Seasonic Arch Q503 chassis + Connect PSU review - Introduction

by Krzysztof Hukalowicz on: 09/22/2022 01:30 PM [

] 0 comment(s)

Seasonic ARCH Q503 + Connect review
Is the chassis doing an entire arch to get it right?

Seasonic company is known mainly for its power supplies, including the Focus (available in ATX and SFX factor), Prime (with the 80 Plus certificate up to Titanium), or Connect series. But that’s not all, as we already had a chance to check out their first chassis last year – Syncro Q704 with a 750W power supply. It has earned a “Recommended” award. It was an inverted ATX case, but we got something more traditional this time. It’s a Seasonic Arch Q503, which was presented in May ’22. This model should be cheaper; however, it was also designed more conventionally. It uses a two-chamber structure, with the mainboard tray sitting on the right side of the case.

According to the marketing information, Arch Q5 is a connection between two essential pillars or product group integration; the Seasonic CONNECT Module and the Seasonic SYNCRO Q70 Case. It has timeless appearance, modern design, and user-friendly functions make this case a logical choice for users, who want convenience, easy assembly, and hassle-free cable management with the Seasonic CONNECT. The ATX power supply generates the 12 V rail and supplies the CONNECT module on the mainboard tray via a single cable strand. Shorter cables can be routed directly from the module to the components. The DC-DC converters for 3.3 V and 5 V are only located in this module.

It’s a mid-tower PC chassis, rather average in size, with a bit above 46.4 l of volume. The look is immaculate. The look is refined, the materials selected with care, and the layout designed to optimize the airflow. One important thing first is the combination of their Connect PSU and chassis.

The two front (and a rear one) fans are provided. You’ll find a USB Type-C port there, as well. There are no colour variants, only one – like Ford T. The only possibility to choose is to select the PSU power; it’s:

650 W Gold
750 W Gold (provided for the review), and this time there’s no 850 W Platinum variant

The Arch Q503 supports up to E-ATX (305x277), then ATX, uATX, and mini-ITX motherboards. The dimensions are average; it’s a rather typical mid-tower chassis at 448 x 215 x 482 mm (L x W x H). In total, it’s 46.4 l of volume. The weight is 8.5 kg (11.5 kg with the PSU installed). According to the specs, there are three 3.5” (which can also handle 2.5”) and three 2.5” drive brackets. On the front, you will find the following ports:

USB 3.0 x 2,
USB 3.1 Type-C gen 2
HD audio ports
Reset and power buttons

The Seasonic ARCH Q503 provides many cooling options, supporting radiators up to 360 mm at the front, 280 mm at the top, and 120 mm at the back. You also get seven expansion slots. It’s possible to mount up to three 120 or two 140 mm fans at the front (2 x 120 mm come pre-installed), two 120 or 140 mm fans at the top, and one 120 mm fan at the back (and it’s included as well). There are also two fan filters (bottom and top). You can use CPU air coolers with a max height of 165 mm (enough to fit most models) and GPUs up to 380 mm in length. The PSU (if you won’t use the Connect) shouldn’t be longer than 230 mm. The price is 279.99 EUR (650W)/299.99 EUR (750W), so it’s about 90 EUR cheaper than Q704. Now, let’s check out the specs and features of this chassis, shall we?

15 pages 1 2 3 4 next »

Seasonic Vertex GX-1000 - 1000W ATX 3.0 PSU review
Today we’re putting the new Seasonic Vertex GX-1000W power supply on our test bench. The company is mainly known for its PSUs (like the Prime series, which we checked, for example, the TX-1300) and the chassis (like the Arch Q503 or Syncro Q704). The Vertex series is a new one from Seasonic that was launched in September 2022, but with the availability specified for January 2023. It consists of 80 Plus Platinum or Gold efficiency and has the following wattage variants: 1200 W, 1000 W (which we’re checking in an 80 Plus version), 850 W, and 750 W.

Seasonic Prime Titanium TX-1300 (1300W PSU) review
Today we’re putting the new Seasonic Prime Titanium TX-1300 power supply on our test bench. The company is mainly known for its PSUs (like Connect or Focus SGX), but we also already checked their two chassis (Q704 and Q503). Still, the high-end offer in the power supply range is the Prime series. The series debuted in 2016, but the TX-1300 and TX-1600 were released in July ’22. Both are not ATX 3.0 compatible (this will come in mid-December with a Vertex PSU family). Still, one of the new things introduced in the Prime Titanium TX-1300/TX-1600 (but also the 80 Plus Platinum compatible PX-1300/PX-1600 models) is the PCI Express® 5.0 compatible 12+4-pin power cable. Although the TX-1300 is a new PSU featuring two 12VHPWR connectors, it still isn’t ATX 3.0 compatible. You get a 16-pin capable of providing up to 600 W (12+4). So what does it mean exactly? Geforce RTX 30xx/40xx Founders Edition will work with Prime Titanium TX-1300 PCIe Gen5 connectors simply because they do not need more than 450W. The other versions of RTX 4090 – can get more than that, which should work too.

Seasonic Arch Q503 chassis + Connect PSU review
Seasonic company is known mainly for its power supplies, including the Focus (available in ATX and SFX factor), Prime (with the 80 Plus certificate up to Titanium), or Connect series. But that’s not all, as we already had a chance to check out their first chassis last year – Syncro Q704 with a 750W power supply. It has earned a “Recommended” award. It was an inverted ATX case, but we got something more traditional this time. It’s a Seasonic Arch Q503, which was presented in May ’22. This model should be cheaper; however, it was also designed more conventionally. It uses a two-chamber structure, with the mainboard tray sitting on the right side of the case.

Seasonic Syncro Q704 chassis + Connect PSU review
Seasonic company is known for its great power supplies, including the Focus (available both in ATX and factor), Prime (with the 80 Plus certificate up to Titanium), or Connect series. Speaking of the last one, they’ve gone further by introducing a chassis containing this piece of hardware – it’s a Seasonic SYNCRO Q704. But that’s not all – according to the marketing information, it really fits together, literally and figuratively.