NZXT Teams Up With Seasonic for Semi-Digital E Series PSUs

NZXT teamed up with Seasonic for the release of its E series, which consists of three power supplies with capacities ranging from 500W to 850W. The PSUs are 80 PLUS Gold certified, use a fully modular cable design, and are covered by a hefty 10-year warranty. They also feature a semi-passive mode for dead silent operation under light loads (up to 100W).

These PSUs also use a special version of the Focus Plus Gold platform, which features a digital interface courtesy of a Texas Instruments DSP. The platform's main functions still use analogue controllers, but thanks to the digital interface, you can monitor all rails and track total power-on time. There is also software over current protection on all three 12V outputs, with adjustable thresholds for the EPS and PCIe connectors.

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E500
AC Input Rating100-240Vac, 8-4A, 50-60Hz
DC Output Rating+3.3V+5V+12V-12V+5Vsb
20A20A41A0.3A3A
100W492W3.6W15W
500W
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E650
AC Input Rating100-240Vac, 9-4.5A, 50-60Hz
DC Output Rating+3.3V+5V+12V-12V+5Vsb
20A20A54A0.3A3A
100W648W3.6W15W
650W
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E850
AC Input Rating100-240Vac, 12-6A, 50-60Hz
DC Output Rating+3.3V+5V+12V-12V+5Vsb
20A20A70A0.3A3A
100W840W3.6W15W
850W

All three PSUs will be available in the U.S. and Europe during the end of July and the MSRP pricing is the following:

  • E500 - $125
  • E650 - $140
  • E850 - $150

Those prices are quite stiff, especially for the 500 and 650W models, while the very small price difference between the E650 and the E850 will surely affect the E650 unit's sales. At least in our opinion, NZXT should focus more on developing a fully digital platform if it wants to offer something truly innovative, instead of using an analogue platform and simply adding a digital interface with some added protection features.

The true strength in fully digital PSUs is the advanced control features that allow the utilization of highly efficient converters (e.g. totem pole PFC). Totem pole PFC converters are able to offer up to 99% efficiency levels, dramatically reducing energy losses, especially in high capacity PSUs. The major setback so far is that there are no commercial analog controllers available for totem pole PFC converters at this time. On the contrary, digital controllers, which can be programmed accordingly, can easily handle the increased demands of a totem pole PFC converter.

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Series NameE
Model NumbersE850 E650 E500
OEMSeasonic (Focus Plus Gold Platform with Digital Interface)
Max. DC Output500-850W
PFCActive PFC
Efficiency80 Plus Gold
Noise-
ModularYes (fully)
Intel C6/C7 Power State Support
+12V Max Power (W)E850: 840 E650: 648 E500: 492
Combined +3.3, +5V (W)100
5VSB Max Power (W)15
Operating temperature0°C ~ 50°C
ProtectionsOver Current Protection Over Temperature Protection Over Power Protection Over Voltage Protection Short Circuit Protection
Cooling120mm Fluid Dynamic Bearing Fan (12V, 1800RPM, 73.9 CFM, 32.2 dB[A])
Semi-passive operation
Number of EPS ConnectorsE850: 2 E650: 1 E500: 1
Number of PCIe ConnectorsE850: 6 E650: 4 E500: 2
Number of SATA Connectors8
Number of PATA ConnectorsE850/600: 6 E500: 3
Dimensions150mm (W) x 86mm (H) x 150mm (D)
ComplianceATX12V v2.4, EPS12V 2.92
Warranty10 years
Contributing Editor

Aris Mpitziopoulos is a Contributing Editor at Tom's Hardware US, covering PSUs.

  • BulkZerker
    NZXT is quickly becoming the Razor of cases and now PSUs.
    Reply
  • milkod2001
    @BULKZERKER
    Add Corsair in the mix.
    Reply
  • newsonline.4000000
    I always buy Seasonic PSU ... why do some people buy Seasonic PSU under other brands ? it does not make any sense.
    Reply
  • Poozle
    Added features and different visuals
    Reply