500W to 550W: 12 Power Supplies Compared

Seasonic S12II SS-500GB - Overview

We looked at an S12II 330W power supply in the last roundup, and we are including the 500W model in this roundup; both perform quite well. In fact, we first looked at both of these power supplies in late 2007, which helps to illustrate the point that there hasn't been much innovation in the sub-500W power supply market. The S12II series will soon be upgraded to an 80 Plus Bronze level to help it compete with 80 Plus Gold certified power supplies that will begin showing up in the middle of the year. The S12II offers good performance at a great price, which is one of the reasons this series has sold so well.

There are three heatsinks inside, two for the primary and a larger one for the secondary. Like the M12II, the primary capacitor is manufactured by Hitachi and Nippon Chemi-Con makes the secondary capacitors.