Power supply build quality pictorial. part 2

[momaka]

HiPro Chicony D350R003L - 350 Watt ATX PSU

Another HiPro / Chicony PSU. This time it's a D350R003L (M/N: CPB09-001b and Dell P/N: K159T). This is a 350 Watt power supply, or essentially bigger brother of the 305 Watt HP-P3017F3 posted previously. Case pictures:




The casing is identical to the P3017F3. Really only difference on the outside, besides the label, is the addition of a 6-pin PCI-E power connector. According to the label, this PSU can provide up to 300 Watts of power on the 12V rails… which as we will see, is actually one rail. 300 Watts on the 12V is plenty for a configuration consisting of a 95W TDP CPU and maybe a 120-130 Watt TDP GPU. So, one could easily build a budget gaming PC with this PSU.

Next, let's look inside.



Again, we see that the D350R003L is nearly the same thing as the HP-P3017F3 – at least, layout-wise. But let's note the main differences:
1) Input HV caps on the primary are slightly bigger (820 uF vs. 560 or 680 uF in the 305W version.)
2) Secondary heatsink is bigger
3) The first 5VSB output capacitor is a United Chemicon KZE, 16V, 2200 uF in 12.5 mm diameter can – something I find to be consistent with the 350 Watt version (I guess HiPro / Chicony knows or knew the 10V 2200 uF Teapo SC or Ltec LZP were doomed there, so they used a better cap here. )
4) (Not visible in the pictures) The 12V rectifier consists of one STPS20s100 doing the forward rectification (vs. a 10 Amp part in the 305W version) and one b30h100 doing the toroid inductor freewheeling (vs. a 20 Amp part in the 305W version.)
5) Minimum load resistor on the 12V rail is rated for 330 Ohms and 2 Watts. Perhaps Chicony finally noticed that the 75-Ohm resistor in the 305W model was running too hot, so they replaced it with a high resistance one, thus dissipating much less power (less than ½ Watt vs. over 2 Watts before! )

A shot of the daughterboard:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1580617074
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1580617074
Another minor difference shown there: the 350W version uses a Weltrend WT7507 IC.

PCB underneath this PSU:

Same clean soldering.
Not only that, but the particular PSU shown above actually took nearly a 10 foot (3 meters) drop to a hard floor. Yet, not a single solder joint has cracked or anything broken off. Only “damage” this PSU sustained is a slight dent in one of the corners. That's it! These things really a built well!
The drop happened when I was picking up a bunch of old PCs/cases from a repair shop a few years ago. The D350R003L in the above pictures was a PSU sitting loosely in one PC case without a side. And that PC case sat at the topmost rack of a tall shelf. When I went to pickup the case, the PSU cables caught onto something and pulled the PSU out of the case, then the PSU fell to the floor. It made a really loud clacking noise.
But it survived! And currently, this PSU is used for the TV streaming PC at my parents' house for close to 2 years now. What a trooper!

Anyways, one last picture: the fan.
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1580617074
This time, we have a Sunon EE80251s1-0000-a99 rated for 1.7W @ 12V.

And that's all I have for a description. Next, a more detailed part list.

ICs:
UC384_b (PWM controller), Weltrend WT7507 (secondary-side supervisor), TNY266PN (5VSB PWM+FET combo), and 7912 linear regulator (-12V rail)

Wiring:
* 600V, 18 AWG input wiring
* 300V, 18 AWG output wiring, except ATX connector (mostly 20 AWG)
* Output connectors: 24-pin ATX, 4-pin 12V CPU, 4x SATA, 1x floppy, 1x 6-pin PCI-E

Primary Side:
* Input Filtering:
*** one 0.68 uF and 0.47 uF X2-class caps
*** four 1 nF Y2-class caps + one 3.3 nF Y2-class cap (pri-to-sec GND)
*** two CM chokes
* Input protection: SCR 2R59 NTC inrush limiter, three MOVS for surge, T10AH fuse
* BU1006 bridge rectifier
* 2x Elite GM, 200V, 820 uF, 52x22 mm, 85°C primary bulk caps

Secondary Side:
* 5VSB
*** 1x United Chemicon KZE, 16V, 2200 uF, 12.5x25 mm before PI coil
*** 1x Ltec LZP, 10V, 1000 uF, 8x16 mm after PI coil (note: space for this cap has 5 mm lead spacing and can accommodate a 10 mm diameter cap, if needed)
*** 3A (?) schottky diode for rectification
*** PI coil: 6-turn, 20-AWG, 4 mm core

* 3.3V Rail
*** 1x Ltec LZP, 16V, 2200 uF, 10x25 mm before linear regulator
*** 1x Ltec LZP, 10V, 2200 uF, 10x20 mm after linear regulator
*** 1x Teapo SC, 10V, 1000 uF, 10x15 mm after linear regulator
*** one STPS3045 (?) rectifier and CEP703AL MOSFET for linear regulation
*** PI coil: 5.5-turn, 16-AWG, 4 mm core
*** Load resistor: 560-Ohm, 1/8 –Watt

* 5V Rail
*** 1x Teapo SC, 10V, 4700 uF, 12.5x25 mm before PI coil
*** 1x Teapo SC, 10V, 3300 uF, 12.5x25 mm after PI coil
*** two STPS3045 rectifiers (1x for forward rectification and 1x for toroid freewheeling)
*** PI coil: 5.5-turn, 16-AWG, 4 mm core
*** Load resistor: none (?)

