Seasonic Connect | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Wed, 29 Mar 2023 23:51:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Seasonic Connect | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Seasonic Arch Q503 Review with Connect DGC-750 https://www.kitguru.net/components/cases/leo-waldock/seasonic-arch-q503-review-with-connect-dgc-750/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cases/leo-waldock/seasonic-arch-q503-review-with-connect-dgc-750/#respond Fri, 27 May 2022 07:13:16 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=561696 Seasonic is back with another case, designed around the Connect PSU

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When we reviewed Seasonic's first case, the Syncro Q704, we were dealing with an inverted layout and a radical new type of power supply system named Connect. In this review we are looking at the Seasonic Arch Q503 with Connect DGC-750, which is a conventional mid-tower case that supports Seasonic's innovative Connect system and is likely to have a broader appeal.

Timestamps
00:00 Start
00:47 The Arch Q503
02:40 Storage/ fans / radiator / motherboard support
03:27 Connect Power Supply – pricing and versions
04:58 The idea of Connect
05:36 The cables
05:56 The build in the Q503
07:07 Noise testing
07:39 Cooling performance testing
08:19 Leo’s closing thoughts

Main features

  • Compatibility with Seasonic Connect for ultimate cable management
  • Stylish tempered glass side panels on both sides
  • Sturdy steel plate (0.7 mm) construction for durability and noise dampening
  • Pre-installed 120 mm fans (two in the front and one in the back)
  • Captive thumb screws to prevent them from getting lost
  • Easy access to control buttons and connectors (USB Type-C included)

Specification:

  • Motherboard support: E-ATX up to 277mm, ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX.
  • Power supply support: ATX up to 230mm.
  • Expansion slots: 7.
  • Included fans: 2x 120mm front intake, 1x 120mm rear exhaust.
  • Fan mounts: 3x 120mm/2x 140mm front, 2x 120/140mm roof, 1x 120mm rear, 2x 120mm on PSU shroud.
  • Radiator mounts: 360mm/280mm front, 240mm/280mm roof, 120mm rear.
  • 5.25-inch optical drive bays: None.
  • Internal drive bays: 1x 3.5-inch/2.5-inch, 1x 3.5-inch plus 1x 3.5-inch or 2x 2.5-inch.
  • Front I/O ports: 2x USB 3.0 Type-A, 1x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, audio jacks.
  • Dimensions: 482mm H x 448mm D x 215mm W.

Testing

To put this case through its cooling paces we will be using a test system consisting of an Intel Core i9-11900K, Radeon RX 6800 XT and an SSD. This system allows us to produce a substantial amount of heat and effectively test the Seasonic Arch Q503 ‘s cooling capabilities.

Test System:

  • Processor: Intel Core i9-11900K (8 cores/16 threads)
  • CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black
  • Motherboard: NZXT N7 Z590
  • Memory: 16GB Patriot Viper Steel RGB DDR4-3200MHz
  • Graphics card: Sapphire Radeon RX6800 XT 16GB
  • Power supply: Seasonic Connect DGC-750
  • SSD: Sabrent Rocket 4.0 M.2 NVMe
  • OS: Windows 11

Cooling Performance

Cooling Performance Overview

The Seasonic Arch Q503 struggles slightly with a fully loaded Core i9-11900K and RX6800 XT pulling a total power draw of 600W. We have little doubt the front panel is restrictive but also feel confident that gamers will find their Connect PC behaves perfectly well.

Closing Thoughts

The Seasonic Arch Q503 with Connect DGC-750 is a package that combines a fairly average mid-tower case with Seasonic's Connect power system.

You pay a fairly steep price for this innovation and in return you get a cleaner PC build. You should not expect to gain extra performance and are unlikely to see improved temperatures from the cleaner airflow. The benefit you will derive is the satisfaction of cleaning up those ugly runs of cables that get in the way and clutter up the typical PC.

The way we see it is that the sort of person who will buy the Arch Q503 is the type who cares about 80 Plus ratings and will consider a Gold rated PSU to be the absolute minimum they would consider. You have no idea how frequently KitGuru is offered PCs for review that come with a Bronze power supply and that anguish that causes.

If you feel the same way then you too will appreciate the Seasonic Arch Q503 with Connect while many others will not have the first clue what we are banging on about.

You can buy the Arch Q503 with Connect DGC-750 for £255.90.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

Pros:

  • Seasonic Connect is innovative and interesting.
  • The glass panels are dark but not too dark.
  • Finished build looks smart and understated.
  • Good support for a range of cooling.
  • Front I/O includes USB Type-C.

Cons:

  • The front panel is restrictive – Core i9 was a bit ambitious in this case!
  • The price of the case and Connect package is understandably high.

