Well, I had bought this Cougar CMX-1000 back in December when The Egg was pimping it
hardcore. Figured I'd give it a shot.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817553004&Tpk=cmx-1000
Looks fantastic, doesn't it?
Fast Forward to now:
-- I am on RMA#2 with HEC group.
First time i RMA'd it --- it was hooked up into my main gaming rig:
i7-920 @4.1ghz
Asus P6T Deluxe V2
h70 cooler with much stronger fans (i forget what fans i wound up using)
Antec DF-85 with all case fans flying. (no side fan as there is interference with the h70's radiator)
12gb 1600 G.Skill Pi
2x EVGA 470 GTX's
2x MicroCenter SSD's in raid-0 (with the upgraded firmware for non-suck)
1x 1tb Seagate somethingorother
1 DVD-Burner
1 Blu-Ray Burner.
Now-- -that setup MAY have been a little much for it. The way i had the cables configured:
24-pin Mobo and 8-Ppn Mobo and PCI-E 1 (gtx#1) and PCI-E 2 (gtx #2) Seemingly run off Rails 1-3
all perifs and fans run off Rail #4
Rail 5 was the secondary connector for GTX #1
Rail 6 was the secondary connector for GTX #2
Rails rated as per manufacturer
Rails 1-4 are rated 24 amps EACH
Rail 5 and 6 are rated 28 amps EACH
Not knowing how Rail 1-3 are split (according to what non-modular cables are routed to which rail -- that is) I don't see an issue, really, with my selection of cable layouts
Fast Forward to 2 months after install -- Pop went the Power supply. Contacted HEC Group (who were fantastic) about sending a new one out to me. A fully sealed RETAIL box (not a refurb) arrived at my door!
I decided not to put the cougar back into my main gaming rig (temp replacement was a Corsair tx950 -- awesome non-modular unit) and replaced it with the Silverstone 1000w fullly modular unit -- got a good deal from The Egg on this unit with sale and a coupon code.
I decided to throw the Cougar CMX-1000 into an upgrade build i was doing for the wife:
i5-760 @3.3ghz (i believe that was the OC)
MSI Mobo from the Newegg Black Friday specials The USB3 one
8gb 1600 ram (G.skill Ripjaw X)
Cogage TrueSpirit cooler with Dual fans
Antec 600 case
XFX Radeon 4890
1 500gb hdd
1 320gb hdd
1 dvd burner
I decided to hook the cabling a little differently this time:
ran the 24 pin and 8 pin Mobo cables
ignored the non-modular PCI-E cables
All perifs and fans off of Rail #4
One PCI-E cable off Rail 5
Once PCI-E cable off Rail 6
During the burn-in phase, the machine would reboot randomly. I set the machine back to stock clocks on everything, and tested further. The machine would boot partially, and reboot. Swapped in an old school video card that needed one PCI-E connector, and the machine booted. Swapped back in the 4890 and the machine booted. Ran some Intel Burn Test to see if it was stable at STOCK CLOCKS. The machine shutdown during the tests, and summarily would not turn back on.
Ripped the Cougar out of the case, replaced it with the TX 950 that i have as a backup (gotta love that PS -- really gotta) and went and hooked the Cougar up to the Antec Power Supply tester i bought. Dead as a cockroach that was sprayed with Raid and then stepped on.
I contacted HEC group again, and they responded with this gem:
Let me BOLD this part that irks me:
What I don't get here is, and using build #2 as the reference:
does a STOCK CLOCKED 4890 use more than 56 amps?
does an OC'd i5-760 use more than 24A? (assuming 1 rail used)
does a stock clocked i5-760 use more than 24A? (assuming 1 rail used)
I don't see how I could have exceeded the rails in build #2. My main Gaming rig -- yes, but the Wifey's machine? Herp Derp? I just don't get it. Is it possible I got 2 terrible CMX-1000 Power Supplies?
Now..... I really don't know what to do about a replacement. Do I take another CMX-1000? Do I take their "upgrade" and hope for the best?
Their upgrade: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339035
Doesn't seem too spectacular. Less rails -- less amps per rail 1 and 2.
I'm almost half tempted to take the CMX-1000 as a replacement, and send it in to the [H] for a review, and let Kyle and the crew have fun with it. I certainly don't trust it in any of my machines, as it failed in TWO entirely seperate builds.
Sooo... Comments, Questions, Answers are all welcome here. I'm at a loss.....
hardcore. Figured I'd give it a shot.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817553004&Tpk=cmx-1000
Looks fantastic, doesn't it?
Fast Forward to now:
-- I am on RMA#2 with HEC group.
