Conclusion
The Seasonic FOCUS GM-650 is the first power supply we have seen here at TheFPSReview from Seasonic. However, Seasonic has been one of the biggest names in the enthusiast community for power supplies over the last 10 years or so and one of the older OEM providers in general. So, power supplies are their business. That means the chances for success seem to be rather high today. The question is; do chances translate into reality? Let’s see.
Build Quality
Today’s Seasonic FOCUS GM-650 starts things off with a build quality that is very good/excellent for its market position. The exterior represents a well-balanced approach that is a bit more distinctive and well-branded than previous FOCUS units have been. This is in addition to the fact that we get good cables and a nice finish. The integration is very clean, as we often see from Seasonic, with good component placement and excellent soldering overall. The component selection features Nippon Chemi-con standard and solid electrolytics. There is also an FDB fan used to cool this unit. Lastly, the documentation with this unit is ok (not great though) but the 7-year warranty is an excellent length.
Load Testing
Today’s Seasonic FOCUS GM-650 started off testing in very good shape. We saw voltage regulation of up to 0.12v on the 12v rail, 0.07v on the 5v rail, and 0.07v on the 3.3v rail. These numbers would be very good for any unit. However, this unit is a more mainstream offering so these values definitely get a bit of a bump. The one area that becomes difficult with this unit is saying exactly how well it does relative to the competition as it is the first 650W unit we have seen. That said, going by the absolute values we saw, it should place very well among comparable products.
Moving on, we saw efficiency values that ranged from 86.17% to 88.78% efficient at 120v AC input and 84.70% to 88.19% at 100v AC input. When it came to the 80 Plus efficiency numbers, we did see the FOCUS GM-650 fall a bit short of its stated efficiency at all loads. On the flip side, the FOCUS GM-650 did pass our Torture Test.
When we look at the Transient Load Tests results for the Seasonic FOCUS GM-650, we see that the results are decent. When directly loaded, the 12v rail showed a peak change of ~360mV, and the 5v rail had a peak change of ~105mV. During the 12v load, the unloaded 5v rail saw a peak change of ~60mV. In absolute terms, these results are in the specification and decent overall. However, in relative terms, it is again hard to say since this is the first 650W unit we have seen.
DC Output Quality
The DC Output Quality results for the Seasonic FOCUS GM-650 were excellent. Overall, we saw peak ripple/noise values of just ~40mV of ripple/noise on the 12v rail, ~10mV on the 5v rail, and 10mV on the 3.3v rail during our regular load tests. These values are well within specification limits and that means, at a minimum, excellent in absolute terms. In relative terms, these results are going to be competitive, especially on the minor rails.
Noise
Today’s Seasonic FOCUS GM-650 is a smaller capacity unit, and it is based on a platform that has shown good results when it comes to noise output before. On top of that, this unit also features an FDB fan and it is coupled with a hybrid fan controller option. While we tested the unit with hybrid mode off, it was not until the 100% load test that it was maybe apparent that the unit was adding noise to our load testing environment. At all other load levels, the fan was just unremarkable in every way. That said, even when it was apparent the sound was still low and low frequency. So, this unit seems to be a very good option for folks looking for a quiet product offering in this mainstream market segment.
Final Points
The Seasonic FOCUS GM-650 is a very good mainstream power supply. From its excellent Build Quality to its very good voltage regulation to its good Transient Load to its very good/excellent DC Output Quality the FOCUS GM-650 does just about everything a mainstream product should do! On top of that, it was also a very quiet product which most people appreciate. The only significant quibble we have is in the efficiency realm where this unit did ok in our tests but was outside the claimed 80 Plus parameters. So, what is this mainstream unit going to cost us?
Today, we find that the Seasonic FOCUS GM-650 is $99.49 at Amazon with Free Prime Shipping. Now, if this was, say, 24 months ago that would be a bit of a tough price to swallow. However, it seems every power supply is coming well above MSRP these days (if you can find them in stock). So, we can not fault Seasonic for that and this unit is going to be a good value at its normal pricing and still a good value at today’s pricing.
Users looking for a good mainstream 650W unit with a long warranty need not look any farther than the Seasonic FOCUS GM-650. It does everything it should do and it does everything it should do well. Sure it isn’t super flashy in the process, but rarely does one look for such things in mainstream products that end up tucked away in a corner of a case somewhere.
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