* 12V Rail
*** 2x Ltec LZP, 16V, 2200 uF, 10x30 mm
*** PI coil: NONE. Rail has current shunt only (2x 0.002 Ohms)
*** Load resistor: 330-Ohm, 2-Watt (Ha! Maybe they took note the 75-Ohm resistor in the 305W model was running too hot.)
*** one STPS20s100 and one b30h100 rectifiers (1x for forward rectification and 1x for toroid freewheeling)

* -12V Rail
*** 1x Teapo SC, 35V, 470 uF, 10x20 mm before 7912 linear regulator
*** 1x Ltec LZP, 16V or 25V, 100 uF (?), 5x11 mm after 7912 linear regulator
*** PI coil: NONE
*** 1.5 or 2 Amp diode as rectifier

That pretty much sums it all up for the build quality.

Obviously, this PSU, like its 305 Watt “little brother”, is susceptible to developing bad capacitors over time on the secondary. So as with the 305W PSU, I recommend doing a full recap of the secondary side, as well as many of the small caps. Other than that, there is nothing I can nick at this PSU.

[Dan81]

Re: Power supply build quality pictorial. part 2

Interesting to see Task use Sirtec as their OEM. Last one I've seen was one of those unusually beefy Deers, about on par with some of Rosewill's better units and pre-2012 Allied units.

[momaka]

Re: Power supply build quality pictorial. part 2

I‘m wondering if the two STPS3045CTs on the +5V rail are wired the same way (one rectifier freewheeling, the other rectifier conducting), rather than actually being in parallel.

They are (I think.)
If you look at my PCB shot, you can see jumper links connecting the two diodes on one of the rectifiers, and the other rectifier having both of its diodes connected to the same trace. (That would be the 3rd row of diodes going from top to bottom on that shot.)

The cooling in BTX based systems seems to be problematic. Actually, many of the failed KZGs and KZJs (and -some- MCZs) I’ve seen have come from BTX cases. I still see them failing when the surrounding caps appear fine (other series from Chemi-con, MBZ, and MCZ), but that cooling arrangement is likely the culprit in certain cases (even though KZG and KZJ may eventually fail anyway). Similar to how BTX PSUs just aren’t cooled all that well.

Yup.
And it doesn't help that the chipsets in these Dell desktops always ran hot - for which reason I often see the abovementioned brands fail especially often around the chipset. The chipset really needs a fan... and I always add one now.

I'm also planning on taking one of these BTX systems and reversing the front 120 mm (or was it 140 mm) fan to exhaust air to outside the front of the case. The system I'm thinking to do this with I plan on putting in a hot Pentium D 830 CPU (a 130W TDP chip! ). Should make a nice foot warmer, if I get it finished by next winter.

[Wester547]

Re: Power supply build quality pictorial. part 2

Yeah, that'd be the Dell version for the BTX-based systems, where they mount the 80 mm fan on the front of the PSU rather than the back. And the PSU case is taller. I got one of those here too. Can't remember if I pulled it out awaiting for a recap or if it's installed in a system already (it didn't have any visibly-failed caps, so I left it alone for the time being.)

The cooling in BTX based systems seems to be problematic. Actually, many of the failed KZGs and KZJs (and -some- MCZs) I've seen have come from BTX cases. I still see them failing when the surrounding caps appear fine (other series from Chemi-con, MBZ, and MCZ), but that cooling arrangement is likely the culprit in certain cases (even though KZG and KZJ may eventually fail anyway). Similar to how BTX PSUs just aren't cooled all that well.

Indeed, HiPro has them where one diode package is handling the forward rectification and the other for the free-wheeling on the toroid inductor. This is actually very smart, vs. having two rectifiers simply in parallel, as the method that HiPro is using won't have the issue where the diode junctions in one rectifier become hotter than the other rectifier, thus dropping their forward voltage and getting even more overloaded until something pops.

I‘m wondering if the two STPS3045CTs on the +5V rail are wired the same way (one rectifier freewheeling, the other rectifier conducting), rather than actually being in parallel.

[momaka]

Re: Power supply build quality pictorial. part 2

It looks like there are two caps used on the +5V rail, one 4700uF 10V Teapo SC and one 3300uF 10V? Teapo SC.