KitGuru says: We applaud Seasonic for bringing innovation to the case and power supply market.

Be sure to check out our sponsors store EKWB here

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Seasonic launches ARCH chassis with integrated power and cable management https://www.kitguru.net/components/matthew-wilson/seasonic-launches-arch-chassis-with-integrated-power-and-cable-management/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/matthew-wilson/seasonic-launches-arch-chassis-with-integrated-power-and-cable-management/#respond Mon, 09 May 2022 10:33:37 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=559813 Seasonic has made waves in the DIY PC building scene in recent years with its SYNCRO Q70 case and CONNECT power module, making cable management easier than ever. Now, Seasonic is launching the ARCH Series cases, combining both to create an excellent chassis for those looking for convenience, easy assembly and clean aesthetics...

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Seasonic has made waves in the DIY PC building scene in recent years with its SYNCRO Q70 case and CONNECT power module, making cable management easier than ever. Now, Seasonic is launching the ARCH Series cases, combining both to create an excellent chassis for those looking for convenience, easy assembly and clean aesthetics.

The Seasonic ARCH Q503 with the integrated CONNECT power supply is a mid-tower ATX chassis that features a sturdy steel body and tempered glass panels on both sides. The greatly simplifies system building and cable routing thanks to the mounted power module, allowing components to be connected directly to the cable management hub with shorter cable runs, thus reducing clutter.

The high-quality power supply is 80 PLUS Gold efficiency rated with the well-known, top-level Seasonic functions and features, and quiet operation. The fan control button at the back of the power supply allows users to customize their cooling needs by selecting between two modes: S2FC (fan control without Fanless Mode) and S3FC (fan control including Fanless Mode).

As far as cooling goes, there are three fans pre-installed in the front and back of the case, with room for up to eight 120mm fans total in the case, as well as liquid cooling radiators. For storage, you'll find three 3.5″ HDD and 2.5″ SSD bays.

The Seasonic Arch Q503 with CONNECT is available in two models, one with a 650W PSU ($239.99) and one with a 750W PSU ($259.99).

KitGuru Says: Are any of you planning a new PC build this year? Will you be considering a Seasonic Arch case? 

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Seasonic SYNCRO Q704 Gold Carbon Custom Build! https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/james-dawson/seasonic-syncro-q704-gold-carbon-custom-build/ https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/james-dawson/seasonic-syncro-q704-gold-carbon-custom-build/#respond Sat, 01 May 2021 11:00:01 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=513489 After our hydro dipping success, we build a full-on custom rig in the Seasonic SYNCRO Q704

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Following on from our earlier video explaining the process of hydro dipping with the Seasonic SYNCRO Q704 case, today we are building a system inside the Q704, themed around the black and gold colour scheme of the hydrographic film used in part one. Custom gold carbon sleeved cables and an exotic hard tube custom cooling system will perfectly complement the high specification, all-AMD build that we have in mind.

In keeping with the gold carbon fibre hydrographics theme, subtle highlights have been planned for this system including custom sleeved cables and the coolant used in the custom cooling loop. The Seasonic SYNCRO Q704 chassis is equipped with a Seasonic SYNCRO CONNECT DGC-750 power supply and CONNECT Module, to assist system builders with cable management organisation. Shorter stock modular cables than usual are supplied with the Seasonic CONNECT module, making it easier to create our custom cables.

The orientation of the 24-pin cable connection on the CONNECT Module doesn’t work well using the “out-of-the-box” cable with our choice of motherboard, so a new custom length cable is made. We were able to re-purpose the stock PCIe and EPS power cables as the length is ideal. To make the stock cables suit our system theme, each wire was individually removed from the connector housing, sleeved with MDPC-X Gold Carbon and Liquid Gold PET sleeving then re-assembled. The cables look great and this method saved a huge amount of time compared with making custom cables from scratch.

System Specification:

  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
  • Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 Aorus Xtreme
  • Memory: 16GB (2 x 8GB modules + 2 x Dummy modules) Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR4-3600
  • Graphics Card: AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT reference design
  • Storage: 1TB XPG Gammix S50 Lite PCIe Gen4x4 M.2 SSD
  • Case: Seasonic SYNCRO Q704
  • Power Supply: Seasonic SYNCRO CONNECT DGC-750 with CONNECT Module

Cooling – Full EKWB Custom CPU and GPU Loop:

