9-Way 850W Power Supply Roundup

Seasonic S12D 850W

Seasonic is one of those companies that many people and companies look to for top-notch power supplies. Ttheir OEM capabilities have produced some amazing units for the likes of Corsair, PC Power & Cooling and Antec but we have to remember they also have their own line of retail products. For this roundup, Seasonic sent us their S12D which ends up being the only non-modular unit featured here but it is also one of the least expensive at a shade under $200 CAD.


It seems that lately, we are seeing less and less manufacturers go for flashy, gaudy packaging designs and it is good to see Seasonic following this trend to a tee with a predominantly black box. Meanwhile, the interior shows us adequate protection with all the cables pushed to the side and hidden by an S12D-branded flap which protects the PSU form lateral movement.

As with all Seasonic packages, the accessory list isn’t anything to write home about. You get the usual mounting screws along with a reasonably thick 16AWG power cord, instruction manual, a case sticker and finally a Molex to dual FDD (Floppy) adaptor.


While we have already talked about how this power supply is obviously not modular, there is one thing else that makes it stand out from the crowd: it sports a 120mm fan instead of the usual 135 / 140mm turbines seen in the rest of the group. This shouldn’t hold it back in any way but it is worth mentioning. The unit itself is also quite compact in size and sports a Seasonic-standard black powder-coated finish that while being quite durable attracts finger prints far too easily.


Since the S12D doesn’t sport a modular interface, taking a picture of all its cables is a lesson in frustration but let’s just say that they are wonderfully sleeved all the way to the last connector.


Seasonic designs are usually overbuilt and the S12D is no different. Upon first glance we can see this unit features Seasonic’s DC to DC converter design which uses a single AC to 12V DC transformer layout. Instead of the +3.3V and +5V rails being separate, in this type of design they are directly branched off of the +12V rail which is supposed to increase efficiency and result in other performance benefits.


In the midst of the large aluminum heatsinks lie of pair of telltale blue Hitachi 105°C capacitors while the secondary side receives a forest of NCC caps. All in all, these are great component choices but we would expect nothing less of Seasonic.