Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review

Seasonic expands the X-series of power supplies further with the new X-1050 PSU. Is it worth your dollars?

Published
Updated
Manufacturer: Seasonic USA
4 minutes & 55 seconds read time

Introduction and Specifications, Availability and Pricing

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 04

Seasonic has been regularly refreshing the X-series of power supplies and they have been selling like hotcakes. Last time around, we took a good look at the Seasonic X-760 and found it to be an amazing value and very strong performer.

Seasonic recently added the new X-1050 and X-1250 units to their lineup and today we are going to take a look at the new X-1050.

We hope to see that it performs just as well as our previous X-series unit did, but Seasonic already set the bar rather high.

Specifications, Availability and Pricing

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 02

Not too much has changed in the I/O specifications for the new Seasonic X-1050. The power supply is still rated for 25A on both the 3.3V and 5V rails, but it does receive a small bump in total combined output here. The new rating for both rails is 150W combined. The single 12V rail is rated for 87A and is capable of 1044W.

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 03

As most would expect from an enthusiast grade power supply and from Seasonic, the X-1050 has a full complement of features. All protections are there including over temperature protection. The unit is rated for 100% continuous output at 50C and carries an 80Plus Gold rating. Months ago there were rumors that the X-1050 would be Platinum rated, but it looks like they weren't quite able to make it happen.

The Seasonic X-1050 is available at numerous places and can currently be had for $219.99 plus shipping at Newegg. That puts it squarely in the middle of the range for price when looking at 1000W units and with some more attractive features than the competition. Seasonic backs the unit with a five year warranty.

The Packaging

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 04

The same black and gold packaging is used for the X-series 1050W unit.

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 05

Seasonic throws a good list of features at you on the back of the box, but also provides a lot of information as well. It is also nice to see a shot of the inside of the unit.

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 06

One side shows the front of the power supply and all of the modular connections.

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 07

The other gives the specifications of the unit.

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 08

The top is rather blank with just a few logos and the wattage of the unit.

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 09

Checking out the bottom you will find a list of features in multiple languages.

Inside the Box

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 10

Seasonic takes great care in packing the X-1050. The unit is placed inside a felt bag then protected by a half inch of foam on all sides.

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 11

Seasonic keeps the top of the X-1050 completely blank.

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 12

On one side we find a generic X-series logo.

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 13

The other side is contains the I/O specification label.

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 14

On the back of the X-1050 we see the standard honeycomb mesh grill for ventilation along with a heavy duty on//off rocker switch and the AC input.

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 15

Moving to the front, we can see that the unit is fully modular. Note the fan switch on the front of the unit. It will allow you to set the fan on the power supply to be passive or not when the unit is under 25C in temperature.

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 16

More black and gold is continued on the bottom of the unit. Here we have a large honeycomb mesh grill as opposed to the usual wire grill we usually see.

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 17

All of the modular cables included are sleeved almost as far as they can be.

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 18

Also included is a user manual, Velcro cable ties, zip ties, mounting screws, a case badge and information about the warranty.

Cabling Arrangement & A Look Inside

Cabling Arrangement

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 19

The Seasonic X-1050 is fully modular and comes with a fantastic selection of connectors and cables. Dual EPS12V connectors and six 8-pin PCI-E cables make this a prime candidate for enthusiasts and overclockers alike. The peripheral cables are also available in multiple lengths to ensure that cable management can be done well, right out of the box.

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 20

Seasonic keeps the rail distribution sweet and simple with a single 12V rail.

A Look Inside

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 21

Lots of cooling can be found once you open up the unit. You can tell that care was taken to make sure things were placed in an efficient manner.

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 22

A trio of Japanese made Nippon Chemi-Con caps adorns the primary side of the X-1050 power supply.

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 23

More Nippon Chemi-Con can be found on the secondary side of the PSU.

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 24

Seasonic uses the Sanyo Denki San Ace 120 fan to cool the X-1050. They say that the fan is more balanced than others which provides for increased performance.

Test Results and Final Thoughts

Test Results

Our load tests utilize a couple of FAST ATE active load testers and a variety of other equipment such as an oscilloscope, power conditioner, temperature probe and a power consumption meter. You can read more about our standard testing approach here.

The tests performed are based around six conceivable setups that are out there and progressively load down the PSU up to the power supply's limits or 1000W, whichever comes first. Since our test equipment's limits are less than that of the Seasonic X-1050, we can only test it to 1000W.

Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 25
Seasonic X-1050 1050W Power Supply Review 26

Let's start by taking a look at the voltages to see how well this unit did during testing. Starting with the 12V rail, we see 1% regulation from start to finish with a total drop of .09V throughout all the tests. The 5V rail also stayed within 1% voltage regulation and a total drop of .05V. Moving towards the 3.3V rail, we see that regulation stays at 1% with a total voltage drop of .04V.

DC output quality was good from start to finish. Starting out, we were barely able to see a ripple on the scope during Test 1 where we measured noise at a low 9mV peak to peak. This steadily increased as the loads also increased. By the time we had reached around 50% load, the unit ripple had crept up to 17mV. Under full load, we saw that the noise on the 12V rail had crept up to 27mV.

The Seasonic X-1050 is rated for 80Plus Gold efficiency. This means that the power supply must perform at 87%/90%/87% efficiency at 20%/50%/100% loads respectively. As you can see, Seasonic X-1050 managed to score a pass while on our test bench. At no time was the unit close to failing for efficiency.

Final Thoughts

Seasonic has once again proven why it is often the choice of enthusiasts. The X-1050 performed nearly flawlessly on our test bench through all of our tests. The voltage regulation is at 1% or less across all three rails which is almost unheard of and rarely seen. DC output quality was almost amazing, staying under 30mV of ripple under full load. Topping it off, the unit excels past the minimum for 80Plus Gold certification.

Performance aside, the Seasonic X-1050 has the rest of the package as well. The full modular design coupled with short and long cables ensure that you only have the cables you need in your system. Seasonic backs the unit with a five year warranty and when you add in the price of the unit, it becomes a no-brainer. The X-1050 gives you a win-win no matter how you look at it.

What do TweakTown.com awards mean? Click for details!

PRICING: You can find products similar to this one for sale below.

USUnited States: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com

UKUnited Kingdom: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.co.uk

AUAustralia: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com.au

CACanada: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.ca

DEDeutschland: Finde andere Technik- und Computerprodukte wie dieses auf Amazon.de

Newsletter Subscription
We openly invite the companies who provide us with review samples / who are mentioned or discussed to express their opinion. If any company representative wishes to respond, we will publish the response here. Please contact us if you wish to respond.