430W Thermaltake Squealer

[ratdude747]

Tomorrow I will be trading some old parts for a 430W thermaltake... but it has the dreaded squeal...

I haven't seen it yet, but if i understand things right, the issue has to do with some tiny caps in the 5vsb and is fixable...

I will also guess that there are some toasted caps inside... some OSTs, perhaps.

[c_hegge]

Re: 430W Thermaltake Squealer

If it's the model I think it is, then it's made by HEC Compucase and is full of cheapo teapo caps.

[ratdude747]

Re: 430W Thermaltake Squealer

If it's the model I think it is, then it's made by HEC Compucase and is full of cheapo teapo caps.

I figured...

[momaka]

Re: 430W Thermaltake Squealer

Is this the TR2-430W (XP550-NP)?
If so, expect any of these: Teapo, CapXon, Ost, and also Su'scon.
Not 100% sure, but I think this PSU has the 2-transistor 5VSB as well. Probably the first thing you should check on that PSU is the 5VSB voltage with and without a load.
I've been thinking about tearing mine apart but I'm too lazy to take it out of the computer it is in right now (the PSU is kind of stuck in it, so that's why I'm a bit hesitant).

[ratdude747]

Re: 430W Thermaltake Squealer

I'll know tm, he forgot it today

from what I have seen it is a few notches above a doorstop... the reviews said it is really a 350W unit and a shitty one at best... I hope it isn't one of those... if so, then I guess I'll have bait for the pictorial thread...

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/artic...ply-Review/332

[ratdude747]

Re: 430W Thermaltake Squealer



here it is:



Worth fixing?

[goodpsusearch]

Re: 430W Thermaltake Squealer

In my opinion definitely yes!

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=19981

[ratdude747]

Re: 430W Thermaltake Squealer

In my opinion definitely yes!

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=19981

I see... I wish they had used thicker 12V wires though...

[momaka]

Re: 430W Thermaltake Squealer

from what I have seen it is a few notches above a doorstop... the reviews said it is really a 350W unit and a shitty one at best...

Not exactly.
It's a pretty decent PSU for computers that aren't too power hungry. Voltage regulation is pretty stable too. Right now I have it powering a computer with a 45W 1.4GHz AMD Duron Applebred (CPU power is drawn from the 5V rail). Normally that computer has a Radeon 9200 SE video card that draws negligible power. However, even when I swap that for a Radeon 9500 Pro/9700 (the R300 GPUs draw approx. 50W from the 5V rail), the 5V rail is still rock stable and never dips under 5V. 12V rail is at steady 12.3V.

Worth fixing?

Yes.
It has good heatsinks and decent parts attached to those heatsinks. Should be reliable if used as a 300W power supply, which is more than enough, really.

[goodpsusearch]

Re: 430W Thermaltake Squealer

Please take the cover off and post some pics to see what primary caps they used.

[ratdude747]

Re: 430W Thermaltake Squealer

the caps are tiny ass 200V 680uf capxons

Pics to come when I have time to post them... I did recap the unit (one bloated 6.3V 2200uf teapo in the 5vsb)... but when I powered it on with my tester, the PSU buzzed and then . smoke everywhere... the cover was on so I don't know yet which cap blew (it smells like roasted capacitor)... I bet I was an idiot and got a cap backwards... we will see later.

[goodpsusearch]

Re: 430W Thermaltake Squealer

680uF primary caps = 350W max

[tom66]

Re: 430W Thermaltake Squealer

I go by rule of total capacitance = 80-100% wattage. 680uF 200V means two in series, so 340uF...

Got an L&C with two "330uF" (actually 220uF) which limits it to a realistic 100W, which might be a stretch still...

[ratdude747]

Re: 430W Thermaltake Squealer

680uF primary caps = 350W max

the rest of the PSU is a 350W ATX 1.1 design... so I don't know if better spec'd primary caps would have that big of an effect... would it?

[goodpsusearch]

Re: 430W Thermaltake Squealer

Primary switchers? Secondary diodes? output capacitors?

I still think a psu good for true 300W is worth recapping, provided that 12V is beefy enough.

[ratdude747]

Re: 430W Thermaltake Squealer

Primary switchers? Secondary diodes? output capacitors?

I still think a psu good for true 300W is worth recapping, provided that 12V is beefy enough.

I already recapped it... although I will have to go back and replace the 16V 2200uf capacitor on the 12V rail; I installed the cap backwards and

the 12V looked anemic... clearly an old ATX 1.1 design. Good for non-P4 uses.

[c_hegge]

Re: 430W Thermaltake Squealer

330uF primary caps will allow for 250W. I often test cheap PSUs with 330uF primaries. They usually will be OK at 250W. it's when you ask for 300W that the switching transistors go kaboom. If we assume 2x the capacitance = 2x the wattage, then 680uF primaries = at least 500W

EDIT: When I saw the Pic, I though tthis might be a CWT. The UL number, though suggests it's HEC Compucase. Either way, it's probably still a keeper though. Do you have any pics of the internals?

[ratdude747]

Re: 430W Thermaltake Squealer

I do have pics to post:

before:



Yawn.



the primary... those capxons look tiny; I question real specs of them. I might replace them if I find a use for the PSU.

Otherwise, the input filtering is good... the use of a beefy Bridge rectifier is a great touch.



The secondary... mostly teapos . the P4 and PCI-E wires are 20AWG... I guessed that with such an anemic 12V rail that quality wiring was unneeded...

At least the other wires are 18AWG.



The heatsinks are good for a 300W unit... The only problem was that it was marketed as a 430W...



The blown up 5vsb Cap... my guess is that is why it squealed so bad.

Coming up next (In a fresh post), the fix/mod pics.

[ratdude747]

Re: 430W Thermaltake Squealer

The mods/fixes:



Besides recapping, I:

- shorted the 115/230V switch
- bypassed the neutral side of the on/off switch; that side's contacts came out (melted shell) when I went to re-solder the the wires.
- removed the 20AWG PCI-E and p4 wires; replaced with a p4 strand with 16AWG wires.



The recapped secondary. I used a mix of samxon GD and rubycon MCZ.



The new 5vsb cap... its a Panny FC. I didn't have a replacement for the other 5vsb cap, the 330uf 16V Su'scon, with it being next to that load cap, I assume it too will need fixed.

No test data yet due to messing up the one cap's polarity (pics taken before the failure). Once I have that fixed, I'll see of the squeal is in check and whether the voltages are in spec and clean.

Comments?

[c_hegge]

Re: 430W Thermaltake Squealer

Looks alright, although I wouldn't use MCZ or GD in a PSU. their ESR is too low, so you'll probably make the ripple worse.