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 Posted: September 12, 2003
Author: Jason Kohrs
Manufacturer: Seasonic
Sponsor: Seasonic
 All power supplies come with at least one warning label to never open the cover. The Super Versatile is no different, and like the rest, I had to crack it open and see what might be hidden inside. The two images below show the contents, and no real surprises. You always hope to find potentiometers for increasing the strength to the drive rails, but the absence is not a disappointment. The one cooling fan should work well in tandem with the large aluminum heatsinks to help dissipate the heat generated during operation.
 
The system that this power supply has been installed on includes the following components:
4VIA EPIA M9000 Ezra Motherboard with integrated 900 MHz processor
4512 MB Crucial PC2100 DDR SDRAM
430 GB 7200 RPM Maxtor hard drive
452x Lite-On CD-ROM
4Maxtop CSX-001 mATX case
4(2) 60 mm and (2) 80 mm case fans
 The Maxtop case came with a mATX power supply pre-installed, and it will be put head-to-head with the Seasonic Super Versatile for the testing portion of the review. As you can see in the image to left, the two power supplies are similar physically, but the Super Versatile (on the left) has far greater open area on the fan grill and on the perforated back panel, which allows more air to flow through. Not only is the cooling potential better, but coupled with the S2FC technology, the fan on the Super Versatile is noticeably quieter than that on the Qmax. The other key difference between the two units is that the Super Versatile features shorter leads on the power connectors. Most of the time longer is better, but in the case of mini computers, short is adequate, and sometimes preferred.
Physical features aside, the Qmax is rated for 170W total power, with the following drive rail ratings: 3.3V - 17A, 5V - 12A, and 12V - 13A. Slightly higher than the Seasonic on the 3.3V and 12V rail, and way less on the 5V rail. Comparing these two in testing should be fair, but very interesting.
The testing of the power supplies will be simple... to see how much the main voltage rails fluctuate from idle conditions to full load conditions. I used a Radio Shack multi-meter (Cat. No. 22-810) to record all of my voltage readings, and compared the idle results from the multi-meter to results obtained from the BIOS. Results were recorded from the 5V, 3.3V, and 12V rails with the system idling, as well as with the system under full load utilizing SiSoft Sandra Max3!. The Burn-in Wizard of Sandra allows you to stress test various components in your system, which increases the power required by each. I allowed the two (2) CPU tests to run, as well as the file system benchmark, the memory bandwidth benchmark, and the cache & memory benchmark.
Physically, the multi-meter was connected directly to the back of the 20-pin ATX motherboard connector, with the black lead placed on a black wired socket, and separately I placed the red lead on a red wired socket for the 5v rail, a yellow wired socket for the 12V line, and an orange wired socket for the 3.3V line.
Idle multi-meter readings for the Super Versatile
The table above details the results of testing after about 30 minutes at idle and then 30 minutes at full load. As you can see, the Super Versatile idled with stronger rails than the competition across the board, and when put to the test of full load conditions, maintained its stability better, as well. Both power supplies displayed admirable results, and are well within the +/- 5% specification that most manufacturers adhere to, but the Seasonic unit barely fluctuated at all, telling me its up to the challenge of a much greater power demand.
The chart below shows the fluctuations between idle and load conditions on the Super Versatile power supply. Honestly, the readings varied so little that I could have plotted the idle conditions alone and had an equally informative chart, but shown side-by-side, the results detail the strength of this psu.
The Seasonic Super Versatile 200W power supply is an excellent choice for anyone that not only needs to replace an existing mATX psu, but would like a true upgrade. The strong voltage rails, and refined touches such as Dr. Cable and S2FC technology found in this power supply make it stand out in the crowd of typical mATX power supplies. Seasonic applies the attention to detail and quality engineering to this product that most mATX power supplies obviously lack.
For those interested in buying a Seasonic Super Versatile power supply unit, your list of potential retailers is rather short (but growing). A complete “where to buy” list can be found here, and at the time of this review contains 7 stores (which is a definite improvement over one week ago when BigBruin.Com reviewed the Super Silencer 400W and the list stood at 4 stores). The lowest price I found for the Super Versatile among these stores was $38.00 (US), which is a good deal higher than most other mATX power supplies out there. Needless to say I am comparing the Super Versatile to it’s generic counterparts, but the point is, if being cheap is your biggest concern than this probably isn’t the power supply for you.
The warranty on this product is also quite impressively. Seasonic stands behind the Super Versatile for 3 years, and offers support online and via a toll free number to make troubleshooting as easy as possible. And, if that isn’t enough, details for their “simple and effective RMA process” are included with the documentation.
In addition to being an excellent upgrade for existing mATX systems, I would recommend the Seasonic Super Versatile for use by those looking to design their own custom small form factor system. Finding a solid psu is serious consideration for people creating their own SFF enclosures, and this could do the job nicely.
Pros:
4Reliably provides more than enough power for any mATX system
4Quiet... the S2FC technology and physical design of the unit make it
4Dr. Cable system is a nice touch, and should be adopted by more power supply manufacturers
43 year warranty, strong support system, and easy RMA process from the manufacturer
Cons:
4More expensive than your typical mATX power supply.
Special thanks to Seasonic for supplying the Super Versatile 200W mATX Power Supply to BigBruin.Com for review!
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