INTRODUCTION

   The latest GeForce RTX 4080 and 4090 graphics cards by NVIDIA may be what many people would like to have in their rigs but let's face it, not everyone can afford (or wants) one. So even though ATX v3.0 and PCIe v5.0 power supply units are the ideal companion for such cards (both due to 12VHPWR PCIe 5.0 connectors and their higher efficiency) they are not a one way, not for people who have no plans about upgrading their systems with one of those cards. As a matter of fact, if you look around you'll find quite a few high performance and quality power supply units which have almost nothing to be jealous from the all the latest additions and the PRIME TX-750 model by Seasonic is clearly one of them.

   Sea Sonic Electronics Co., Ltd was founded more than 40 years ago by engineers. Since its early beginnings the company has rigorously maintained its focus on the research, development and production of technologically advanced, high quality products. In 1981 Sea Sonic expanded into the production of PC power supplies to become one of the first manufacturers in this market. Soon after, the manufacturing of high quality and performance PC power supplies became the core identity of Sea Sonic.

   Seasonic first unveiled the PRIME TX line back in 2016 so it's worth pointing out that it has undergone numerous changes since then. Today the PRIME TX line includes 650/750/850/1000/1300/1600W output models all of which are fully modular and feature the 80 PLUS Titanium electrical certification (up to 94% efficiency - the 1300/1600W models also sport 12VHPWR connectors). In terms of available features the PRIME TX-750 features a single strong +12V rail (62A) capable of delivering roughly 99% of the units entire rated output (744W), micro-tolerance load regulator (under 0.5% load regulation), active PFC, DC to DC topology, cable-free connection design (back panel with PCB), individually sleeved power cables, peak power output of almost 863W, fluid-dynamic bearing 135mm fan with hybrid mode (fan starts to spin at over 40% load) and high-quality Japanese manufactured capacitors. Just like its larger brother (PRIME TX-1300 / review here) the PRIME TX-750 is also fully shielded by an array of electrical protections including over-current (OCP), over-voltage (OVP), under-voltage (UVP), short-circuit (SCP), over-temperature (OTP) and over-power (OPP). As for warranty once again Seasonic covers the entire PRIME TX line of power supply units with a very generous 12-year limited one.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The PRIME TX-750 is packed inside a silver and black box that has the Seasonic logo, 80 Plus Titanium certification, product line, warranty information and some of the main product features at the front.

The product specifications are printed on the left side of the box.

The product features are all printed at the rear of the box next to two graphs, the 80 Plus Titanium logo and a product picture.

Typically, the power supply unit is placed between two thick foam spacers.

Along with the PRIME TX-750 inside the box Seasonic has also placed a power cord, modular power cables, PSU tester, 12 cable ties, 5 cable straps, case stickers 4 mounting screws, sweepstakes paper, thank you paper and the user manual.

THE PRIME TX-750 EXTERIOR

Even though the main motherboard cable is braided/sleeved every other cable is a low-profile/slim one.

Measuring 170mm in length, 150mm in width and 86mm in height the PRIME TX-750 is your average ATX unit.

The 135mm fluid dynamic bearing fan sits under a silver and black grille.

On both sides Seasonic has placed their logo and the product line name.

Once again, the electrical table along with numerous certifications is located at the base of the enclosure.

At the front we find the 13 modular power connectors which are all grouped and tagged.

Turning the enclosure around we find the usual perforation, on/off power switch, hybrid mode on/off button and the power port.

THE PRIME TX-750 INTERIOR

Hong Hua is the manufacturer of the 135mm fluid dynamic bearing fan (1600RPM).

The interior features 4 aluminum heatsinks and is just what you’d expect by a top manufacturer like Seasonic.

The two primary capacitors are manufactured by Nippon Chemi-Con and are rated for use up to 105 degrees Celsius.