Yup.
You've got the eagle eyes, I suppose. I had the PSU in front of me, and it fooled me for sure, because the size of the 4700 uF Teapo SC is the same as that of the 3300 uF one, so I wrongly assumed both are the same caps. Go figure.

I’d guess the mismatched rectifiers on the +12V output are because in a forward design, the second diode in a double diode package is not conducting current but acting as a freewheeling or fly wheeling diode, to prevent the output voltage from spiking negative and to complete the current path, so it only handles a third of the load.

Oh yeah...
Now that you mentioned this, I do remember eventually noticing this back when I was recapping this PSU. But I never took any notes of that and totally forgot.
Indeed, HiPro has them where one diode package is handling the forward rectification and the other for the free-wheeling on the toroid inductor. This is actually very smart, vs. having two rectifiers simply in parallel, as the method that HiPro is using won't have the issue where the diode junctions in one rectifier become hotter than the other rectifier, thus dropping their forward voltage and getting even more overloaded until something pops.

I’d also frown by default seeing 20AWG connectors being used on primary rails when Hipro was using 16-18AWG connectors on such rails in their older 250W PSUs, but them’s the breaks.

Well, I'm guessing as these PSUs are meant for OEM systems, they had to cut costs somewhere. And since OEM systems often don't need PSUs with long wires, I suppose they figured 20 AWG wires will be acceptable for the task - especially since most of the power is pulled from the 4-pin CPU 12V plug, and that does use 18 AWG wire. So looks like they used thick wire only where it mattered.

I feel the secondary heatsink could also do with more space in between the fins.

Agreed.
I tried prying those fins apart with a screwdriver, but they are too thick. Had no problems doing this on a cheap-ish Task TK-930TX (Sirtech-built) PSU.

Actually, this PSU looks very similar if not nearly identical to the H305P-01 which c_hegge reviewed way back when

Thanks for the link!
I do remember reading that review, but just couldn't find it anymore after all these years.
You really must have your PSU and cap infos meticulously organized, I suppose.

I used to do that when I first got into PCs (early 2000's), as I had only a 20 GB HDD, and had to organize and keep everything tidy. But then upgraded with a second 20 GB HDD and started letting loose a little more. Then over the years, as I started moving to different PCs, things got a little sloppier. I still try to organize my files and links to an extent (as you can tell by my image file names ), but it's not anywhere close to what I'd like it to be and can be messy at times, even.

Anyways, back on topic... WOW, look at those clean voltages from that HiPro.

and the H305N-00 which cubecomputerchannel posted a video of a long while back, featuring more failed Teapos and LTECs. The only notable difference is the inclusion and the lack of P-PFC, and the fan is mounted differently in those models with a much less convenient airflow arrangement, possibly leading to (or accelerating) discoloration on the underside of the PCB where that resistor is, as shown in the review of the H305P-01.

Yeah, that'd be the Dell version for the BTX-based systems, where they mount the 80 mm fan on the front of the PSU rather than the back. And the PSU case is taller. I got one of those here too. Can't remember if I pulled it out awaiting for a recap or if it's installed in a system already (it didn't have any visibly-failed caps, so I left it alone for the time being.)

[Wester547]

Re: Power supply build quality pictorial. part 2

It looks like there are two caps used on the +5V rail, one 4700uF 10V Teapo SC and one 3300uF 10V? Teapo SC. I’d guess the mismatched rectifiers on the +12V output are because in a forward design, the second diode in a double diode package is not conducting current but acting as a freewheeling or fly wheeling diode, to prevent the output voltage from spiking negative and to complete the current path, so it only handles a third of the load.

In this case, rather than have two +12V rectifiers in parallel as you would expect in a half-bridge or push-pull PSU, one rectifier (or one of the two diodes in one package) is handling rectification and the rest of the diodes are handling freewheeling I’d guess. I’d also frown by default seeing 20AWG connectors being used on primary rails when Hipro was using 16-18AWG connectors on such rails in their older 250W PSUs, but them’s the breaks. I feel the secondary heatsink could also do with more space in between the fins. Having that daughterboard mounted in such a way on the secondary side is a good way to limit airflow to brands which are already of dubious quality. ADDA sleeve bearing fans may be used interchangeably as well. They are quieter and vibrate less but aren’t lubricated that well from the factory.

Actually, this PSU looks very similar if not nearly identical to the H305P-01 which c_hegge reviewed way back when and the H305N-00 which cubecomputerchannel posted a video of a long while back, featuring more failed Teapos and LTECs. The only notable difference is the inclusion and the lack of P-PFC, and the fan is mounted differently in those models with a much less convenient airflow arrangement, possibly leading to (or accelerating) discoloration on the underside of the PCB where that resistor is, as shown in the review of the H305P-01.

[goodpsusearch]

Re: Power supply build quality pictorial. part 2

Very nice psu, indeed. I hate the foam and I always remove it when I see it.