  • Pump/res: EK-Quantum Kinetic TBE 120 DDC PWM D-RGB – Acetal with TBE 300 reservoir tube
  • CPU Water Block: EK-Quantum Magnitude – AM4 Copper + Acetal
  • GPU Water Block: EK-Quantum Vector RX 6800/6900 D-RGB – Nickel + Plexi
  • Fittings: EK-Quantum Torque HDC 12 – Black Nickel
  • Tubing: EK-HD PETG Tube 10/12mm
  • System Fans: 7 x be quiet! Silent Wings 3 High Speed
  • Coolant: One-off mix of Mayhems Aurora Black Gold

A high specification system such as this requires advanced cooling. An EKWB full custom cooling loop was built to cool both the CPU and GPU, using a full cover EK-Quantum Vector RX 6800/6900 D-RGB block for the graphics card and an EK Magnitude – AM4 Copper + Acetal block for the CPU. Mayhems mixed us a one-off bottle of their end-of-life Aurora Hydra Black Gold coolant for this project; the fluid was only used for a short time, then drained and flushed from the system, but it looked great for the video.

Overall, the build went well, the final appearance turned out exactly how we had hoped it would. The dark gold carbon look is very stealthy, while the gold sleeved cables and gold looking RGB lighting added some bright highlights which complemented each other very well. The outside of the case also has a custom look with the gold carbon hydro dipping that we did in the previous video. We are very happy with how the system looks, but what do you guys think?

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: The Seasonic SYNCRO Q704 case is well equipped for building a custom system, and we are very happy with how everything turned out. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Seasonic CONNECT Review – A New Kind of Power Supply! https://www.kitguru.net/components/leo-waldock/seasonic-connect-review-a-new-kind-of-power-supply/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/leo-waldock/seasonic-connect-review-a-new-kind-of-power-supply/#respond Wed, 01 Jul 2020 09:28:51 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=474516 It's a PSU like you've never seen before - introducing Seasonic CONNECT

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Seasonic CONNECT is a PC power supply like nothing we have ever seen before. The main unit is a 750W Gold rated Prime power supply with a short, fixed main 12V cable that plugs into the CONNECT unit, and that's where things get interesting. CONNECT is a distribution panel that is attached to the mid-panel of your PC with the aim of tidying all those messy cables.

Key features

  • 80 Plus Gold certified
  • Micro Tolerance Load Regulation (0.5 %)
  • Cable-free Connection Design
  • Premium Hybrid Fan Control – Fanless until 40% load
  • Multi-GPU setup
  • Gold plated connectors
  • 10 years warranty

SSR-750FA Technical Specifications

  • 80PLUS Rating: Gold
  • Dimensions: 140 mm (L) x 150 mm (W) x 86 mm (H)
  • Fan Size: 135 mm
  • Fan Bearing: Fluid Dynamic Bearing
  • Life Expectancy: 50,000 hours at 40°C
  • Cable Information: Fully Modular
  • Cable type: Flat black cables
  • Warranty: 10 Years
  • Total continuous power: 750W

When you look at the specification of the CONNECT power supply it adds up to a conventional 750W Gold rated unit that is housed in two units. In time we hope that Seasonic will deliver other versions with different power ratings that perhaps stretch to Platinum or Titanium, but for now the CONNECT family has a single model called SSR-750FA.

The main power unit houses a 135mm FDB fan and outputs 12V power and 5V stand-by through the chunky fixed cable to the CONNECT unit that distributes 12V, 5V and 3.3V around your PC. This means the CONNECT unit is performing two distinct tasks as it houses the hardware that converts 12V to 5V and 3.3V, and it also acts as a connection point for the cables that power your CPU, motherboard, graphics card(s), storage drives and peripherals.

Working with a regular Seasonic Prime PSU

We built a test PC inside the popular Lian Li O11D case to try out a few scenarios, starting with a Seasonic Prime 850W Titanium power supply with standard cables. The Lian Li has tinted glass panels that conceal the innards of the build to a certain extent. With the glass removed you can clearly see inside the case and the aesthetics of the cables were reasonably OK with nothing too offensive on show. Around the back of the case the drive plate covers the cables, however when the plate was removed the PC still looked tidy enough.

Adding £40-£50 CableMod extensions to the stock Seasonic cables makes a notable difference to the look of the main compartment. Around the back of the PC we now have more cables to tuck away so it’s not a perfect situation but overall the build looks better than when we started.

Using £90-£100 CableMod replacements increases the cost significantly. Inside the main compartment we have the same appearance we saw with the extension cables, but round the back the PC now looks lovely and tidy.

Installing Seasonic CONNECT

Installing CONNECT doesn’t take much thought as the unit requires a space measuring at least 330mm by 65mm with 21mm of depth. When you consider the CONNECT is tethered by the 12V cable you are unlikely to have many options… so clear the necessary space, place the supplied magnets on your case and stick the CONNECT in place.

