New PS

[oldtopman]

I have an Antec SP-350 in my computer and heard it was responsible for many mobo deaths. Is there a good cheap PS I can buy?

[TheLaw]

Re: New PS

How cheap is cheap?

[retiredcaps]

Re: New PS

I have an Antec SP-350 in my computer and heard it was responsible for many mobo deaths.

Search this board for posts by everell and his DM311 mod.

And yes, one of my friend's motherboard was fried due to the Antec SP-350 5V STB rail failing high (around 11V DC).

[c_hegge]

Re: New PS

Depending on how cheap you consider to be affordable, one of my favourittes is the corsair VX450. It has entirely Japanese caps, and is one of the best out there. Personally, I consider Antec StupidPowers (Smartpower) and early TruePowers to be worse (ie. less reliable) than even the really cheap and nasty brands, like low end deer, powmax/leadman, sun pro and linkworld. They are the only PSUs I've seen with a 100% premature failure rate.

[oldtopman]

Re: New PS

Define "Premature Failure Rate" Mine still works after 2-3 years of light usage. Cheap means > $50 but better to spend money on a PS than money on rebuilding my entire system. I will check out the corsair VX450 Thank you .

[TheLaw]

Re: New PS

Depending on how cheap you consider to be affordable, one of my favourittes is the corsair VX450. It has entirely Japanese caps, and is one of the best out there. Personally, I consider Antec StupidPowers (Smartpower) and early TruePowers to be worse (ie. less reliable) than even the really cheap and nasty brands, like low end deer, powmax/leadman, sun pro and linkworld. They are the only PSUs I've seen with a 100% premature failure rate.

Nono...Antec TruePowers are definitley not worse than Leadman/Deers. True they are filled with Chemi-Con KZGs, but I doubt the Fuijiyus in the Leadmans are any better. Soldering quality and overall construction quality is much better, even if the caps might not be as good as the rest.

Smartpowers aren't even ATX2 speced I don't think.

[TheLaw]

Re: New PS

The VX450 is indeed a solid supply, but if you need cheaper, I'd recommend an Antec NEO ECO which is a Seasonic S12II based power supply, exclusively available on Newegg.com. No, it's not sketchy at all. It's a sold supply.

The VX450 is a bit old at this point. There are some better designs out there, but reliability wise, it's top notch. But you won't have problems with the Antec either.

[c_hegge]

Re: New PS

Nono...Antec TruePowers are definitley not worse than Leadman/Deers. True they are filled with Chemi-Con KZGs, but I doubt the Fuijiyus in the Leadmans are any better.

They are now, but the earlier ones had Fuhjyyu and 100% premature failure rates.

[TheLaw]

Re: New PS

They are now, but the earlier ones had Fuhjyyu and 100% premature failure rates.

Ohhh...yes, sorry. Those wretched first gen Truepowers. Yes, those were dismal units. Can't believe Antec let those off the assembly line.

[oldtopman]

Re: New PS

What a good selection! Thanks to all of your excellent advice, I have decided to go with the VX450W from Amazon.

This review helped more than a little.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: New PS

I've only heard of one case where a smart power caused a house to burn down.
They must be safe.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: New PS

Ohhh...yes, sorry. Those wretched first gen Truepowers. Yes, those were dismal units. Can't believe Antec let those off the assembly line.

Not exactly limited to 'first gen'.
TP, TP2, TP3, True Blue, and a few other 'True' -whatever- all had the same problems.

[c_hegge]

Re: New PS

I've only heard of one case where a smart power caused a house to burn down.

It nearly happened to one of our customers. Several years ago (before I worked where I do), my boss used to use antec PSUs in new systems. One customer's SP-350 once gave off a heap of smoke, caucht on fire inside and and exploded big time when they attempted to power their PC on. Remarkably, the only thing to get antec'd was the motherboard.

[c_hegge]

Re: New PS

Define "Premature Failure Rate"

When I say premature failure, I mean one that occurs before the PC is obsolete and due for retirement. I consider that to be around 7 years, but 5 years is a record for an antec stupidpower. I've known them to fail as early as 6 months given heavy usage.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: New PS

According to Intel the useful life of a PC is 7 years.
[That's from their marketing side.]

[Toasty]

Re: New PS

What a good selection! Thanks to all of your excellent advice, I have decided to go with the VX450W from Amazon.

This review helped more than a little.

Don't want to rain on your parade, but...

CompUSA has it for $39.99 after a $15 rebate.

Toast

[PCBONEZ]

Re: New PS

OH!
That's a rain hat!
I thought it was a helmet!
.

[Toasty]

Re: New PS

Oh, been into the strong coffee this morning, eh?
It's tin foil lined to prevent "them" from reading my thoughts.

.

[everell]

Re: New PS

If you decide to recap the Antec SP-350, here is the thread giving some helpful information, especially how to do the DM311 mod to prevent overvoltage problems with the 5vsb circuit.

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showth...hlight=everell

[oldtopman]

Re: New PS

Don't want to rain on your parade, but...

CompUSA has it for $39.99 after a $15 rebate.

Toast

As a member of Amazon Prime, the shipping is worth it, especially since I would like to use my computer and not think of the PSU as a $400 rupoor.