[momaka]

HiPro HP-P3017F3 rev:03

Still have reservations against the previously posted HEC Orion HP585d PSU I showed? Okay, let's compare it with something a little more standard, then. By standard, I mean an OEM unit of the same class. In this case, I picked the HiPro HP-P3017F3. It's a super-popular PSU, used frequently by many PC brands like Dell, HP, Acer, and etc. It's also a PSU I seem to get quite frequently on my bench – not because it's crap, but only because it has crap caps. So, let's have a look. First, the case, as usual:



*Yawn*
It's just a 305W PSU in a plain steel case with short colorful wires and not a whole lot of connectors (only 4x SATA and a 4-pin 12V CPU connector, besides the 24-pin ATX). Booooring!

But as plain as it may seem, it does get the job done. Here is what you get inside this 300-Watter:



Not bad at all, right? This PSU has very thick heatsinks, good input EMI/RFI filtering (unlike the HEC Orion HP585d… though the ThermalTake TR2-430W is about the same as the HiPro above), excellent output filtering with lots of space for the output caps, nice size output torroid and… really good size everything for just a 305 Watt unit. Design-wise, it's a single-transistor forward, just like the HEC Orion posted previously. The only slight difference is in the protections: this HiPro uses a Weltrend WT7525 IC on the secondary, which also does OCP for the 12V rail (vs. the HEC Orion, which appears to have some kind of external circuit for that.) And I consider the 5VSB of this HiPro better than the HEC Orion, as it uses a TNY266PN PWMFET IC instead of a dated 2-transistor self-oscillating circuit with a risky critical cap.

Speaking of the secondary side above, here it is closer:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1578792576
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1578792576
Yes, now you really see why I get these for repair so often: bad caps.
The particular unit above has Teapo SC caps. However, this is not the only brand/series found in these PSUs. Some also come with Ltec LZP and occasionally a Teapo SY thrown in there, along with a United Chemicon KZE for one of the caps on the 12V rail. Of course, the Teapo SC and Ltec LZP are the ones that fail most consistently – particularly on the 5VSB and 3.3V rails (though recently I got two units with failed Teapo SC caps on the 5V rail – and these are big 4700 uF caps in 12.5 mm diameter, which I haven't seen fail very often.) So in short, expect to do a full recap if you get one of these PSUs and you want 100% reliability. Aside from that and removing the large load resistor on the 12V rail that tends to cook the caps, there is nothing else that needs to be done on these units. With good caps, they are extremely reliable. Here is the one above when I recapped it (back ~2013) with caps I had on hand:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1578792576
In case you are wondering what those black caps are: Nichicon HZ 6.3V, 2200 uF pulled from Xbox 360 motherboards. Despite being the lowest-ESR electrolytic caps (which is usually *not* recommended for PSU repair), this HiPro worked just fine with them. No squealing or hiccups (it was an experiment on my side, but it worked.) Sharp eyes may also notice I replaced that hot load resistor on the 12V rail (R422) next to the output torroid. Original value was 75 Ohms and 3-Watt power rating (because it dissipates around 2 Watts @ 12V! ) I used a single 1000-Ohm resistor, as that's all I had at the time. Could probably have even gone without, though. Getting rid of the original resistor there and using a higher value resistance is highly recommended.

Caps aside, the secondary is done in a similar way to the HEC Orion: Separate 3.3V, 5V, and 12V rails that all go to the same torroid, with the 3.3V rail being linearly-regulated through a MOSFET afterwards.

And before I finish off this post, here is a picture of the PCB / solder side:

Excellent soldering, yes?

Oh, and these HiPro PSUs like to use a foam pad (for electrical insulation) on the bottom of the PSU case below the primary side.
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1578792576
Not sure if that's a good idea or not, as I'm pretty sure the foam will rot eventually and leave a mess. But at least the primary solder-side should stay dust-free (and I think this is what HiPro intended with this) for a while.

Anyways, off to a detailed part list summary…

ICs:
UC384_b (PWM controller), Weltrend WT7525 (secondary-side supervisor), TNY266PN (5VSB PWM+FET combo), and 7912 linear regulator (-12V rail)

Wiring:
* 600V, 18 AWG input wiring
* 300V, 18 AWG output wiring, except ATX connector (mostly 20 AWG)
* Output connectors: 24pin ATX, 4-pin 12V CPU, 4x SATA

Primary Side:
* Input Filtering: two 0.47 uF X2-class caps, five Y2-class caps, two CM chokes
* Input protection: 13R inrush current limiter, three MOVS for surge prot., T10AH fuse
* BU1006 bridge rectifier
* 2x 200V, 560 or 680 uF (capacity and brand varies with models), 85°C caps

