PSU Taking everything with it?

[Herecy]

Hey guys, I'm in a right pickle.

My PC started smelling like burning last night, I suspected it was something outside (like a bonfire) so I closed the window, a few minutes later my PC lost all power and black smoke came out the sides of the PSU. Now I pulled it out ASAP and threw it outside to fumigate.

Big question is did my stealth xstream (which had good ratings at the time of buying, now sitting at very low) take anything with it? A quick inspection seems like everything is "normal" then again I'm no electrician and would have no idea what to look for (blown capacitors, scorch marks?)

It seems this is a common problem with cheaper PSU's, not that this was particularly cheap but badly designed! I have a ax2100 coming later today so I can obviously check properly then but it's killing me...

Thanks in advance.

 

[Herecy]

Yer fingers crossed, will report back later :/

 

[Herecy]

Wasn't a Hipper psu by any chance.

OCZ stealth xstream 700w

Buy it at 4.5/5 stars, try to RMA at 2/2.5 stars.

If there are no obvious visual signs of burn marks on your other components or damage, you may of got away with it, unless very unlucky.
Just plumb in your new Psu and if everything powers up and seems ok, just keep an eye on it for a while and monitor your temps.

Thanks, I will do anything for it not to be! I now understand the importance of getting a good PSU, hence the £240 on the new, trusted name.

 

[Herecy]

OCZ isn't a bad name in psu's.

OCZ psu's came with a 3 or 5 year warranty.

True they come with a 3 year warranty, but does that cover your £1200 of other gear?

I would quote another website where 35% of the reviews are about it blowing up and of them a sizable amount taking other equipment down with them. Considering they have pulled all of those models out I wouldn't be so quick to judge them :/

thats a crap psu buddy
i had one in my kids pc and it lasted a month
rma'd it and ocuk said they never received it so lost £50 on it.

That's pretty bad, was everything else okay? Trying to do my research into how good or bad the failure system is on them, but not turning up much.

 

[Herecy]

yeah the rest was fine
i think you would have to be unlucky for it to take out other stuff
got a second hand enermax galaxy from the members market and its been perfect ever since

That's reassuring thank you, I will know within 2 hours...

 

[Herecy]

I've never had an issue with OCZ psu's, but they wouldn't be my first choice.
Currently using an assortment BeQuiet psu's for the last 4 years.

I've heard good things about them too.

 

[Herecy]

lol well I can honestly you say you won't have any troubles with the AX1200 - quite the upgrade!

Well i'm not taking any chances . Plus I got some upgrades lined up that may be power hungry...

 

[Herecy]

Right everything is safe and working! Thanks to everyone here for their sound advice and support.

 

[Herecy]

Happily, this chap didn't lose his rig to a PSU disaster, but it can happen. It just emphasises once again, that you cannot skimp on a PSU.

Quoted for truth

If you bought the item yourself, this is important, then you can claim the damage caused to your property by an unsafe product from the trader or the manufacturer. If you didn't buy the item yourself you can only claim from the manufacturer. This has basis in common law and therefor you might have to go through the small claims court to be heard.

First stop on this route would be the Citizen Advice Bureau.

Second thing to do is compile a list of all the things you need for your case:

A list of rights you have as a customer, through statute, warranty, or contractual obligations in the particular case.

A description of the item, this includes all adverts you saw before buying the goods, descriptions by the vendor on their website etc.

details of the problem

how long you have had the goods. Or, if you have not had the goods at all, when you were supposed to have received them

when you first noticed the problem

details of what you have done about the problem, if anything

if you have already spoken to the trader about the problem, details of what was said

copies of any documents, for example, an order form, credit agreement, price quotation, instructions, an advertisement or a guarantee

how much you paid, and any receipts or other proof of purchase.

Then contact the vendor, and ask to speak to the owner/manager, dont waste time on the customer services people.

Thanks, that's very informative, I am RMA'ing this item, what grounds do I have for asking for money back considering I think this product (or any that they are going to send me) are dangerous.

Regards

 

[Herecy]

I think your first stop is to check, are you still within the warranty?

If so, you can claim it back on warranty, unless you have done something to the device to cause it to fail.

I know one case where a person lost the right to warranty because his PSU was so full of dust and grime that he should have known that it would fail at some point.

Yer it's in warranty I am in the process of RMA'ing it now. I just know they will send me another sh***y product no doubt that I want nothing to do with, and would like to know if I can get my money back.

 

[Herecy]

see if they will give u an ssd or something?

Already got one of theirs, now that thing is the dog's bo***cks.

I will see what they say anyway

 

[Herecy]

ah I just ordered a ocz 750watt PSU today, read good things but this worries me!

Well If it's the stealth xstream model (discontinued) throw it away not worth it. I can't say much about any other model but considering that specific series and the fact they *should* of had a recall, I would reconsider.

 

[Herecy]

I've been running an OCZ GameXStream 700w Silent Power Supply for the last 3 years, it's been used with 3 different motherboard / cpu / graphics card combos, a tonne of different overclocking settings, and it's been solid as a rock for that time. Cost me about £80.

OCZ offers quite a good warranty on their products etc.
I don't see how anyone can call them an "unreliable" or "cheap" PSU brand...?

I don't want to link it but seriously look at another competitors reviews of the stealth xstream. It's a joke, about a third of them are complaints about the poor quality and how it destroyed their system.

And sure it's great having a good warranty but if it doesn't cover your system when it fails, what's the point.

Furthermore, OCZ knew about this issue with this specific model (replying to almost every reviewer and saying just RMA it) yet nothing was done to really help it, and then they just discontinued it. Says a lot to me...

 

[Herecy]

Is my one a different model then? It doesn't have stealth anywhere in the PSU title I think :S

Didn't you say it was a gamextream? If so then it's a different model, which could be fine. I'm just saying though this really tainted the company for me. I think they are top notch for ssd's don't get me wrong, but I would avoid them for PSU's.