Introduction
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?
