Sea Sonic Super Tornado 350
Sea Sonic Super Tornado 350
Sea Sonic Super Tornado 350
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<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> <strong>350</strong>Links :<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> <strong>350</strong>Product :Power Supply<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong>CTLDIRECTManufacturer :<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong>Reviewed by :Wayne BrookerPrice :£62.50Date :4th March, 2004Page No: 1 Move to Page :site sponsorsIntroduction:::...I've noticed a lot more power supply reviews on the 'Net in the past six months and in allhonesty I think this is a really good thing. Enthusiast sites the world over have taken the bitbetween their teeth and aided the education of less experienced users on all manner ofthings that would otherwise be almost completely disregarded. I mean let's be honest, whenwas the last time you ordered an off-the-peg PC and had them advise you about theimportance of adequate case ventilation or tried to upgrade you to a better power supply.Don't worry, I'm not going to start preaching again about how important a good, solid, highquality power supply is to your whole computing experience, I think that point is one that'salready well made. No, this time we're going at it from a slightly different angle. This timeit's as much about cooling efficiency and noise levels as it is about overall quality, thoughultimately a low noise and cool running PSU is still junk if the output stinks.On the bench today is an interesting product from seasoned power veterans <strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong>, acompany that has been turning out PC related power supplies since 1980, five years afterhttp://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/sstornado/tornado<strong>350</strong>.htm (1 / 4) [2004/8/6 PM 05:55:11]
<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> <strong>350</strong>they set up making electronics test equipment. Thirty years in business is impressive for anycompany but in PC terms it's virtually for ever. To quantify this timescale, 1975 was the yearBill Gates and Paul Allen founded Micosoft, the first retail computer store was opened inAmerica by Dick Heiser, the 1.9MHz IBM 5100 was introduced selling at a very reasonable$15,000 and Dinosaurs were wreaking havoc by raiding cities at night in search of food.The IBM 5100Okay, I made the Dinosaur thing up just for dramatic effect, but the rest of it was true.So with a 25 year history of PC power experience behind them, what is it that <strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong>have bestowed upon us today? Well, the latest line of power supplies from <strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> barethe "<strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong>" branding and claim to offer outstanding noise levels, thermalmanagement and efficiency.Let's do the specs:http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/sstornado/tornado<strong>350</strong>.htm (2 / 4) [2004/8/6 PM 05:55:11]
<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> <strong>350</strong>output power to input power, expressed as a percentage. Higher percentages mean moreefficient circuitry means lower electricity bills. Good power supplies usually have anefficiency rating between 70 and 76%, the <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> boasts an impressive 80%!Okay, so now we know this is no toy, let's take a look at its physical attributes:A Closer LookHomeWebsite is designed by Mohsin Ali. All graphics is (C) Shapps Technologies 2001-2002.http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/sstornado/tornado<strong>350</strong>.htm (4 / 4) [2004/8/6 PM 05:55:11]
<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> <strong>350</strong>Links :<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> <strong>350</strong>Product :Manufacturer :Power Supply<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong>Reviewed by :Wayne Brooker<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong>Price :£62.50CTLDIRECTDate :4th March, 2004Page No: 2 Move to Page :site sponsorsThe Box:::...The box is certainly class. It doesn't quite have the "cool" factor that we saw from themoody, black box that Tagan used for the power supply I reviewed recently but it does lookvery well presented and lays out all the important features at a glance.http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/sstornado/tornado<strong>350</strong>_2.htm (1 / 5) [2004/8/6 PM 05:55:24]
<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> <strong>350</strong>The big feature of the <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> range is the horizontally mounted 120mm cooling fanwhich is responsible not only for its superb cooling performance but which also serves tokeep noise levels at a minimum. 120mm fans can usually create a greater airflow at muchlower spin speeds than their smaller 80mm or 60mm brethren.Apparently, by mounting the fan horizontally <strong>Sea</strong><strong>Sonic</strong> have extended fan life by eliminatinggravity resultant lubricant seapage and by removing the sideways pressure from thebearings.<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong>'s S2FC (Smart and Silent Fan Control) technology keeps the fan spinning atspeeds accurately matched with operating temperatures to always offer the optimum powerefficiency under all load conditions.120mm Fan GrillAlthough <strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong>'s documentation suggests an airflow of >70CFM, when I checked thefan's specs on the manufacturer's site it actually quotes a figure of only 56CFM at 12volts soit's possible that either more than 12volts is fed to it or the figures from one of them arewrong.Update* I spoke to Mina Chan at <strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> about the fan's specs and she explained to methat they are in the process of amending the specifications on the packaging to reflect thefact that they may have to source alternative fans during times of component shortages. Inall fairness, the difference in cooling between a 50CFM and a 70CFM fan is probably nothttp://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/sstornado/tornado<strong>350</strong>_2.htm (3 / 5) [2004/8/6 PM 05:55:24]