Secondary Side:
* 5VSB
*** 1x Teapo SC or Ltec LZP, 10V, 2200 uF, 10x20 mm before PI coil
*** 1x Teapo SC or Ltec LZP, 10V, 470 uF, 8x13 mm after PI coil (note: space for this cap has 5 mm lead spacing and can accommodate a 10 mm diameter cap, if needed)
*** 3A (?) schottky diode for rectification
*** PI coil: 6-turn, 20-AWG, 4 mm core

* 3.3V Rail
*** 1x Teapo SC or Ltec LZP, Teapo SY, 10V, 2200 uF, 10x20 mm before linear regulator
*** 1x Teapo SC or Ltec LZP, 10V, 2200 uF, 10x20 mm after linear regulator
*** 1x Teapo SC, 10V, 1000 uF, 10x15 mm after linear regulator
*** one STPS3045 (?) rectifier and CEP703AL MOSFET for linear regulation
*** PI coil: 5.5-turn, 16-AWG, 4 mm core
*** Load resistor: 560-Ohm, 1/8 –Watt

* 5V Rail
*** 1x Teapo SC, 10V, 4700 uF, 12.5x25 mm with PI coil in between
*** two STPS3045 rectifiers in parallel
*** PI coil: 5.5-turn, 16-AWG, 4 mm core
*** Load resistor: 75-Ohm, ½ -Watt

* 12V Rail
*** 2x Teapo SC or Ltec LZP, 16V, 2200 uF, 10x30 mm
*** 1x free cap spot for 6.3 mm dia. cap with 3 mm LS
*** PI coil: NONE. Rail has current shunt only
*** Load resistor: 75-KOhm, 3-Watt!! -replace it!
*** one STPS20H100 and one STPS10H100 in parallel (but why the mismatched ratings?! )

* -12V Rail
*** 1x Teapo SC, 35V, 470 uF, 10x20 mm before 7912 linear regulator
*** 1x Teapo SC or Ltec LZP, 16V or 25V, 100 uF (?), 5x11 mm after 7912 linear regulator
*** PI coil: NONE
*** 1.5 or 2 Amp diode as rectifier

Fan:
(Usually, but I'm not sure if every unit has this) Sunon KD1208PTS1 rated for 1.9W @ 12V. Good quality fan, really.
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1578792722

And that's all. I'll probably create a recap thread on this PSU later on, just to make the information easier to find.

[Dan81]

Re: Power supply build quality pictorial. part 2

Heh, mine's chugging along with a Core 2 Quad Q9400 on a Gigabyte EP45T-DS3R machine. Barely warm during intense use.

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: Power supply build quality pictorial. part 2

Okay, might as well post my FSP.


Here it is, a FSP Bluestorm II 500W I got for $3. Had bulging Capxons in the secondary and 5vsb, althpugh the main cap (420uF 400V) is fine.

Replaced most caps with what I had on my hand, as well as a few caps from a dead Delta.

2007=Only a bit older than the FSP 500W PSU that I last had in a 2014 FX Vishera system. Mine was plain-looking, but was solid like the BlueStorm, even if the biggest heatsink was thinner. The original system it was for, was my Asus P5QL Pro and Pentium E2180 in 2008.

[momaka]

HEC Orion HP585D – 5VSB circuit

Finally scanned it.

In case anyone likes to see how these 5VSB circuits are designed, here is the one from the HEC Orion PSU above.

It's been a long time since I posted here.

I know!
Welcome back!! Hope to see you around more.

Btw, similar to this:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=11930
This has a dedicated toroid coil and a mag amp coil for 3.3V instead of linear generation.

and this:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=34170

Yup, those are quite similar indeed.

Delta DPS-1400AB (IBM part 43X3254)
...

Amazingly clean design. I like it.
And you can see they used nice and big 450V input electro caps here, because I'm guessing this is an "upper-middle" or straight "upper" class PSU.
Should last a long time, just like most industrial -grade Delta stuff.

[goodpsusearch]

Re: Power supply build quality pictorial. part 2

It's been a long time since I posted here.

Excellent work momaka!

Btw, similar to this:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=11930
This has a dedicated toroid coil and a mag amp coil for 3.3V instead of linear generation.

and this:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=34170

[momaka]

HEC Orion HP585D – improved v1

And here we go: I made some basic improvements to this PSU with mostly scrapped parts I had on hand. The first item on that list, of course, was the missing EMI/RFI filter, which is no longer missing. Now this PSU has the following EMI/RFI components:
- 1x 0.33 uF X2-class cap across L-N lines (in parallel with a 470-KOhm resistor) after the main fuse
- 1x small common-mode choke (not sure what inductance, but possibly around 1 mH)
- 1x 0.47 uF X2-class cap across L-N
- 1x 5 mH common-mode choke
- 3x 2.2 nF Y2-class caps (L to GND, N to GND, and negative bus to GND.)