First time i RMA'd it --- it was hooked up into my main gaming rig:
i7-920 @4.1ghz
Asus P6T Deluxe V2
h70 cooler with much stronger fans (i forget what fans i wound up using)
Antec DF-85 with all case fans flying. (no side fan as there is interference with the h70's radiator)
12gb 1600 G.Skill Pi
2x EVGA 470 GTX's
2x MicroCenter SSD's in raid-0 (with the upgraded firmware for non-suck)
1x 1tb Seagate somethingorother
1 DVD-Burner
1 Blu-Ray Burner.
Now-- -that setup MAY have been a little much for it. The way i had the cables configured:
24-pin Mobo and 8-Ppn Mobo and PCI-E 1 (gtx#1) and PCI-E 2 (gtx #2) Seemingly run off Rails 1-3
all perifs and fans run off Rail #4
Rail 5 was the secondary connector for GTX #1
Rail 6 was the secondary connector for GTX #2
Rails rated as per manufacturer
Rails 1-4 are rated 24 amps EACH
Rail 5 and 6 are rated 28 amps EACH
Not knowing how Rail 1-3 are split (according to what non-modular cables are routed to which rail -- that is) I don't see an issue, really, with my selection of cable layouts
Fast Forward to 2 months after install -- Pop went the Power supply. Contacted HEC Group (who were fantastic) about sending a new one out to me. A fully sealed RETAIL box (not a refurb) arrived at my door!
I decided not to put the cougar back into my main gaming rig (temp replacement was a Corsair tx950 -- awesome non-modular unit) and replaced it with the Silverstone 1000w fullly modular unit -- got a good deal from The Egg on this unit with sale and a coupon code.
I decided to throw the Cougar CMX-1000 into an upgrade build i was doing for the wife:
i5-760 @3.3ghz (i believe that was the OC)
MSI Mobo from the Newegg Black Friday specials The USB3 one
8gb 1600 ram (G.skill Ripjaw X)
Cogage TrueSpirit cooler with Dual fans
Antec 600 case
XFX Radeon 4890
1 500gb hdd
1 320gb hdd
1 dvd burner
I decided to hook the cabling a little differently this time:
ran the 24 pin and 8 pin Mobo cables
ignored the non-modular PCI-E cables
All perifs and fans off of Rail #4
One PCI-E cable off Rail 5
Once PCI-E cable off Rail 6
During the burn-in phase, the machine would reboot randomly. I set the machine back to stock clocks on everything, and tested further. The machine would boot partially, and reboot. Swapped in an old school video card that needed one PCI-E connector, and the machine booted. Swapped back in the 4890 and the machine booted. Ran some Intel Burn Test to see if it was stable at STOCK CLOCKS. The machine shutdown during the tests, and summarily would not turn back on.
Ripped the Cougar out of the case, replaced it with the TX 950 that i have as a backup (gotta love that PS -- really gotta) and went and hooked the Cougar up to the Antec Power Supply tester i bought. Dead as a cockroach that was sprayed with Raid and then stepped on.
I contacted HEC group again, and they responded with this gem:
(see, I told you they were nice people --- not rude at all and willing to do an "upgrade" of sorts)It does appear that the power specifications of the Cougar 1000CMX were exceeded either in whole or the rails separately. This power supply has no issues from our tracking history.
We can do a UPS Prepaid label for you to return the power supply and ship you another similar new unit.
The only equivalent substitute for exchange would be the XPOWER1080.
As the use of our products are beyond our control, the terms would be you will receive a sealed, new unit of either the Cougar 1000CMX or the XPOWER1080 and for all future RMA if any, we will pay for replacement shipping only according to our RMA policy.
Please let us know what you wish to do.
Thank you
HEC GROUP USA
Let me BOLD this part that irks me:
It does appear that the power specifications of the Cougar 1000CMX were exceeded either in whole or the rails separately.
What I don't get here is, and using build #2 as the reference:
does a STOCK CLOCKED 4890 use more than 56 amps?
does an OC'd i5-760 use more than 24A? (assuming 1 rail used)
does a stock clocked i5-760 use more than 24A? (assuming 1 rail used)
I don't see how I could have exceeded the rails in build #2. My main Gaming rig -- yes, but the Wifey's machine? Herp Derp? I just don't get it. Is it possible I got 2 terrible CMX-1000 Power Supplies?
Now..... I really don't know what to do about a replacement. Do I take another CMX-1000? Do I take their "upgrade" and hope for the best?
Their upgrade: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339035
Doesn't seem too spectacular. Less rails -- less amps per rail 1 and 2.
I'm almost half tempted to take the CMX-1000 as a replacement, and send it in to the [H] for a review, and let Kyle and the crew have fun with it. I certainly don't trust it in any of my machines, as it failed in TWO entirely seperate builds.
Sooo... Comments, Questions, Answers are all welcome here. I'm at a loss.....