Seasonic USA MSRP UPDATE for 2018

[Cobalt35]

Running a Seasonic Prime 850 watt Platinum here. I would happily pay more for the quality that Seasonic produces - they are the only company I seriously look at when purchasing power supplies. I might consider including other companies if they follow Seasonic's lead and stop cherry-picking review PSUs.

 

[Zareek]

Okay, so let me get this straight... Seasonic doesn't want to sell lower-end power supplies anymore so they are jacking up the price of their low end PSUs by 33% and blaming the bump on a 25% tariff? That's what I'm getting from this move. If the tariff is the reason for the increase then all their lineup should have the 25% increase.

 

[Hakaba]

Okay, so let me get this straight... Seasonic doesn't want to sell lower-end power supplies anymore so they are jacking up the price of their low end PSUs by 33% and blaming the bump on a 25% tariff? That's what I'm getting from this move. If the tariff is the reason for the increase then all their lineup should have the 25% increase.

No. The higher end PSUs make them more profit and they can absorb some of the tariffs price hike there.

On the low end where margins are razor thin they would be losing money without hiking up the price.

So what they are doing right now is better, however, if they wanted to be super greedy and an ass they could just jack the price up 25%-33% across the board for more profits.

I could be wrong though.

 

[FrgMstr]

No. The higher end PSUs make them more profit and they can absorb some of the tariffs price hike there.

On the low end where margins are razor thin they would be losing money without hiking up the price.

So what they are doing right now is better, however, if they wanted to be super greedy and an ass they could just jack the price up 25%-33% across the board for more profits.

I could be wrong though.

That is a big part of it. It has to do a lot with volume as well and not pricing those upper tier units totally out of the market against their competition. I would not doubt that the list would be addressed again in the future as we all start seeing what is going on with the market.

 

[[Spectre]]

Seasonic is a Taiwanese company I think, so its more FUD put out by the Taiwanese to panic short sighed folks?

HQ may be in Taiwan, but pretty sure their factory is in DongGuan, China. It's even on their website.

https://seasonic.com/about-us

Seasonic has factories in mainland China and in Taiwan. The stuff made in Taiwan is mostly found in the high end of the product stack like parts of the PRIME line.

Economic experts warned us from the beginning that these tariffs would not work the way they were being portrayed. This is a prime example. Tariffs should be used when there is an equivalent industry in the US that competes with the imports (to prevent the American market from being overrun by inferior, cheaper goods). Since there isn't any American made competition for PSUs, the tariffs gets passed along to the customer.

Taiwan is not sanctioned. Production can shift over time to their factories there as they expand and add lines if it makes a business case.

 

[[Spectre]]

its culmination of all the price increase over the last 5 years that is making this harder pill to swallow. often times i see prices from 3 years+ years, and across the industrial field, and its probably averages 10% or more

Well, we have been averaging ~1.8% a year on the inflation rate over the last 5 years so and a bit closer to 2% the last 3

 

[FrgMstr]

Seasonic has factories in mainland China and in Taiwan. The stuff made in Taiwan is mostly found in the high end of the product stack like parts of the PRIME line.

Taiwan is not sanctioned. Production can shift over time to their factories there as they expand and add lines if it makes a business case.

True. I would assume there would be some more adjustments after every manufacture price list becomes public.

Also worth mentioning is that Seasonic's product stack is very compact with so many models now. You start moving the models up under those not impacted by mfg tariffs could set things askew as well.

 

[Ur_Mom]

Seasonic is passing the tariff costs to the consumer, so that money isn't going into Seasonic's coffers. It's going to the government. For those willing to pay more for Seasonic quality, are you good with essentially paying more taxes for your PSU?

I love Seasonic, and I would pay more. But, I find it concerning that I'm paying more for the tariff that goes into the pockets of some crap pork barrel project.

If it were due to inflation, higher quality components, etc., I wouldn't bat an eye. But, this doesn't feel good... :/ Yea, I'll still buy one if I need one (I already have one in all household systems).

 

[Destruya]

Likely only going to get worse - I wonder if we're going to see a return to the 'bad old days' where a computer is a huge purchase on the same level as buying a car. You used to have to spend $1500 for entry-level computers.

 

[[Spectre]]

Likely only going to get worse - I wonder if we're going to see a return to the 'bad old days' where a computer is a huge purchase on the same level as buying a car. You used to have to spend $1500 for entry-level computers.

Let's not get ridiculous. In the early days of home PC's (say early 80's) a computer was about $600 for a C64 and the average new car was like $6k. That isn't close to the same level.

 

[Icon_Charlie]

There are plenty of decent PSU's that are out there that won't cost you an arm and leg... just because you are buying a Name brand for a social status.

Example. I have no issues using the AeroCool 750GM. I got mine for 54 Bucks And I think this will last me 3 plus years (had mine for 1 year already no issues W.S.E.) since I do NOT overclock and I have excellent airflow properties going on in my rig. Also I tend to make sure that I put my components evenly on power cables given. I have seen people SLIing 3 or more video cards on 1 line. Great way of increasing your chances of setting your rig on fire (heh melting your cables seen that happen too).