The 0.33 uF X2 cap came from a discarded dead PSU. The small CM choke came from another ATX PSU that originally had this soldered to the receptacle plug in such a way that I couldn’t get the PSU apart. So it had to come off, and I never put it back on, due to that PSU already having enough filtering. The 0.47 uF X2 cap came from a dead Sony PS3 PSU (Nichicon-made). And finally the 5 mH CM choke came from a mashed Samsung CRT TV PSU board (curbside find - someone busted the TV to get the copper coils out of it.) Only the Y2 caps are new parts. I grabbed these a while back for some other PSUs, though (a bag of QTY 10x for better price break.)

Up next was the 5VSB circuit. I changed the 10 uF, 50V Suscon SK critical cap for a Panasonic FC of same voltage and capacitance. That Suscon SK cap was still in spec, measuring 3.6 Ohms ESR, which is not bad for a small 5x11 mm cap. The second output cap on the 5VSB – originally a Teapo SC, 16V, 330 uF, 8x12 mm – was also replaced, as I like to have at least one quality cap on my 5VSB outputs. It was still in spec, too. I used a 6.3V, 1000 uF Chemicon KY cap in 8 mm dia. (Note: this second 5VSB cap spot has hole for both 8 mm and 10 mm diameter caps, and both will fit. So keep that in mind if recapping this PSU, as it gives you more choices.) Finally, I also changed the 5VSB minimum load resistor (R47) from 27-Ohm 2-Watt to 47-Ohm, 2-Watt. This cut down on the 5VSB idle power consumption from the wall by an entire 1 Watt (from ~4.5 Watts originally to 3.5-3.7 Watts afterwards.)

The last thing on my list was I filled the empty 8 mm cap spot on the 12V rail with a Chemicon KZE 16V, 680 uF cap. I figured this should help lower the output ripple on the 12V rail a bit and also serve as a warranty of sorts, should the 2200 uF Teapo SC decide to fail.

And that completes all the improvements/modding I did to this PSU. Ideally, I should have done a full recap on it. But I am saving my caps for other PSUs I have on my repair pile for the time being. When I order more caps eventually, I may come back to this PSU and recap it. For now, though, that is all. Here are some pictures of the work.



Oh, and for those of you who took major offense to the over-rated numbers on the label… there, I fixed that especially for you!

A black pen and leftover "sticker paper" from a shipping label is all one needs here.
No more “dual” 12V rails. Added the -5V rail, instead, as this PSU does have one. I probably made the current ratings on the 3.3V and 5V rails a bit too modest (should be able to do 20 and 30 Amps, respectively.) But what the HEC?! – Better keep them slightly under-rated instead of very over-rated, right? … and all that at 300 Watts max. Sounds fair now?

I also made a schematic of the 2-transistor 5VSB circuit, for those of you that may be interested. But I haven’t scanned it in yet, so that will be left for another post.

[Behemot]

Re: Power supply build quality pictorial. part 2

Them caps go bad quite rarely no matter what crap they use (if its not both underrated on capacity and voltage). Besides you can swap those caps with some other ones removed from different equipment too (if they fit, old industrial stuff is usually large so it can acommodate large caps, unlike these PSUs).

[ChaosLegionnaire]

Re: Power supply build quality pictorial. part 2

one thing that bugs me about modern budget PSUs is that they tend to always come with AFPC - and that's a problem, because to make them cheap, the manufacturer typically ends up using an undersized or crap brand primary cap (or both). Not uncommon after some years for the primary cap to go bang. I'd rather deal with installing missing EMI/RFI filters and replacing output caps on an old unit like this than trying to fix the APFC section of a modern unit after it's blown up from a bad primary cap and shot some SMD parts into orbit that were almost impossible to identify to begin with (even when they weren't blown to pieces.)

sigh, thats more designed to fail catastrophically and unfixable, unrepairable modern junk there!

[momaka]

Re: Power supply build quality pictorial. part 2

But it's not a gutless wonder.

It's a decent 250-300 Watt power supply with crap label, that's all. It's even labeled as such right by the fuse. As long as you use it as that, it's actually a pretty reliable unit that won't randomly blow up on you or do crazy stuff when there's a brown-out.

Yes, I don't recommend anyone going out and buying one of these PSUs. It's missing the input filters and thus not really worthwhile getting unless one has those as spare parts already. That was actually my case: I got this PSU for free with a bundle of other PC parts. Didn't invest a single cent into it (yet) - just a bit of time to clean and install EMI/RFI filters I already had pulled from bad TV and other junk PSU boards. And since I've owned the ThermalTake version of this PSU for over 10 years now and it hasn't given me any problems (even with its original crap caps), I know it's a decent low-power PSU for a basic PC.

