Seasonic M12II 500W Power Supply Review

Conclusion

With the M12II 500W, Seasonic seems to have manufactured the perfect power supply for consumers looking for modularity without breaking the bank. Not only has it shown itself to be a great performer but it is really the efficiency that stands out in our minds as being one of the stand-out qualities of this unit. Having modular cables only adds to the appeal and the extremely simple interface on the power supply itself will appeal to even the novice computer builder. Mention also has to be made about the warranty offered since it is presently pegged at 5 years which is quite a bit more than many of the other units on the market and shows that Seasonic has great confidence in their products.

While there are so many things to like about this power supply, there are also a few areas that need a bit of improvement. One of these areas is the cable lengths which are perfect for consumers with smaller cases but if you have a larger enclosure you may have a length issue with the PCI-E cables. The same holds true if you have one of the few enclosures with a bottom-mounted power supply which will present a situation where the CPU connector is to short to hook up to the proper area on the motherboard. The only other area we found needed some improvement was with the +12V rail outputs. While a combination of 17A and 18A should be more than enough for anyone, we would have preferred to have seen either two 18A rails or a single, larger rail.

Seasonic has shown time and again that they can produce some of the best power supplies in the industry for other companies and with the M12II 500W they have shown that their own units are more than a match for the competition. However, when push comes to shove Seasonic has quite a bit of competition in the $100 to $125 price segment with power supplies like the Corsair VX450 and Silverstone ST50-EF. In our opinion the M12II 500W is able to muscle past the competition by offering a modular power supply at a great price.


Pros:

- Efficient
- Great performance
- Quiet operation
- Modular interface
- 5-year warranty

Cons:

- Some short cables
- +12V rail outputs could be better