Power supplies

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Due to the experience here I thought I'd ask about this issue rather than in the hardware forum.

Me: Antec 430W powered Athlon Barton 2800, Ati 9800, 1GB ram, 3 HDD & 2 DVDs, FDD + 4 fans. Died is <2 yrs of 24/7 running.

My brother: Antec 550w doa - replaced. AMD 4400 x2, 2GB ram, 3 HDD & 2 opticals, ATi X800, FDD + 4 fans. Died after installing new HDD: 18 months old, 24/7 for <80% of time.

Q. Is any one else seeing their PSU go **** up in < 3yrs?
Q2 Is this unusual or just a reason to avoid Antec?
 
I have an OCZ PowerStream 420. It's been a great PSU, running pretty much 24/7 for a couple of years now. To be honest I think any make of PSU can die, even the best ones... just sucks that you've had a couple die :(

If you're looking for a new one, the Corsair range are supposed to be good.
 
Antec used to get all their PSUs made by a company who used some pretty terrible capacitors which simply don't last. I have 3 Antec PSUs here in pieces, 2 were making systems unstable and the 3rd I've just got hold of with a view to replacing the capacitors (got it for a good price in the MM here).

Antec have since moved to another OEM now which sounds to be a lot better - many new Antec PSUs are now offering 3 or even 5 year warranties so that must say something. I've also heard their customer service has been great throughout so if any of those PSUs are still in or even near warranty you could give them a go.

One of the above PSUs came from a machine that was never folding and wasn't even on 24/7 so I don't think this has anything to do with folding or any other DC - I've had plenty of other branded/non-branded PSUs folding 24/7 on machines for years without so much as even getting a bit unreliable.


edit: Seconded on the Corsair - they apparently use very good quality components. Even a newer Antec would probably be fine but who wants to take the chance of getting one from the new supplier? :confused:
 
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Mattus said:
I have an OCZ PowerStream 420. It's been a great PSU, running pretty much 24/7 for a couple of years now. To be honest I think any make of PSU can die, even the best ones... just sucks that you've had a couple die :(

If you're looking for a new one, the Corsair range are supposed to be good.

Looked at the OCZ & Corsair but plumped for the Seasonic S12+ 650W due to the good efficiency ratings - on paper.

Antec have since moved to another OEM now which sounds to be a lot better - many new Antec PSUs are now offering 3 or even 5 year warranties so that must say something. I've also heard their customer service has been great throughout so if any of those PSUs are still in or even near warranty you could give them a go.
Their RMA proceedure is not that easy - you have to fax a form to them to get number. Doesn't seem to be a european or UK base to return to & PSU has to be with them within 7 days of issuing number:(
 
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Pilgrim57 said:
Their RMA proceedure is not that easy - you have to fax a form to them to get number. Doesn't seem to be a european or UK base to return to & PSU has to be with them within 7 days of issuing number:(
Ah thinking about it the people who've said the customer service was good are probably in the US :o

Oh well vote with your feet is probably best - I don't have any of their PSUs in my own machines now though this one I've just got hold of may end up in one once I've put some decent capacitors in it :p
 
Originally had an Antec Trueblue 480w in this rig. Swapped it out for an X-Pro 400w because it was quieter. Less than a year later the X-Pro died. I still had the Antec so put that back in - more than 18 months later and it's still running with that, so the Antec has given approx 42 months life so far (I used it in another rig when I had the X-Pro).

null :)
 
Pilgrim57 said:
Looked at the OCZ & Corsair but plumped for the Seasonic S12+ 650W due to the good efficiency ratings - on paper(

Look here for independant tests - notice how many seasonic PSU are listed :D

I nearly got that seasonic (got a liberty instead via MM) and the seasonic's reality matches the paper. very good solid 80plus PSU, quiet too.

Are you sure you need a 650w?
To be fair the S12 500W is 30% cheaper and is just as efficient at normal use. ok it's not 80plus certified (which I would normal demand) but only because the 20% (130w) value was just below 80% efficiency, and your'll be using 50-70% of the power (which from memory is around 81-82 eff).