As for adding bigger rectifier on the 12V rail... not worth it.
It's hard to see on my pictures above, but there is actually a shunt for the 12V rail for OCP. Anything more than around 17 Amps will usually shut the PSU down (not to mention it's a group-regulated unit, so voltages aren't going to be that good - particularly the 5V rail.) Though if done, this may improve the efficiency a slight bit (not enough for me to care, though.) Speaking of which...

But why? You can buy half-decent forward platforms with about 80% efficiency (this thing will be around 60 % if lucky) for a few buck now, such is worth recapping, not this.

60%??
Where did you get that pessimistic number? Even cheapo gutless Deer PSUs from the early 2000's won't do that bad.

Efficiency is actually around ~76% average for this PSU, dipping to 70% minimum and 77-ish % maximum. Here is one of the reviews for it, actually:
https://www.hardwaresecrets.com/ther...supply-review/
Yeah, that's not good by any means, but I could care less. I don't run my PCs 24/7 and never saw a reason to do that. So for the few hours I use them per day, it's irrelevant - especially in the winter, where I actually need the heat anyways.

Efficient or not... one thing that bugs me about modern budget PSUs is that they tend to always come with AFPC - and that's a problem, because to make them cheap, the manufacturer typically ends up using an undersized or crap brand primary cap (or both). Not uncommon after some years for the primary cap to go bang. I'd rather deal with installing missing EMI/RFI filters and replacing output caps on an old unit like this than trying to fix the APFC section of a modern unit after it's blown up from a bad primary cap and shot some SMD parts into orbit that were almost impossible to identify to begin with (even when they weren't blown to pieces.)

[Behemot]

Re: Power supply build quality pictorial. part 2

Smell gutless wonder all the way to me. Was it rated 400 W, that would likely be OK, lets say slightly underrated Fortron THN-P (BlueStorm) of that era. Labeling it almost 600 W and being a 300ish unit is just crap, nothing to really waste time about, IMO. Maybe if you put some 30amp schottky rectifier to that +12V rail, it could deliver some reasonable current.

But why? You can buy half-decent forward platforms with about 80% efficiency (this thing will be around 60 % if lucky) for a few buck now, such is worth recapping, not this.

[momaka]

HEC Orion HP585D

Oh what the HEC! –My turn to post something and hopefully keep this thread alive.

I still have a few PSUs on my repair pile that I’ve been trying to reduce over the years (as in, fix stuff). So for today’s post, I have a HEC Orion HP585D. This and its re-labeled versions (namely the ThermalTake TR2-430W a.k.a. XP550-NP) were popular low budget PSUs in the mid-late 2000’s that weren’t actually terrible or gutless wonders.




Yes, yes, that 585 Watt rating on the label (along with all of the individual current ratings on the rails) is a complete lie. You might wonder then why I’m posting this in the quality pictorial thread. But it’s the potential that this PSU holds (no pun intended ) is why I post it here. IIRC, HardwareSecrets tested the TR2-430W, and it help up fine all the way to ~350 Watts. Given this HEC PSU is the same exact unit (minus a few small things, which will be noted below), it too will do about 300 Watts continuous and maybe 350W peak. Of that, the 12V rail is limited to about 16-17 Amps – so right inline with most 250-300W OEM PSUs. Don’t believe me? Let’s see some pictures then.



Right away, I’m sure someone noticed the missing EMI/RFI filters on the inputs. That and the crap caps used inside this PSU are probably its only downfall. The ThermalTake TR2-430W mentioned above does come with the EMI/RFI filters installed, though (along with better/longer cable selection, sleeved cables, and painted case.) However, if recapped and with proper EMI/RFI filters installed, the HP585D can be a decent 250-Watt PSU. It has good amount of output filtering, adequate heatsinks (for 250-300W anyways), good airflow, and quite fair soldering quality

In terms of design, this PSU uses a bog-standard (and highly outdated for ATX PSUs nowadays) UC3843b current-mode PWM IC to drive a single-transistor forward converter circuit. The 5VSB is also very rudimentary, using the well-known 2-transistor self-oscillating 5VSB circuit. And it does have a 10 uF 50V “critical cap” that should be replaced (if anyone is recapping this PSU), even though it rarely fails on this particular PSU model (my TR2-430W is still going strong with all-original caps.) Picture of the primary side:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1576985654
As crude as it may be, the primary side for the main PS does have working OPP. I remember reading one review back in the day that repeatedly tried to overload and blow up this PSU, but couldn’t. Every time, the OPP shut down past a certain point (around 350 Watts, if I remember.)

Next, we move to the secondary side.
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1576985654
If you wonder why there is only one output toroid, it’s because this PSU uses a MOSFET to generate the 3.3V rail in a linear fashion – hence the lack of a 3.3V toroid and mag-amp circuit. The PSU also has temperature-controlled fans, as evident by the thermistor on the secondary heatsink. On that note, the two fans are Young Lin Tech model DFS802012M, rated for 12V and 2 Watts. Caps, of course, are not Japanese - just a mix of Su’scon and Teapo, which isn’t that terrible, IMO. They usually tend to last a decent amount in this PSU model. All protections for the main PS are handled by a TPS3510 supervisory IC. Although this IC does not offer OCP, I think HEC might have implemented OCP on the 12V rail, as there is a jumper/shunt before the 12V wires (it’s not well visible in my pictures above).

