Did I make a wise PSU purchase?

[Newbie2]

Today I was browsing through Newegg.ca and saw that they had the Antec High Current Gamer HCG-400 400W power supply on for just $49.99 CAD with free shipping, along with a $5 off promotional code (at the time of writing of this post). I saw the "All Japanese Brand Caps" feature in the product page and ordered this PSU in a heartbeat.

I currently have a Neo ECO 400C 400W PSU powering my main PC (in my signature), and so I want to ask you guys, is the money I spent on the HCG-400 worth it to upgrade from a Neo ECO 400C?

[c_hegge]

Re: Did I make a wise PSU purchase?

Yup. THe HCG series are good (provided that Antec didn't change their caps in secret)

[dmill89]

Re: Did I make a wise PSU purchase?

The HGC is definitely the better built / more reliable of the two, however I wouldn't really call it an upgrade, at least in the power provided sense. They are both made by SeaSonic, both based on the same platform (S12II), and both have the same rating. The HCG does have slightly better internal components (i.e. all Japanese caps) due to its slightly higher position on the Antec product ladder. If I was buying a PSU I would choose a HCG over a Neo ECO due to these better components, but I probably wouldn't replace a perfectly working Neo ECO with an HCG of the same rating.

[Newbie2]

Re: Did I make a wise PSU purchase?

Thanks for the helpful feedback c_hegge and dmill89.

I will definitely take the cover off my Neo ECO 400C once I get my HCG-400 400W, and post the pictures on the forum. If I can afford it, I might also look at getting good caps to replace the secondary caps, whatever they are, of that Neo ECO.

[mockingbird]

Re: Did I make a wise PSU purchase?

Yes!

Read my comments about these in my other posts.

HCG-400 is a fantastic PSU. I have used these personally very recently... The power switch and socket is even upside down to accommodate the new bottom-mounted PSU cases.

Only thing is that I found them to run a little warm. I would have liked there to be less heat-tolerant fan settings, it's just a bit too moderate. The 120mm fan inside the PSU is ball-bearing, I think.

[c_hegge]

Re: Did I make a wise PSU purchase?

The Neo ECO's caps are Only Some Trash IIRC

[dmill89]

Re: Did I make a wise PSU purchase?

The Neo ECO's caps are Only Some Trash IIRC

That's about standard for SeaSonic's budget builds, I've also seen some reviews where Su'Scon was used on the secondary, so I guess the exact cap selection varies from unit to unit depending on build date but some brand of Taiwanese mediocre caps is to be expected on the secondary. While not the best these caps are generally good enough to last 5 years or so in a PSU.

[Newbie2]

Re: Did I make a wise PSU purchase?

Only thing is that I found them to run a little warm. I would have liked there to be less heat-tolerant fan settings, it's just a bit too moderate. The 120mm fan inside the PSU is ball-bearing, I think.

Well the upside is that those better capacitors in them will be able to withstand the heat without prematurely bulging and causing ripple to skyrocket.

That's about standard for SeaSonic's budget builds, I've also seen some reviews where Su'Scon was used on the secondary, so I guess the exact cap selection varies from unit to unit depending on build date but some brand of Taiwanese mediocre caps is to be expected on the secondary. While not the best these caps are generally good enough to last 5 years or so in a PSU.

OST


Su'scon


Why I don't trust either brand of capacitor powering my big investment. (not my pictures)

[Newbie2]

Re: Did I make a wise PSU purchase?

I received my HCG-400 from Purolator today, and installed it into my PC. Everything's running nice and smooth, and the voltages being read by my motherboard look good:


I shone a flashlight into my new HCG-400 before installing it and from what I could see, all the caps inside where Nippon/United Chemicon.

I also opened up my old Neo ECO 400C as well. The single primary cap is a Nippon Chemicon, however all other caps (secondary caps and small caps) are brown Su'scon caps. Too bad none of them were visibly bulging, but they're not something I'd trust.

I got peace of mind now that my PC has all good capacitors in it now, from my motherboard (all polymer caps) to my power supply (all Japanese electrolytic caps).

[dmill89]

Re: Did I make a wise PSU purchase?

I shone a flashlight into my new HCG-400 before installing it and from what I could see, all the caps inside where Nippon/United Chemicon.

I also opened up my old Neo ECO 400C as well. The single primary cap is a Nippon Chemicon, however all other caps (secondary caps and small caps) are brown Su'scon caps. Too bad none of them were visibly bulging, but they're not something I'd trust.

I got peace of mind now that my PC has all good capacitors in it now, from my motherboard (all polymer caps) to my power supply (all Japanese electrolytic caps).

I know the feeling. I have a Antec True-Power Quattro 850w built by Enhance in my primary rig. It is well built, and rock stable but the Teapo caps on the secondary don't instill me with endless confidence. Since It is still under warranty, has industrial grade protection circuits, and Teapo's don't have all that bad of a reputation in PSUs. I don't have any plans to recap or replace it at this time, however I would definitely feel better with a PSU that had all Japanese caps.

All the caps on my motherboard (Gigabyte EP45C-UD3R) are both Japanese and polymer so I am unlikely to have problems with them, which is good since the extra thick copper layers in the Gigabyte UD series makes it extremely difficult to de-solder / solder on these boards, they just suck the heat out of the iron.