Edit: Also as mikey said Tagan are very good for the price.
Edit2: very good article on PSUs here
 
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I ran a second hand Q-tec 500 for 4+ years, 24x7, back in seti classic days so even some nasty psu's can last :D but I have had a couple of small antec blues die before their time :(
luck of the draw I guess, just get one with a long warranty:)
 
diogenese said:
I ran a second hand Q-tec 500 for 4+ years, 24x7, back in seti classic days so even some nasty psu's can last :D

I ran one for a while too :D

I think the main difference between nasty PSUs like Q-tecs and decent brands is not that the decent ones don't blow up - it's that they don't take the rest of your rig along with them :p
 
Mattus said:
I ran one for a while too :D

I think the main difference between nasty PSUs like Q-tecs and decent brands is not that the decent ones don't blow up - it's that they don't take the rest of your rig along with them :p
Me also - though it did claim to be a 550W PSU and I probably was drawing no more than 250W from it so that probably helped :p

However just a few months ago we had our electricity meter changed, this was done whilst we were out as the meter is actually in a box outside and it would seem that when the guy turned the house back on the Q-Tec threw a paddy and burnt the voltage regulators on the motherboard :eek:
All the other machines were fine - could have just been chance I guess
The PSU may actually still be working - I'm not even going to chance it though :D
 
Oddly enough, i got back from Egypt on Saturday to find that my 400W Hiper had turned up it's toes after less than a year :(

Stan :)
 
Mattus said:
I think the main difference between nasty PSUs like Q-tecs and decent brands is not that the decent ones don't blow up - it's that they don't take the rest of your rig along with them :p
qft.

Antec tend to be ok, they're certainly on the good list, but they do or at least did have rather a high failure rate.
I have two and i'd have no qualms buying a third.

When you buy them with a case they're excellent value for money.
 
I think the main difference between nasty PSUs like Q-tecs and decent brands is not that the decent ones don't blow up - it's that they don't take the rest of your rig along with them :p
I'd read that somewhere.

When you buy them with a case they're excellent value for money.
My 430w came with the Antec 1080 case but I expected it to last longer.

Are you sure you need a 650w?
My brother probably doesn't but I looked at a calculator on a website & it suggested about 520w. It also claimed that running 24/7 + 1 yr & output drops. I also factored in some future proofing[upgrades] hoping it will last 3 or 4 yrs.

I've always used enermax ones and I've not had one fail on me yet..
I managed to blow up the spare Enermax 350w when I connected it to all the stuff in my brother's case:eek:

Thanks for the input guys:)
PS I have an Enermax 620w Liberty in my PC
 
rich99million said:
Antec used to get all their PSUs made by a company who used some pretty terrible capacitors which simply don't last.
Isn't that ever the truth. I had one go bang - and I mean really go bang. It tried to short-circuit my UPS as well but a fuse blew before the UPS did (I have two PCs on the UPS and only one of them - this one - had an inline fuse). Opened it up and discovered one of the big smoothing capacitors had decided to explode, covering nearby components with electrolyte, and hence causing the short.

A few months later my other Antec started undervolting (was just about within tolerance but I wasn't happy).

Both have been replaced by Enermax PSUs (even though I've had one of those die - also due to failed caps).

Any more of that and I'll be going Seasonic next. Expensive, but worth it.

Pilgrim57 said:
I'd read that somewhere.
Because it's true. After the suicidal Antec above, I got an Enermax PSU, plugged it in, and everything just worked (and is still working). Wouldn't like to try that with a Q-Tec.
 
PSUs slowly die over time anyway. From that psu calculator:
Electrolytic capacitor aging. When used heavily or over an extended period of time (1+ years) a power supply will slowly lose some of its initial wattage capacity. We recommend you add 10-20% if you plan to keep your PSU for more than 1 year, or 20-30% for 24/7 usage and 1+ years.
Annoying eh? Spend so much on a psu thinking it'll last you a good few machines, and you find out its lost 30% of its watts :(
 
joeyjojo said:
PSUs slowly die over time anyway. From that psu calculator:

Annoying eh? Spend so much on a psu thinking it'll last you a good few machines, and you find out its lost 30% of its watts :(
that pos calc is a *** tbh.
set it up for mums old A64 PC and its rated it over 200W more than it EVER used (I checked)
 
VeNT said:
that pos calc is a *** tbh.
set it up for mums old A64 PC and its rated it over 200W more than it EVER used (I checked)
Agreed.
Nobody needs a quality psu over 700w currently, because no current pc will draw more than 500w.

Corsair have 5 year warranties on their psus. If their caps were that bad they'd end up replacing them all under warranty, so they obviously can't be.

Your rubbishy no name/q-tec might suffer cap aging in that range though, but tbh that'll be the least of your worries. :p
 
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