<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> <strong>350</strong>especially large in this kind of enclosure.Another point worth noting is that although <strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> quote a noise level of 22dBA, this isthe minimum level. The fan is clearly quoted at 39dBA which is what you'll get under fullambient temperatures and high loads. In their defense the <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> spent the vastmajority of its time on test running at its whisper-quiet 22dBA setting.+++Another interesting feature is the honeycombed rear panel which massively aids airflow yetdoesn't, as I'd imagined, weaken the structural strength of the casing too much.The lack of a voltage selector switch is a hint to the fact that the <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> accepts afull range of voltages anywhere between 100 and 240volts AC.Honeycomb Rear PanelHere's a look at the attached label...so where's the -5v rating? Well, because this powersupply is designed to ATX v1.3 specifications, the now defunct -5v line which was onlyactually used to power the ISA bus has been dropped.http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/sstornado/tornado<strong>350</strong>_2.htm (4 / 5) [2004/8/6 PM 05:55:24]
<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> <strong>350</strong>Spec LabelIntroductionInternallyHomeWebsite is designed by Mohsin Ali. All graphics is (C) Shapps Technologies 2001-2002.http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/sstornado/tornado<strong>350</strong>_2.htm (5 / 5) [2004/8/6 PM 05:55:24]
<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> <strong>350</strong>Links :<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> <strong>350</strong>Product :Manufacturer :Power Supply<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong>Reviewed by :Wayne Brooker<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong>Price :£62.50CTLDIRECTDate :4th March, 2004Page No: 3 Move to Page :site sponsorsInternally:::...After the recent rash of 450 watt plus sized PSU's, the inside of the <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> looks likeit's missing half of its electronics.http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/sstornado/tornado<strong>350</strong>_3.htm (1 / 3) [2004/8/6 PM 05:55:38]
<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> <strong>350</strong>The heat sinks look far from adequate at first glance, partly due to their low profile naturewhich is essential in order to leave room for the fan which sits right above them. They don'toffer a whole lot of surface area in truth but their open nature allows air to flow past themand cool the components directly in addition to cooling the actual sinks, a system that seemsto work incredibly well in practice.Bits of clear plastic sheet serving as insulation and stuck on with blobs of gloop have neverimpressed me much, and the <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> has a few of them, but I should balance thatout by saying it's a perfectly reasonable way to do it provided the said gloop doesn't let goits grip over time as the heat frazzles it.http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/sstornado/tornado<strong>350</strong>_3.htm (2 / 3) [2004/8/6 PM 05:55:38]
<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> <strong>350</strong>Generally speaking the internal layout is very neat and tidy there are no obvious areas ofconcern.In The BoxConclusionHomeWebsite is designed by Mohsin Ali. All graphics is (C) Shapps Technologies 2001-2002.http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/sstornado/tornado<strong>350</strong>_3.htm (3 / 3) [2004/8/6 PM 05:55:38]
<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> <strong>350</strong>Links :<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> <strong>350</strong>Product :Manufacturer :Power Supply<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong>Reviewed by :Wayne Brooker<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong>Price :£62.50CTLDIRECTDate :4th March, 2004Page No: 4 Move to Page :site sponsorsConnectors:::...Despite there being plenty of length to the cables, the lack of any braiding for the main ATXpower feed gives the <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> a slightly messy look. It could be argued that this is thereason for supplying the Dr. Cable spiral wraps but if that's true than an additional lengthshould ideally have been included. Properly organising your cables and wrapping the ATXcables is a lesson in logistics with just the two they supply.http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/sstornado/tornado<strong>350</strong>_4.htm (1 / 4) [2004/8/6 PM 05:55:50]
