Layout, design and features …
The Seasonic Vertex PC power supplies in 80 Plus Gold or Platinum are available from 750W to 1200W exclusively in black and do not have any striking features on the outside. The Vertex logo has been embossed on the side of the sturdy case, but fancy displays or RGB lighting have been omitted. Noticeable are the generous ventilation slots for the 6W strong 135mm fan, which runs extremely quiet thanks to liquid storage and does not introduce any vibrations into the system. Thanks to the excellent build quality, there are no sharp edges to injure yourself on. Even the ventilation slots are extra rounded. Although it already belongs to the more powerful representatives of its guild with its 850 W total power, of which even up to 840W can be provided via the 12V line alone, it is still quite tightly dimensioned with a length of 160mm and does not require much space in the case.
On the rear, besides the obligatory IEC power connector, there is a mains disconnect switch and a pressure switch for selectively activating silent operation in the partial load range.
If the pressure switch is pressed, the fan runs permanently, otherwise the fan is only switched on automatically by the power supply when needed at a correspondingly high temperature. However, the fan doesn’t have to be turned off due to the volume. It isn’t perceptible from a PC with case fans during operation, because the outflowing air can also escape well through the coarse-meshed honeycomb grille. Fortunately, there is no changeover switch for 100V and 240V mains voltage, so the user cannot make any mistakes here.
On the front there are a total of 13 sockets for connecting the individual cables for all components of a modern and powerful PC system – whether gaming PC or workstation. Three 8-pin PCIe connectors and one 16-pin PCIe 5.0 12VHPWR connector including sense lines are available for graphics cards, and thanks to two 8-pin CPU connectors, even the most powerful CPUs are supplied with sufficient power. Up to 20 additional peripherals such as optical drives, hard drives or fan/RGB hubs can be supplied with power via the remaining 5 sockets.
The interior of the Vertex GX-850 has not been spared either. As befits a modern PC power supply, it has a single, powerful 12V rail that can deliver up to 840W on its own. This ensures smooth operation of high-performance CPUs and top-of-the-line graphics cards. Seasonic naturally uses high-quality capacitors that have sufficient voltage reserves and are specified for high temperatures of up to 105°. This lays the foundation for a long service life, as none of the installed components are operated at the limit. The construction and workmanship are impeccable and the few existing cables are also neatly laid. It goes without saying that all safety circuits for monitoring voltage, current, power, temperature and short-circuit are integrated, which shut down the power supply before it becomes dangerous, and the presence of the obligatory CE mark as well as the TUV-Sued seal further increase confidence.
Seasonic also relies on high-quality components for the voltage regulation of +12V, +5V and +3.3V and promises a maximum deviation of 3% from the set value, which is clearly below the specification of 5%. Should it get a bit warmer in the power supply under maximum load, the liquid-bearing and thus pleasantly quiet and vibration-free 135mm fan provides sufficient cooling. Its speed is also controlled depending on the temperature, which keeps the noise development to a minimum.
The cables for CPU, graphics cards and partly also for the motherboard are equipped with strong AWG16 wires to keep the voltage drop from the power supply to the device as low as possible. Unfortunately, there is no fancy fabric coating, but the perforated, black single wires do not stand out visually. The PCIe 5.0 graphics card connector, which to date has only been used with NVidia’s high-performance graphics cards, is specified for up to 600W and, in addition to the 12 power pins, also has the 4 sense lines to monitor the voltage at the graphics card.
For SATA cables, there are both fully assembled versions including 3.3V line …
… as well as copies according to SATA 3.3 standard, where the 3.3V line is not implemented, because drives according to SATA 3.3 standard cannot switch from standby to normal operation when the 3.3V voltage is applied.
Another highlight is the gold-plated contacts on the CPU, motherboard and PCIe connectors, which should prevent corrosion from humidity and thus ensure years of trouble-free operation.
Operators of custom water cooling systems, which have to be filled by the user, will be happy about the jumper, with which the power supply can be switched on without having to turn on the whole PC. This allows the water pump to be put into operation and the circuit to be filled without heating up the CPU.
The Vertex GX-850’s features, build and build quality were already completely convincing. We’ll reveal how the Seasonic power supply performs in practical testing on the next page.
Seasonic Vertex GX-850 Practical testing …