INTRODUCTION

    Largely due to me watching loads of anime while growing up (Gundam, City Hunter, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell, Akira, Plawres Sanshiro, Macross, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Inuyasha, Gintama and Bleach to name just a few of my favorite ones) Japan has always held a special place in my heart. Over the years some PC hardware and peripheral manufacturers have released limited edition/number products aimed towards not only the Japanese market but also people who enjoy the Japanese culture and well, if you ask me those haven't been nearly enough. So, you can all imagine my surprise when I learned that Seasonic had released a power supply unit with a color theme inspired by Sakura (Cherry Blossom) trees based on their ATX 3.1 & PCIe 5.1 VΕΡΤΕΧ GX platform and well, that's exactly what's on my test bench today.

    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.

    The limited edition (white and pink color theme) fully modular VERTEX GX-1000 SAKURA is available in just one output as of now (1KW) and fully supports the latest ATX v3.1 and PCIe v5.1 standards (improvements include up to 2 times total power excursion, 3 times GPU power excursion, 5 times higher slew rates for transient loads on the +12V rail, up to 200% rated power and 12ms holdup time). It sports the usual 80 Plus Gold certification found in other VERTEX GX models (up to 90% electrical efficiency) and also features active-PFC, DC to DC converter design, cable-free interior, hybrid fan control, single 12V-2X6 power connector (600W), single powerful +12V rail (83A, box number is a typpo) capable of delivering over 99% of the units’ total power output (996W) and a peak power output of no less than 1139W (according to the new ATX 3.1 specification peak should now be up to 2.25KW for up to 100ms - this however is not something I can test for). As expected Seasonic has once again used high-quality Japanese capacitors certified for use up to 105 degrees Celsius and has shielded the VERTEX GX-1000 SAKURA with a full array of electrical protections including over-current (OCP), over-voltage (OVP), under-voltage (UVP), short-circuit (SCP), over-temperature (OTP) and over-power (OPP). Finally, more good news since the VERTEX GX-1000 SAKURA is covered by a 12-year warranty by Seasonic.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The VERTEX GX-1000 SAKURA is shipped inside a white and pink box which typically has the company and 80 PLUS logos at the front but also a Sakura tree and some of the product features (ATX 3.0 & PCIe 5.0 printed here, the box was obviously manufactured prior to the platform getting its ATX 3.1 & PCIe 5.1 compliance).

Seasonic has placed the specifications table on the left side of the box just over a list with the included power cables.

The product features are printed at the base of the box in 11 languages.

Moving at the rear we find a small product picture, an efficiency graph and the product features.

The PSU is placed between two pieces of black foam.

Inside the box Seasonic has placed the VERTEX GX-1000 SAKURA power supply unit, power cord, modular power cables, carrying/storage pouch (for the PSU and the modular cables), PSU tester, 12 white cable ties, 5 white cable straps, several cable holders, case sticker, 4 mounting screws, sweepstakes paper, installation guide and the user manual.

THE VERTEX GX-1000 SAKURA EXTERIOR

All of the modular cables shipped with the VERTEX GX line are individually braided/sleeved, including the new 12V-2X6 power adapter.

Measuring 160mm in length, 150mm in width and 86mm in height the VERTEX GX-1000 SAKURA is your average ATX sized unit.

The 135mm fluid dynamic bearing fan sits under a unique looking grille with the SAKURA name on it.

On both sides Seasonic has placed their logo, the product line name and a large Sakura tree branch.

Once again, we find the electrical table along with numerous certifications at the base of the enclosure.

Moving at the front we find the 13 modular power ports all of which are grouped and tagged.

At the rear we find the usual perforation, on/off power switch, hybrid mode on/off button and the power port.

THE VERTEX GX-1000 SAKURA INTERIOR

Hong Hua is the manufacturer of the 135mm fluid dynamic bearing fan used with the VERTEX GX-1000 SAKURA (2000RPM).

Once again, the interior is very clean and yes, Seasonic is the manufacturer.

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

Secondary capacitors are manufactured by nichicon and Nippon Chemi-Con 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

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CONCLUSION

    As expected, the VERTEX GX-1000 SAKURA Limited Edition power supply unit by Seasonic performed almost identically to the “regular” VERTEX GX-1000 I reviewed a while back and well, that’s fine. Performance was never an issue with this platform, rail stability is almost excellent, electrical efficiency is very good, noise levels are more or less the same as with similar models from the competition and as for features Seasonic packs pretty much everything there is. Build quality is also very good and well, that’s not something new for a Seasonic unit. Design on the other hand (or more accurately color theme) can always get better and so the SAKURA limited edition is the ideal model for white builds, especially if the owner/user happens to be a girl/woman. Seasonic has begun to introduce such limited models in the market lately and well, I for one are cheering them on.

    Currently you can get your hands on the VERTEX GX-1000 SAKURA power supply unit by Seasonic for around USD290 inside the USA and well, that’s not a bad price if you’re looking for a unit with a limited edition color theme. Unfortunately, the VERTEX GX-1000 SAKURA is not currently available in the EU, and I have no idea on whether or not that will change. At the end of the day the VERTEX GX-1000 SAKURA delivers on everything the “regular” edition did and then some (new 12V-2x6 connector), so the Golden Award is in order.

PROS

- Excellent Build Quality
- ATX 3.1 & PCIe 5.1
- Sakura Trees Color Theme
- 80 Plus GOLD Certified
- Electrical Protections (OCP/OVP/SSP/OPP/UVP/OTP)
- Hybrid Fan Mode
- Powerful Single Rail (83A)
- 12 Year Limited Warranty

CONS

- Current Availability (Overall)