Seasonic Focus GX-850 V4 ATX v3.1 PSU Review

Protection Features

OCP (Normal @ 27.4°C) 12V: 98.60A (140.86%), 11.994V
5V: 27.7A (138.50%), 4.999V
3.3V: 29.3A (146.50%), 3.312V
5VSB: 6.7A (223.33%), 4.766V
OCP (Hot @ 44.6°C) 12V: 92.20A (131.71%), 12.017V
5V: 27.7A (138.50%), 5.003V
3.3V: 29.4A (147.00%), 3.314V
5VSB: 6.5A (216.67%), 4.753V
OPP (Normal @ 27.6°C) 1183.091W (139.19%)
OPP (Hot @ 41.6°C) 1055.558W (124.18%)
OTP ✓ (138°C @ Heat Sink)
SCP 12V to Earth: ✓
5V to Earth: ✓
3.3V to Earth: ✓
5VSB to Earth: ✓
-12V to Earth: ✓
PWR_OK Proper Operation
NLO
Fan Failure Protection
SIP Surge: MOV
Inrush: NTC & Bypass Relay

The 12V OCP triggering point is close to 141% in cold conditions but drops notably at high temperatures. On the other hand, the OCP triggering points on the minor rails are high at normal temperatures and remain at the same levels at high temperatures, affecting the effectiveness of the corresponding protection features. The PSU is stressed more at high temperatures, so it should be tuned to deliver less power than at lower temperatures.

The Over Power Protection is set pretty high at normal temperatures but drops significantly at high temperatures to protect the PSU effectively. All other primary protection features are present, but Fan Failure Protection should be implemented, especially since an MCU controls the fan.

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6 thoughts on “Seasonic Focus GX-850 V4 ATX v3.1 PSU Review

    1. I can confirm the fan in GX-850 V4 is way too loud (I have the PSU here). Indeed it starts spinning at too high RPM. The fan curve is absolutely terrible. Even at 360 Watts load during gaming the PSU fan in the GX-850 V4 is by far the loudest component in my PC. I compared the GX-850 V4 ATX PSU against my Seasonic Focus SPX 2021 SPX-750 750W SFX PSU with a 92 mm fan (vs 135 mm fan inside the GX-850 V4) and the small SFX PSU is significantly more quiet, it is almost inaudible below 400 Watts load. The small SPX-750 is absolutely compatible with Silent PC bulds, while the GX-850 V4 is absolutely unacceptable for Silent PC builds. Also the fan curve for the GX-850 V4 is absolutely trash. After closing a video game and going from around 400 Watts down to 80 Watts idle- it takes the fan like 2-3 minutes to stop spinning meanwhile the 92mm fan inside the small SPX-750 SFX psu stops spinning after like 10-15 seconds when closing the game and going from high load back to idle. I suspect it is the “new Seasonic OptiSink Design” that requires much more cooling. While it might have a bigger surface area for cooling in total, it lacks actual physical mass of bigger metal cooling heatsinks. Because of that it needs constant and active cooling compared to solutions with big aluminium heatsinks. All the marketing talk seems to be a bunch of bull, Quote:

      “The eightfold increase in heat dissipation keeps the internals of the power supply cooler, eventually leading to improved product quality, long-term reliability, and more efficient operation.

      The redesigned layout of the power supply components and its improved thermal performance creates versatility and allows the power supply to be safely installed in any orientation.

      The OptiSink design is an eco-friendly solution that not only lowers the costs of material usage and production but also leads to energy savings in the long run.”

      What it really means is- it is way cheaper for Seasonic to manufacture and because of that, they make more profit with the new OptiSink design. The downside is that it needs constant active air cooling due to lack of mass from big metal heatsinks, which are way more effective at cooling.

      Needless to say I’ve returned the GX-850 V4, it’s absolutely terrible and unacceptable in terms of noise, I kid you not- the small SPX-750 is significantly more quiet. I made video comparisons as well, might upload them to YT later.

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