Finally, the soldering:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1576985654
It’s OK – no major gobs of solder or leads that are too long. The PCB tracks are laid out well and have the proper separation between primary and secondary side. So despite looking like a cheap PSU with over-blown label and missing EMI/RFI components, it has a pretty reliable design. With good caps, it makes for a decent test/low-power PSU.
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Detailed part list summary…

ICs:
UC3843b (PWM controller), TPS3510 (secondary-side supervisor), and 7912 linear regulator (-12V rail)

Wiring:
* 600V, 18 AWG input wiring
* 300V, 20 AWG output wiring, except ATX connector (mostly 18 AWG)
* Output connectors: 20+4pin ATX, 4-pin 12V CPU, 3x SATA, 4x Molex, 1x floppy

Primary Side:
* NO INPUT FILTERING!
* SCk 2R58 inrush current limiter and 2x MOVS for surge protection
* PEC FL406 bridge rectifier
* 2x CapXon GS, 200V, 680 uF, 18x42 mm, 85°C caps
* P10NK60Z MOSFET for main PS and HFS2N60 sMOSFET for 5VSB switching

Secondary Side:
* 5VSB
*** 1x Su’scon SC, 6.3V, 2200 uF, 10x20 mm before PI coil
*** 1x Teapo SC, 16V, 330 uF, 8x12 mm after PI coil
*** PI coil: 6-turn, 20-AWG, 4 mm core
*** Load resistor: 27-Ohm, 2-Watt (That will eat ~1W of power in standby! )

* 3.3V Rail
*** 1x Su’scon SC, 6.3V, 2200 uF, 10x20 mm before linear regulator
*** 1x Teapo SC, 10V, 1000 uF, 8x20 mm after linear regulator and PI coil
*** PI coil: 6-turn, 16-AWG, 5 mm core
*** Load resistor: 200-Ohm, ¼ -Watt
*** MBR3045PT rectifier and 09N30LA MOSFET for linear regulation

* 5V Rail
*** 1x Su’scon SC, 6.3V, 2200 uF, 10x20 mm before PI coil
*** 1x Teapo SC, 10V, 1000 uF, 8x20 mm after PI coil
*** PI coil: 6-turn, 16-AWG, 5 mm core
*** Load resistor: 470-Ohm, ¼ -Watt
*** MBR4045PT rectifier

* 12V Rail
*** 1x Teapo SC, 16V, 2200 uF, 10x30 mm
*** 1x free cap spot for 6.3 mm dia. cap with 3 mm LS
*** PI coil: NONE. Rail has current shunt only
*** Load resistor: 2.7-KOhm, ¼ -Watt
*** MBR20100CT rectifier

* -12V Rail
*** 1x Teapo SC, 16V, 330 uF, 8x12 mm before 7912 linear regulator
*** 1x Su’scon SK, 16V, 470 uF, 8x13 mm before 7912 linear regulator
*** 1x Su’scon SK, 50V, 10 uF, 5x11 mm after 7912 linear regulator
*** PI coil: NONE
*** 1.5 or 2 Amp diode as rectifier

* -5 Rail
*** 1x Teapo SC, 6.3V, 1000 uF, 8x15
*** PI coil: NONE
*** Load resistor: 100-Ohm, ¼ -Watt
*** UF10_ diode as rectifier

The plan for this Orion HP585D PSU is to add the missing input filtering and probably even recap it. If I find some spare 6-pin PCI-E power cables, I might even add one on there, as my TR2-430W has one. I’ve used my TR2-430W before with a 70W TDP CPU and ~105W TDP GPU, and it handled it fine. So this can definitely work for a basic PC with an entry mid-level GPU around 60-100 Watts TDP.

[japlytic]

Re: Power supply build quality pictorial. part 2

Delta DPS-1400AB (IBM part 43X3254)

PFC board:
Chemi-Con KMM 470uF 450V x2
D25XB60 input rectifier
20N60 x2 PFC stage
RHRP3060 x2 PFC rectifier

Main board:
20N60 x2 (two sets) main converter
IPP054NE8N x4 (two sets) synchronous rectifier
3300uF 16V Nichicon HD x4 for 12V filter
80NF03L x4 output switching

Common to both: All electrolytic capacitors are Japanese units

[Stefan Payne]

Re: Power supply build quality pictorial. part 2

I haven't seen any GLN/GLY low wattage here. Maybe a 350W PNF about 4-5 years ago but the store that had it has long since closed down.

I meant ~400-550W for the most part.