After that, you plug in the 24-pin cable and one or two EPS cables (as required) and then consider your options with the PCIe graphics cables. After that hook up your storage and peripherals and the job is done. The CONNECT unit transforms the looks of the back of the case but may potentially be problematic in terms of clearance.

In the main compartment you are faced with conventional flat black cables and as the whole point of CONNECT is to pretty up your PC we are confident you will want to upgrade to replacement cables ASAP.

Closing Thoughts

We know full well that Seasonic understands power supplies and there can be no argument that a Prime 750W Gold will work well as a PSU so that important aspect of Seasonic CONNECT is a given. The cable management side of things is a different matter as the finished build has to look good and, ideally, the building process should be easier than usual.

The fact we are unfamiliar with CONNECT means the build takes slightly longer than a conventional ATX PSU, but getting the big bits in place doesn’t present much difficulty. Connecting up the cables is easy enough but this also requires a small amount of thought as we have been doing this for quite some while and are somewhat set in our ways.

The cables coming from CONNECT were very close to the grommets in our O11D case so we fed them through as we brought the CONNECT into place until everything landed with a satisfying magnetic snick. It would be helpful if CONNECT was shorter in length and required less space, and if that means it supports fewer connection then so be it.

If we could change one thing on this CONNECT, it would be the locations of the connectors for the main 24-pin and the PCIe graphics on the CONNECT as we were forced to push the cables through grommets that would not have been our first choice.

The other point is the obvious one that the stock flat black cables detract from the looks. We aren’t too fussed about that with a conventional power supply but Seasonic CONNECT is all about the looks and we want both sides of the PC to look smart which includes the front as well as the back.

We don't yet have a buy link for the Seasonic CONNECT, but we have been told to expecting pricing at £161 inc VAT.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

Pros:

  • High quality power supply at a reasonable price.
  • Installation is straightforward and the CONNECT unit looks radical and different.
  • The cables run horizontally and require less bending and wrestling into position.
  • Sufficient connectors for any enthusiast PC.

Cons:

  • You need to budget for a set of cables that will give a finished look to your PC build.
  • CONNECT requires plenty of space and will cause issues in some PC cases.
  • In most cases CONNECT will be hidden behind a solid panel (unless you get modding of course …)

KitGuru says: Seasonic CONNECT is different and hallelujah for that, however it still requires work. A set of smarter cables would go a long way towards making us happier.

Be sure to check out our sponsors store EKWB here

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Seasonic launches its first Connect 750W power supply https://www.kitguru.net/components/power-supplies/james-dawson/seasonic-launches-its-first-connect-750w-power-supply/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/power-supplies/james-dawson/seasonic-launches-its-first-connect-750w-power-supply/#respond Wed, 04 Mar 2020 09:57:51 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=454943 After a few years in development, Seasonic has rolled out its first Connect power supply. A solution that is designed to improve cable management when building a PC via a magnetic cable hub back-plane and shorter modular cables. Seasonic originally revealed its concept power supply way back at Computex 2018, that was designed to make …

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After a few years in development, Seasonic has rolled out its first Connect power supply. A solution that is designed to improve cable management when building a PC via a magnetic cable hub back-plane and shorter modular cables.

Seasonic originally revealed its concept power supply way back at Computex 2018, that was designed to make the task of managing cables inside a PC a much simpler job. Again, at Computex 2019, Seasonic introduced the Connect power supply which became the official name of this new type of PC power supply. Since then, things have been rather quiet about when the Connect power supply series would launch.

It seems that the wait is now over as Seasonic has officially rolled out its first Connect power supply in the form of a 750W model that aims to clean up the part of a system that is not always on view. However, some modern PC cases now come with tempered glass on both sides, so the Connect power supply series would be the ideal fit for these situations.

The Connect power supply is basically a Seasonic Prime 750W 80 Plus Gold certified unit with a unique cable and connector that is attached to the Connect device. The power supply supports +12 V, -12 V and +5 Vsb rails. Seasonic Connect is a magnetic back-plane that can be mounted to the PC case and converts power from the 12 V PSU rail into +3.3 V and +5 V outputs.

Seasonic Connect is supplied with modular cables that are shorter than cables included with a traditional modular power supply. Seasonic claims the cables will be long enough to reach any part of the PC system which makes the Connect a One Clean Solution. The Connect also features an LED Seasonic display, multi GPU support and is offered with a 10-year warranty. Price of the Connect power supply is yet to be revealed.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: This new Connect power supply from Seasonic looks really interesting and would be the ideal solution to tidy up messy looking cables inside tempered glass or semi-open cases. What do you guys think of the Connect power supply from Seasonic?

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