INTRODUCTION

   How many times have you seen people head out to get hardware components to build a new PC and although they put much weight on the CPU, mainboard, RAM and graphics they don't put nearly as much weight on the PSU? Well not only have i seen that happen many times in the past but i see it even today and the worst part is that i see it from people who've build plenty of systems in the past and thus know better than that. As many of you know the very first thing i always recommend is getting a higher output model compared to the one people set out to get just to be on the safe side while the second is to at least get an 80 Plus Bronze certified model since that certification is almost always a good quality indicator of the internal components used in a PSU. Today we will be taking a look at one of the best power supply units to ever roll out from the Seasonic product line the Platinum Series SS-760XP2 760W model.

   Sea Sonic Electronics Co., Ltd was founded more than 35 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. Sea Sonic is a truly global company. Headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, we export our products from our factory in China to our offices in the USA, Europe, Japan, as well as to other parts of the world. Independent testers, reviewers and editors writing in all languages consistently rank Seasonic products among the best in terms of technology, performance and reliability. We regularly receive enthusiastic feedback from PC fans, overclockers and gamers from every corner of the globe, which further fuels our commitment to keep searching for excellence in the international arena.

   The Platinum Series SS-760XP2 is an 80 Plus Platinum certified PSU that features a powerful single +12V rail rated at 63A (can reach up to 756W output), fully modular design (future-proof), two different modes for controlling the fan speed (under normal the fan will always spin according to the temperature while under hybrid mode the fan will not rotate at loads below 40%), industrial grade protections (OPP/OVP/UVP/OCP/OTP/SCP), Japanese capacitors and DC-to-DC converters. Aside the +12V rail the +3.3V and +5V outputs are rated at 25A each and can deliver up to 125W (thus making it impossible to draw the maximum current from both rails at the same time). It's been a while since we've received something by Seasonic so let’s see just how good their latest Platinum Series models really are (the 7 year warranty however is a good start).

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The SS-760XP2 PSU arrived inside a silver painted box with a product image at the front, the Seasonic logo, Haswell-ready and 80 Plus Platinum certified stickers and the units power output.

On the left side we see the product specifications, available connectors and electrical table.

The specifications list is also printed at the bottom of the box in 7 languages.

At the rear Seasonic explains in depth the main features of the SS-760XP2.

All of the modular cables are placed inside two storage pouches while the PSU is placed inside two black foam spacers.

Along with the Platinum Series SS-760XP2 PSU you are also getting a storage cloth pouch, modular cables, modular cable storage pouch, 5 cable ties, 3 Velcro straps, Molex to Floppy power adapter, 4 mounting screws and the AC power cable.

THE PLATINUM SERIES SS-760XP2 EXTERIOR

The SS-760XP2 features a nice grey matte finish and measures 160mm in length, 150mm in width and 86mm in height.

Seasonic decided on using a 120mm fan to cool the interior of the unit.

Printed on the right side of the enclosure is the model line while on the other we find a large sticker with the products electrical table.

At the front of the unit we see all of the modular connectors which are both shaped differently and tagged. We also see the fan mode button and a sticker pointing you to the manual for more info (i think it should contain a brief explanation on what the button does).

Moving at the rear we find the usual honeycomb perforation, the on/off power button and the AC power plug.

THE PLATINUM SERIES SS-760XP2 INTERIOR

The 120mm fan is made by SANYO DENKI and can reach up to 2200rpm to create 70.6CFM of airflow with just 30dBA of noise.

Placing so many components inside such a small enclosure is not the easiest fit (from what i see this board is made by Seasonic).

Primary capacitors are manufactured by Hitachi AIC and are certified for use up to 105 degrees Celsius.

For secondary capacitors Seasonic is using Japanese Rubycon and United Chemi-Con ones again certified for use up to 105 degrees Celsius.

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 computer. Certainly limitations do apply and so you can't really test a 1000W power supply if your system only uses 500W at peak loads and that's why during the past 5 years i have 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 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). 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.

TEST RESULTS

RAIL STABILITY

Did anyone expect something other than rock solid rails from a Platinum certified PSU by Seasonic? Neither did we.

POWER CONSUMPTION

Taking up almost 780W is not bad especially since the PSU didn’t have a problem with that.

NOISE LEVELS (SPL)

43.8dBA with the fan placed in normal mode is actually less than we had expected.

CONCLUSION

   As I’ve said many times in the past when you can measure the performance of something whether that's a graphics card, a drive or a power supply unit the final numbers have a way of clearing up everything. So as you can clearly see from our charts the SS-760XP2 760W PSU by Seasonic is without doubt one of the best models to ever pass from our test bench. Rails are rock solid, the powerful +12V rail can power even the most demanding graphics cards without issue, noise levels are very low (especially if you enable hybrid mode), the fully modular design ensures compatibility with future power cables, all the available electrical protections guarantee the safety of both the PSU and your system and the 80 Plus Platinum efficiency should increase your power savings even if just by a little.

   Such performance however always comes at a cost and with a current price tag set at USD169.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 179.12Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) the SS-760XP2 760W PSU by Seasonic certainly doesn't come cheap. Of course if you set out to get that level of performance without compromises then price shouldn't be an issue really. On the other hand for people who are just after a good PSU and are not willing to spend much in the process the SS-760XP2 doesn't fit the bill. In the end it all comes down to what you're after and how much you're willing to spend much like with pretty much everything in this industry. Leaving out the price however we only have the best things to say for the SS-760XP2 and that's why it gets our Platinum Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Great Performance (Rail Stability)
- Fully Modular (Future Proof)
- Normal & Hybrid Fan Mode
- Low Noise Levels
- 7 Years Warranty
- 80Plus Platinum Certified
- Electrical Protections (OPP/OVP/UVP/OCP/OTP/SCP)

CONS

- Price (For Some)