Seasonic SS-520FL2 520W Fanless 80 PLUS Platinum ATX12V/EPS12V Power Supply

Review for: Seasonic SS-520FL2 Power SupplyOVERVIEW:-----------The Seasonic SS-400FL2 (the 400W version of the one we are reviewing here) is silent, cool, and gets great reviews by the quiet/silent PC community. I highly recommend that little brother of the power supply being compared to here if you only need 1 PCI-E cable and under 400W.The hope is that the SS-520FL2, with its multiple PCI-E cables, higher wattage, and higher efficiency would also be as silent as its little 400W brother.Unfortunately the 520W version of it, the SS-520FL2, that I used had ELECTRICAL NOISE. Seasonic assured me and review sites that some original issues were resolved and the unit was silent, however this was not the case with my unit.Given Seasonic's great reputation, though, you might try the SS-520FL2 yourself and just be ready to listen to it right away so that you can exchange it early enough for it to be easy to do so if needed.OVERVIEW - DETAILS:---------------------Has PLATINUM LEVEL EFFICIENCY (2-3%+ improvements over gold across the power range) resulting in LESS HEAT TO DISSIPATE making it even easier to be fanless without electrical noise. Lab tests also show no thermal dissipation issues.Seasonic is a RESPECTED NAME in high-end silent/quiet power supplies, the Seasonic name is synonymous with quality silent/quiet power supplies.One caveat, ONLY BUY WHEN YOU ARE READY TO BUILD and look for ANY NOISE ISSUE AT ALL ASAP so you can get a free, easy exchange.The Seasonic SS-520FL2 could benefit with 2 more pci-e power connections. For most folks this is not an issue. However for those using SLI/CROSSFIRE (multiple gaming/graphics cards), this may be an issue unless you are sure you will only use 2 graphics cards with each only needing 1 pci-e power cable (vs. 2 per card).The Seasonic SS-520FL2 cabling is ENTIRELY MODULAR. For those unfamiliar with that term in this context, it means the SS-520FL2 will ONLY NEED to have the CABLES IT USES attached, and therefore no extra cables in the case. This has tidiness and airflow benefits, of course.The SS-520FL2 is 160(L) x 150(W) x 86(H) mm which is fairly small for this power class, an advantage for smaller cases.SOME OTHERPOWER SUPPLIES:-----------------> MORE SEASONIC:All these Seasonics also have entirely modular cabling.Seasonic Fanless SS-400FL2 (400W):Its original gold level version SS-400FL was reviewed as a SUPERB fanless power supply with great reviews for superior build, no electrical noise, etc. We've had ours for a long time now without any noise at mid power. It has only 1 PCI-E power cord, so it isn't for video/graphics cards requiring 2 PCI-E power cords, nor of course any SLI/Crossfire (multiple graphics cards). Reviews for the SS-400FL2 so far suggest they didn't hurt quality while moving efficiency up to platinum.Seasonic Fanless SS-460FL2 (460W):Has 2 PCI-E power cords and handles a little more wattage, and is generally lumped in with the SS-400FL/SS-400FL2 in reviews. Strangely enough the SS-520FL2 prices are often a little lower than the SS-460FL2, so if you can get a silent SS-520FL2 that would surely be the better deal.Seasonic X-650 and X-1050 (have fans):Get top notch reviews by respected members of the quiet/silent PC community and excellent reviews from the power supply expert community, PROVIDED THE ACTUAL POWER NEEDS ARE UNDER 300Wish for the X-650 AND UNDER 500Wish for the X-1050, as over those power usages they become less competitive noise-wise with other power supplies. These have gold level efficiency. The X-1050 was one of the first power supplies to measure as having no discernible electrical noise. Of course few will need 1000W power supply and they are fairly expensive.> ENERMAXEnermax has been making world-class quiet power supplies for sometime. Many have fully modular cables like the Seasonic ones.WARNING: According to their RMA department, be sure to test that an Enermax power supply is operational within the FIRST 7 DAYS (!!!) in order to remain within warranty. If you find out later than 7 days it is DOA you technically are now out of warranty even if the warranty is 5 years!Enermax Platimax 600W (has fan but super quiet):Very well reviewed by the silent/quiet PC community. This power supply RUNNING UNDER 500W is its competitive point for noise so if your needs are under 500W this is an very competitive unit from a respected name. Platinum level efficiency.I don't have experience with their fanless units like the EDF550AWN, however Enermax has had a long respected history in quiet, quality power supplies, per review publications, so although they are late to the fanless power supply party they are a player now. Seasonic, however, is by far the better known name in this arena and Enermax's 7-day test warranty gamesmanship is not particularly endearing.> CORSAIRCorsair X850:Reasonably competitive and well-reviewed noise-wise UNDER 300Wish, however, OVER 300W and ESPECIALLY OVER 400w there are significantly quieter alternatives.SOME RANDOM POWERLOAD EXAMPLES:----------------------i7-4770K Haswell CPU, Not Overclocked, GTX670 Graphics Card- Idle/Surfing: 55W-65W- Gaming - Middle Power Needs: 140W-150W