<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> <strong>350</strong>Seven 4 pin Molex connectors, while not quite on a par with the ten you'll find on Tagan's480 watter, is perfectly adequate for a <strong>350</strong>watt unit and is actually quite generous. I have asupply here with just four on it!! Needless to say it lives in a drawer most of the time. Serial-ATA drives are catered for by way of a single 4pin Molex to S-ATA power adaptor. Two S-ATA adapters would certainly have been a better option but hey, it beats none!An RPM cable is available to plug into your motherboard in order to monitor the speed of theinternal 120mm fan if your board supports it, and most do, though it may need to run to the"system fan" or "chipset fan" header as few motherboards feature a dedicated "powersupply" header.Performance:::...Test System:Abit AI7P4 2.4 @ 2.4 (idle tests) and @ 3.3 (stress testing)2x512MB Corsair XMS44004x80mm case fans, 3x 60mm HSF fans, 2x 1m lengths of EL cable with inverter, 4x 12"neon tubes+ inverter (stress testing)Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro (GeForceFX 5800 Ultra used for stress testing).http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/sstornado/tornado<strong>350</strong>_4.htm (2 / 4) [2004/8/6 PM 05:55:50]
<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> <strong>350</strong>I can think of only two words.....rock solid! Granted I didn't quite pile on the punishment theway I have with some of the higher capacity power supplies I've tested but even allowing forthat the voltage variations were minimal.This isn't the entire story where power supplies are concerned but to be able to pull off sucha great performance and maintain 100% stability even when I ran our AI7/2.4c test rigcombination overclocked to 275MHz is a major achievement.ConclusionThe 3DVelocity 'Dual Conclusions Concept' Explained: After discussing this conceptwith users as well as companies and vendors we work with, 3DVelocity have decided thatwhere necessary we shall aim to introduce our 'Dual Conclusions Concept' to sum up ourthoughts and impressions on the hardware we review. As the needs of the more experiencedusers and enthusiasts have increased, it has become more difficult to factor in all theaspects that such a user would find important, while also being fair to products that maylack these high end "bonus" capabilities but which still represent a very good buy for themore traditional and more prevalent mainstream user. The two catergories we've used are:The Mainstream User ~ The mainstream user is likely to put price, stock performance,value for money, reliability and/or warranty terms ahead of the need for hardware thatoperates beyond its design specifications. The mainstream user may be a PC novice or maybe an experienced user, however their needs are clearly very different to those of theenthusiast, in that they want to buy products that operate efficiently and reliably within theiradvertised parameters.The Enthusiast ~ The enthusiast cares about all the things that the mainstream user caresabout but is more likely to accept a weakness in one or more of these things in exchange forsome measure of performance or functionality beyond its design brief. For example, a highpriced motherboard may be tolerated in exchange for unusually high levels of overclockingability or alternatively an unusually large heat sink with a very poor fixing mechanism maybe considered acceptable if it offers significantly superior cooling in return.The Mainstream User ~What can I say? A near faultless execution combined with extremely low operational noisemakes the <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> a superb choice for the regular user. Without going overboard itoffers all the power that the vast majority of us will ever need and pumps it out cleanly andconstantly. At 80% efficiency it could even pay for itself!http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/sstornado/tornado<strong>350</strong>_4.htm (3 / 4) [2004/8/6 PM 05:55:50]
<strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Sonic</strong> <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> <strong>350</strong>The price is perhaps a touch high compared to some units available but without a doubt youshould be prepared to pay what ever it takes to equip yourself with the very best available,and the <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> fits into that category and possible even tops it.The Enthusiast ~As an enthusiast product just about all the <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> <strong>350</strong> lacks is muscle. If you canhappily run off a <strong>350</strong> watt supply then the <strong>Super</strong> <strong>Tornado</strong> is probably as good as anythingelse you can buy at this time. It lacks the power and the sophistication of something like theTagan I reviewed a short while back but it makes up for this with its extremely low noise andstable operation even when pushed.With a street price of around £62.50 the price isn't the most attractive on the market andI'm sure it could be lowered a bit, but if you want the benefits of quiet, 120mm cooling andapparently unmatched current stability then it's a reasonable price to pay.Low ripple, high PF rating and top notch efficiency serve to make this an impressive unit thatdoes what it says on the box and in some style. A very nice product!InternallyPage 1HomeWebsite is designed by Mohsin Ali. All graphics is (C) Shapps Technologies 2001-2002.http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/sstornado/tornado<strong>350</strong>_4.htm (4 / 4) [2004/8/6 PM 05:55:50]
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