I have no issues with Evga's as well. Corsair's are nice too. No issues I've had with them.

I've done my research in regards of PSU's. I will NOT buy a PSU Just because it is a "Brand" name. I will buy a PSU or rather anything on how well it performs verses the price they want.

Just do your research and it will save you the headache of buying some crappy PSU's (yea even name brand ones do have issues over the years).

Also.... Just remember that Dust is the enemy to your PSU (rig) and I highly recommend every 6 months a full clean out of your computer.
Your computer and your pocket book will say thank you in the long run.

 

[velusip]

Likely only going to get worse - I wonder if we're going to see a return to the 'bad old days' where a computer is a huge purchase on the same level as buying a car. You used to have to spend $1500 for entry-level computers.

I'm not sure which time-frame you are referring to, but the high cost of computers through the 1980s and early 1990s was due to a well shrouded market. i.e. Most people didn't know what was available to them, so they defaulted to the biggest names (who maintained incumbency over supply chain, retail, and advertising) with their overpriced kit. This is why the domination of clone PCs lasted for so long -- as clones continually discovered the depth of control the PC market had succumbed to, it took 20 years of establishing new part supply chains and repeatedly undercutting the last clone until some level of equilibrium was achieved. Capitalism 101 -- it works. However, at any time during that period you could have purchased a nice clone PC for a fraction of the cost of a "premium brand" PC. When you look at old PC fliers, you are looking at the epitome of the worst deals available at the time.

Anyway, the reason I bring that up is because it actually has a lot of relevance here with the tariffs. Investors and middlemen make a quick buck from the initial aluminium price hikes, but now industries are looking for local alternatives -- to which there are none, lol. It effectively creates an opportunity to 'shroud the market' and take a step backwards. Ideally, the plan isn't futile and there is actually enough local opportunity to handle the sudden change.

 

[GoodBoy]

Where these brands are manufactured:

ASUS - Taiwanese company, primarily manufactured in China, some manufacturing in Taiwan
MSI - Taiwan company, manufactured in China
Gigabyte - Manufactured in Taiwan
EVGA - USA company, manufactured in China
Zotac - Manufactured in China
Galax - Manufactured in China
PNY - USA company, Manufactured in the USA
Aorus - A Gigabyte company, believe also manufactured in Taiwan
Seasonic - Manufactured in China

Asus products are manufactured in multiple countries, depends on the product. But the above should be generally correct for anything these companies manufacture, including power supplies, video cards, motherboards.

 

[Armenius]

There are plenty of decent PSU's that are out there that won't cost you an arm and leg... just because you are buying a Name brand for a social status.

Example. I have no issues using the AeroCool 750GM. I got mine for 54 Bucks And I think this will last me 3 plus years (had mine for 1 year already no issues W.S.E.) since I do NOT overclock and I have excellent airflow properties going on in my rig. Also I tend to make sure that I put my components evenly on power cables given. I have seen people SLIing 3 or more video cards on 1 line. Great way of increasing your chances of setting your rig on fire (heh melting your cables seen that happen too).



I have no issues with Evga's as well. Corsair's are nice too. No issues I've had with them.

I've done my research in regards of PSU's. I will NOT buy a PSU Just because it is a "Brand" name. I will buy a PSU or rather anything on how well it performs verses the price they want.

Just do your research and it will save you the headache of buying some crappy PSU's (yea even name brand ones do have issues over the years).

Also.... Just remember that Dust is the enemy to your PSU (rig) and I highly recommend every 6 months a full clean out of your computer.
Your computer and your pocket book will say thank you in the long run.

Always look for the OEM. Aerocool units are rebranded Andyson, which do not have a stellar track record. The higher end units these days tend to be fine, though.

When I am buying a power supply I expect it to last me at least 8 years, if not 10-12.

EVGA GS models are sourced from Super Flower, which is one of the best out there.

Corsair uses FSP for their budget units, which is why most people recommend avoiding them. Midrange stuff typically comes from CWT, while highend stuff comes from Flextronics or Seasonic. I have a CWT-produced Corsair HX850 Gold, myself, that is going on 7 years old and still going strong.

 

[GiGaBiTe]

t wouldn't be overnight that a new domestic PSU manufacturing facility would just spring up. And even if it magically pulled a Tesla and started cranking out PSUs in tents to get moving faster, you still have a long way to go to make it competitive versus Asian labor rates. Also, your not just competing against a PSU manufacturing facility, you have to consider the entire infrastructure - who's supply the capacitors, the silicon, the sheet metal, the fans, etc. All of that has to line up to make a competitive product.

There are derelict factories and warehouses all across the US that were abandoned in the mid to late 90s when NAFTA went into full force. These properties have been sitting so long that banks are desperate to get rid of them and will take stupid lowball offers. Manufacturing PSUs isn't hard and most of the required components can be sourced in the US. It's not like ASICs where you need multi billion dollar fabs to spin them up.

You could get a PSU factory up and running for comparatively peanuts if you knew what you were doing.