Secondary capacitors are manufactured by both Nippon Chemi-Con and Rubycon and are also certified for use up to 105 degrees.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

     Using a dedicated measurement instrument such as a Chroma or a SunMoon to test power supply units is without doubt the most ideal and accurate way (not to mention the fastest) to do that currently. However, it's certainly not the only way there is and so pretty much anyone can test a power supply unit just by using a test rig. Certainly, limitations do apply and so you can't really push a 1000W power supply to its limits if your system only uses 500W at peak loads and that's why over the years we saved certain hardware components for the purpose of building a dedicated PSU test rig. True it may not be as accurate as the above mentioned solutions but it comes really close and is in fact much closer to real world usage. So as always, we ran several games with maximum graphic options enabled at a resolution of 2560x1600 in order to stress every hardware component and increase the overall power demands of the system. The Passmark BurnIn Test was also used to overstress the components in an effort to provide the most accurate results possible. As a final test we also used the latest OCCT 4.4 software and its dedicated PSU testing suite since it can really bring a power supply to its knees after inside a few minutes.

    Rail stability was checked/measured with the CPUID Hardware monitor and a Metex multimeter which also recorded the system load in idle and in load. As always try to remember that the power consumption numbers listed in the graph are the highest (Peak) ones recorded during the entire duration of the tests and not the average ones. Noise levels coming from the fan were recorded using the high precision HD600 ExTech Sound dBA Meter from the rear of the unit and at a range of no more than 5-10cm. Readings under load are recorded the exact moment we manually switch the fans of all graphics cards from full speed to almost zero, that way the fan of the power supply does not have enough time to slow its RPM and so by doing this we get very accurate noise level readings. Needless to say, in order to get 100% accurate readings, you need to have a noise isolated room for that exact purpose, something which is quite impossible unless you are working inside a real lab (some people use very small noise insulated boxes but due to their size both heat and noise exceed normal levels and so the results can't really be considered to be 100% accurate, nor realistic for that matter). Also do take into account that since all noise measurements take place from just 5-10cm away the final noise levels to reach your ears will be considerably less.

* After well over 10 years of testing PSUs the Intel Core i7-920 CPU of this rig failed and so we replaced it with a Xeon X5660 (we also swapped the GA-X58A-UD7 for the G1. Assassin).

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

   Once again even though the PRIME TX series of power supply units by Seasonic has been around for many years and is not compatible with the latest ATX v3.0 standard (and only the 1300W and 1600W output models feature the new 12VHPWR power connectors) but rail stability is indeed impressive. Now originally i had no way of knowing whether or not this applied to lower wattage models (and not just the 1300W model which i reviewed) but now i know with certainty that it does. In regards to noise levels since the 135mm fan used with the TX-750 didn’t surpass 40dBA i have no complaints, quite the opposite really. Build quality is as expected also pretty much excellent and is in fact pretty much on par with that of the 1300W variant. The lack of an 12VHPWR connector is actually not a huge deal with this output model but even though i do realize updating their product line would take long and cost quite a bit (and honestly Seasonic is obviously focusing in the development of ATX 3.0 units now) i do think that having at least one such connector would still benefit consumers.

   At the time of my review the PRIME TX-750 retails for USD208.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 243.97Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) so for an 750W unit it’s certainly not what many will call affordable. However aside its lack of support for the latest ATX 3.0 and PCIe 5.0 standards the PRIME TX-750 by Seasonic still delivers on everything else from performance and build quality to low noise levels and a generous 12-year limited warranty and that’s why it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Excellent Build Quality
- Impressive Rail Stability
- 80 Plus Titanium Certified
- Electrical Protections (OCP/OVP/SSP/OPP/UVP/OTP)
- Low Noise Levels
- Micro Tolerance Load Regulator
- Hybrid Fan Mode
- Strong Single Rail (62A)
- 12 Year Limited Warranty
- Available Models
- Design

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Not ATX 3.0 & PCIe 5.0 Compatible