's got black and flat cables, you can interchange the PSU without changing cables. These cables are the same so fully compatible.
If you have a PRIME with round, braided cables with inline capacitor, we recommend to change the ATX 24 pin, CPU and PCIe cables as FOCUS GX does not need them.

 

Quote

 

Thank You for your reply.

 

I am not sure which cables they are, as they appear similar to me. There is no model number on the PSU itself to indicate if it's the PD or PD2. I have taken photos of the cables if that helps.

 

These are the ATX 24, CPU 8-pin and PSU-side of the cables on the Prime Platinum from 2019:

https://imgur.com/a/Cm9iQ7W

 

And these are the ATX 24, CPU 8-pin and PSU-side of the cables on the FOCUS Gold from 2021:

https://imgur.com/a/epsKR1V

 

Are these the same flat cables you mentioned? Or does the top set have the inline capacitors? Would it cause damage or problems if I plugged the Focus Gold that I know does not have inline capacitors on it's cables into the Prime Platinum's cables if these are the inline capacitor type? The cables were quite difficult to route in these cases and I wanted to temporarily swap the Prime Platinum with the Focus Gold to ensure that the system problems I am having are not due to a faulty power supply, so if it's possible to do this without having to undo and redo all the cabling I would prefer to go that route if I can.

 

 

Quote

Thank you for your reply.

These are cables from a PRIME Ultra 750 Platinum (SSR-750PD²- you can confirm this model by checking the rating label of the PSU) which are black and flat except for the ATX 24 pin. So basically, same as your FOCUS GX so nothing to exchange for cables, simply swap the PSU and you are good to go.

Thank you.