Fractal Design decided to trust Seasonic with this series, and according to our test results, they made the right choice. All Edison M series units are based on a reliable high-performance platform with a decent price tag. The Edison M-650 I evaluated today performed well overall, achieving pretty tight load regulation and good ripple suppression throughout most of its operational range. Efficiency was high as well, although I have seen Gold-certified units, most are more expensive, with even higher efficiency results. In my opinion, the only downsides of this PSU are its increased output noise, since it uses a smaller, 120 mm fan, and the fact that it doesn't utilize a semi-passive mode or a fully modular cabling design. I would suggest using a larger fan, like XFX and Antec did in their units based on exactly the same platform. A more relaxed fan profile would also be important. Given energy losses are restricted due high efficiency, fan speed could have been lowered in order to reduce noise output. Some would also like a semi-passive fan-operation option, but I am not a huge fan of the method since it puts a lot of stress on such sensitive components as electrolytic caps. After all, the fan is hardly audible so long as it rotates at very slow speeds, while still providing some airflow to counteract increased internal heat-up nicely. The second downside I spotted is the semi-modular cabling design as most units at this price point are fully modular. Some prospective buyers may, as such, go with a different PSU. Normally, I wouldn't bring this matter up, but its direct competitors based on the same platform don't utilize as many affixed cables.

To conclude, this is a very good, reliable, high-performance PSU. It comes backed with an extended warranty and is, to the best of my knowledge, the only unit in this category with six PCIe connectors, so you could go with it if you plan to use three mid-level VGAs at stock speeds; that is, if you don't want to spend more money on a high-end PSU with 750 W or more capacity. Instead of two EPS connectors, Fractal only included one in order to provide two additional PCIe connectors, which similar offerings by the competition (Antec and XFX) lack. So the Edison M-650 is the 650 W unit to get if you desperately need as many PCIe connectors and a single EPS connector is enough.