XFX 1000W Pro Series 80 Plus Platinum
by Martin Kaffei on March 1, 2012 1:38 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Seasonic
- PSUs
- XFX
- 80 Plus Platinum
Internal Design and Components
Seasonic builds this particular power supply and uses the full bridge with a resonant circuit behind. The full bridge is composed of two half bridges (one high-side and one low-side MOSFET each) which work alternately so the transformer can be driven into a balanced state. This full bridge allows them to reduce the size of the main transformer and theoretically doubles the possible output power of the half bridge converter. This only applies when identical MOSFETs are used and if all other components are chosen correctly as well. As you can see the heatsinks on the secondary side are very thin, but the MOSFETs have a low power dissipation and get cooled by the conduction path and the fan as well. Those blue capacitors beside the heatsinks are made by Nippon Chemi-Con, as are all the others in this PSU.
The EMI filtering consists of a complete mains filter with two additional X capacitors, four Y capacitors, one more common mode choke, and one differential mode choke. Moreover inrush current gets limited by a thermistor, and a MOV as passive OVP is included as well. Both rectifier bridges get their own heatsink for cooling. In the power factor pre-regulator we find three large main caps and a serperate IC for PFC control on a single sided PCB. On the fifth picture in our gallery, two MOSFETs in a large TO-247 case can be seen. Their gate connectors are equipped with a ferrite bead. Besides this the PFC diode on the left has nearly no reverse recovery time.
The resonant circuit in the middle shows one important change. Two conductions of the IC CM6901 (on a small PCB) lead to a small inductor, which is located between the resonant capacitor, the resonant coil, and the small "auxiliary coil" to relieve the main transformer. With this the current can be measured in the resonant circuit to improve regulation. A second winding is connected to the main PCB and the magnetic flux in the core passes through the regulation winding.
The buck converters for +3.3V and +5V are located on the modular PCB. With the APW7159 controller XFX is able to switch at a high frequency. With this the size of passive components can be reduced again. +12V has many short transitions to the modular board, which means resistance is somewhat lower; this helps to increase efficiency a little. The protecion IC can be found on another seperate PCB on the left. As expected XFX has a native dual output design for +12V. Soldering quality is outstanding, as is usually the case with Seasonic built PSUs. We couldn't find any dry soldered joints, though a few parts did get a bit too much solder.
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dqniel - Thursday, March 1, 2012 - link
And yes, you should edit the efficiency testing charts to say the voltage at which it was tested (115v, 230v).ZekkPacus - Thursday, March 1, 2012 - link
They used to test with both, which I would personally like to see come back. They also used to use a proper dbA measurement for noise and not the 'subjective' measurement they now use. A bit of a shame.sonci - Thursday, March 1, 2012 - link
so, whats next, a Seasonic PSU with the Corsair name on it?I wonder how fanboys will swear how good is their psu,
they even have the same market USA, Europe, don`t know if they sell in Asia though...
Sabresiberian - Thursday, March 1, 2012 - link
What's your point?There have always been far more PSU brands than manufacturers. Seasonic, at one time, didn't put their name on anything, they made PSUs for other companies to retail, and it was only through being mentioned in articles by sites like Anandtech and Tomshardware that end users came to know the name.
Any company that chooses Seasonic as a manufacturer deserves credit for making a great choice, since overall there is none better or more consistent (I rank Enermax up there as well, though being very picky about the electronic results puts Seasonic slightly ahead, overall). And, there is nothing wrong with having someone manufacture something you tweak the specs of to make your own design variation, or even just add a little "bling" as is pretty much the case here.
Just as an example, one reason I won't buy another Silverstone PSU is that you need a chart to figure out who made their particular product, and they more often choose by the manufacturing cost than by the quality of the work. Antec, on the other hand, chooses manufacturer quality over cost, generally speaking. You are more likely to find an Antec made by Seasonic than a Silverstone made by Seasonic. In fact, as far as I've read Silverstone has never used Seasonic. (Regardless of who's name is on it or who made it though, I firmly believe in buying a unit that you've read a proper review of.)
;)
aranyagag - Thursday, March 1, 2012 - link
yes please do mention the voltage, at which you test.IKeelU - Thursday, March 1, 2012 - link
But I don't understand why anyone would care even the slightest about how their PSU looks. I read the review and watched the video (which was almost entirely focused on the exterior design), but...I still don't get it.ZekkPacus - Thursday, March 1, 2012 - link
Some people like to have a showy case with windows. If that's the case, an 'agressive' looking power supply such as this might appeal to them. Same reasoning behind Corsair's GS series.Beenthere - Thursday, March 1, 2012 - link
Some folks get all excited about the exterior look of the PSU. It's strange for sure. Some reviewers actually rate the BOX that the PSU comes in. Does it have pictures of a sexy girl and a carrying HANDLE? If not they deduct points from the score... Some people are really gullible. ;)dj christian - Thursday, March 1, 2012 - link
It's not relevant to the article but how can i keep track on my posts and the comment replies in the articles and such with my account? Must i get a forum account?Thanks!
iamkyle - Thursday, March 1, 2012 - link
It would be nice to see these reviews compared to other PSU's JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER REVIEW ON ANANDTECH