Antec SmartPower Series flawed?

Dancer

Dancer

Dancer

Associate
Joined
17 Mar 2003
Posts
351
Location
London
Hello guys.

I posted here a week ago or so about a burnt smell that I couldn't locate. Well my misses' Antec SmartPower 450W has now starting giving of a high frequence noise. I did some googling and found a lot of people having problems with the SmartPower series (they come with the Sonata cases, which are great for their price range).

I've used an Antec TruePower before and that never failed me in five years. Either Antecs are going down in quality or they just don't care about their cheaper SmartPower series.

I now need a need PSU 500W+. Anyone who can suggest a quiet, reliable PSU, which also has a long 20 Pin Molex ATX cable. It needs to travel all the way around the ninja scythe CPU cooler which I wasn't able to use with the short cables of the SmartPower.

Thanks
 
You wouldn't be the only one to experience a smartpower psu failure. Particularly the ones that came with the Sonata II seemed a bit naff. My Smartpower 450W actually failed after I sold it on to someone :o

Again as above, I'd recommend the Corsair HX 520W. If that's somewhat overkill, there's also the VX 450W. Also take a look at Seasonics and Tagan's.
 
Many thanks.

The seasonic looks like overkill, but the Enermax or Corsair seem like good choices. The Enermax is probably a bit overkill too for what is a mid-range PC anyway. So I think the Corsair might be the best choice. Though I would never have considered it without your suggestions, wasn't even aware they make good PSUs. The reviews for the Corsair suggest the cables are ~45 cm, is this accurate. I'll probably get that extension cable in any case to be sure (thanks for the link Chimerical). I assume it has the normal PCI-E connector, 20 pin atx option, sata, ide, etc.

I tried to find out what "maximizes energy savings and minimum noise generation thanks to double-forward switching circuitry design" means, but without luck. Anyone know what double-forward switching means? Just curious.
 
My PSU in a Sonata case went bang after 6 months (got it from O/C) they replaced it. Replacement was 430 Watt Antec. That went bang 2 months later. They didn't want the old one back, so maybe they were expecting it to fail ? They sent a 3rd type to replace the 2nd failure, an Antec 400 Watt which is still going strong. Hats off to O/C for service.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom