Question about Seasonic PSU's fan hybrid operation

[Charles Vane]

Hello everyone, I have ordered a Seasonic 850W Prime Titanium for my new pc, and I was wondering about its hybrid mode that keeps the fan stopped and only starts spinning at 40% load.

I have had very good experiences with Seasonics, my S12 430 and S12 520 are still running smoothly and quietly after 10 years. I don't know if the fanless hybrid operation would benefit the health of the PSU and its fan in the long run, because for me the longevity is more important than being dead silent. So my question is: would the fan be more probable to last longer if it is on continuous spinning (most likely always very low rpm given the 850w power, the system will probably draw 350-400 at highest) or the hybrid mode (not spinning at all for most of the time)?

I know the hybrid technology is there for a reason, to use it, but being my first fanless psu, I have concerns that when gaming, the psu could be often  near the 40% threshold and keep ramping up and stopping the fan which in the long run would depreciate the fan faster than continuous operation? Thank you!

[Enderman]

There is hysteresis so the fan would only ramp down after you stopped gaming for a while and ramp up once you've been gaming for a while.

It won't constantly ramp up and down.

[itisme911]

3 minutes ago, Charles Vane said:

Hello everyone, I have ordered a Seasonic 850W Prime Titanium for my new pc, and I was wondering about its hybrid mode that keeps the fan stopped and only starts spinning at 40% load.

I have had very good experiences with Seasonics, my S12 430 and S12 520 are still running smoothly and quietly after 10 years. I don't know if the fanless hybrid operation would benefit the health of the PSU and its fan in the long run, because for me the longevity is more important than being dead silent. So my question is: would the fan be more probable to last longer if it is on continuous spinning (most likely always very low rpm given the 850w power, the system will probably draw 350-400 at highest) or the hybrid mode (not spinning at all for most of the time)?

I know the hybrid technology is there for a reason, to use it, but being my first fanless psu, I have concerns that when gaming, the psu could be often  near the 40% threshold and keep ramping up and stopping the fan which in the long run would depreciate the fan faster than continuous operation? Thank you!

Depending on your system this could be a nonissue. The fan would last longer in hybrid mode (it does less revolutions over time). The PSU? well probably wont make a difference but the official and scientific or w/e story is that the hotter a product runs the more likely it is to fail. HOWEVER I dont think it will get too hot. They build in wiggle room here so the PSU could probably* run at like 60% and not need a fan spinning but they do it at 40 to prevent issues.

[Charles Vane]

@Enderman @itisme911

Thank you very much, that is reassuring. I will use the hybrid mode and keep an eye of the temperature. I assume the fan is the most fragile part of the unit so I'll just prioritize its health.

[Pickles von Brine]

16 minutes ago, itisme911 said:

Depending on your system this could be a nonissue. The fan would last longer in hybrid mode (it does less revolutions over time). The PSU? well probably wont make a difference but the official and scientific or w/e story is that the hotter a product runs the more likely it is to fail. HOWEVER I dont think it will get too hot. They build in wiggle room here so the PSU could probably* run at like 60% and not need a fan spinning but they do it at 40 to prevent issues.

Agreed. Seasonic did (and still does) enterprise grade power supplies so I am pretty confident they know how to build a quality, well adaptive hybrid power supply. Plus, they would make sure that the components inside didn't get out of spec due to heat. Its likely once the fan kicks on it is probably at around 60-70% of the maximum temperature allowed on the components. After that they cool pretty efficiently. 

 

4 minutes ago, Charles Vane said:

@Enderman @itisme911

Thank you very much, that is reassuring. I will use the hybrid mode and keep an eye of the temperature. I assume the fan is the most fragile part of the unit so I'll just prioritize its health.

 

Keep in mind most fans will last 15-30k hours depending on their build quality. So, even if the fan did start failing it would be some time. Also, if I am not mistaken, that power supply has something like a 10 year warranty on? Correct me if I am wrong. 

 

[Charles Vane]

8 minutes ago, Lord Xeb said:

Keep in mind most fans will last 15-30k hours depending on their build quality. So, even if the fan did start failing it would be some time. Also, if I am not mistaken, that power supply has something like a 10 year warranty on? Correct me if I am wrong. 

 

Thank you, yes it has 12 years warranty, I just want to do all I can from the get go to not need it

[Pickles von Brine]

24 minutes ago, Charles Vane said:

Thank you, yes it has 12 years warranty, I just want to do all I can from the get go to not need it

No problem man. My Seaonsic X760w had a 10 year warranty. Not a single issue in the nearly 5 years I have owned it.