I checked the box and can confirm this is a Seasonic SS-520FL2. The last digit on the box is super script (shows up as a tiny 2 above the L), which might explain why Amazon doesn't include it in the product name or description. I feel it is important to know the difference because the #2 confirms this is in fact the latest model. I can't speak for others, but mine arrived quickly and works flawlessly. I hear absolutely no noise at full load. Zero coil whine. If you happen to get this PSU and experience any whine, I'd RMA it through Amazon and request an exchange.It's a great power supply and the fact that it's 80+ Platinum rated is just plain awesome. I work as a Sys Admin and have over 15+ years of PC repair and building experience. New builders often over look the importance of a good PSU. It's not just the fact that it's efficient, which is it, but this power supply also uses much better components then most others which means it should last longer and be able to handle surges and brown outs a lot better. I still recommend plugging this PSU into a UPS (ideally a sinewave UPS) for maximum reliability.For those that like to know what this PSU can handle, here are my specs:OS: Microsoft Windows 8.1 ProfessionalCPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-CoreCPU Cooler: Corsair H100i AIO Water Cooler with two SP120 LED fansMotherboard: ASRock Z97E-ITX/acMemory: PNY XLR8 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600Primary HD: Samsung 850 Pro 512GB SSDSecondary HD: Toshiba 1TB 2.5" 5400RPMVideo Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Superclocked ACXCase: Corsair 250D Mini ITX TowerPower Supply: SeaSonic Fanless 80+ Platinum 520 wattsOptical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray ReaderI ran a Prime95 Torture Test for 74 hours. Not a single error. Passes 3DMark and every other test I've thrown at it. Rock solid and insanely fast. I would not try running this machine on a "cheap" or poorly designed 500 watt power supply. Biggest selling point for me, next to it being completely fanless, is the 12v rail. It's able to put out 42A! That's very important if you want to be able to run a high-end graphics card.

Well, ok. The 5 stars are for the performance of this unit in the first hour I have run it. I just replaced a stock 300W PSU with this in my January 2013 HP p7-1446s. I already (against advice on amazon since I have an older PC) installed the EVGA 750 ti graphics card. It was running OK with the 300W supply, but the wireless connection was not running well. I switched to a hardwired enet and it runs fine. But just to be sure I ordered this unit and installed it. The hardest part was installing the wires after I put the supply into the case. It's about an inch longer than the old 300W unit and there's not much space to plug in those modular cables to the back of the supply. But I persevered and hooked it all up OK. Turned it on and DEAD. But that was because this power supply has a switch on it. Which I forgot about at first. Once that was on, the computer came right up. The only thing I hear is the slight whir of the external hard drives. There is no noise at all generated by the Seasonic. I'm hoping it continues to operate silently for a long time. So far, it's great. If the wireless networking doesn't work, it's NOT the power supply this time! I calculated I need about 300 Watts for what I've got on the system. This should handle it with ease.

This is an excellent PSU. The modular basis of the connectors means you dont need any more connectors than you actually need to connect to your motherboard. Its totally silent, no high noise what so ever. Even without a fan some power supplies can have a degree of whistle but this is silent. Even the packaging it comes in is quality, which seems a shame to throw it away.

Yes, I love this item. It is very good quality. Does exactly what it says on the box. The modular cabling is also good quality. It is that good I even felt the urge to stick the (supplied) Seasonic badge to my PC case...

Beautifully crafted and very quiet (as you'd expect) power supply. Working a treat so far on a i7-4790k ASUS Z97 PRO build.

Died after 2 years. Not too durable for a premium product.

Very quiet and very nice quality.