OCZ Powerstream 520 Failed..... For the second time

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Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 10, 2006
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232
About 7 months ago, I had a power cut that fried my Powerstream 520..... I thought at the time it was one of those things, RMA'd it and got a new PSU as replacement. I got home from work this evening and had another powercut and BAMMMM, it's gone again.

I know that this is not the first time that people have experienced this from when I searched the internet the first time it happened.

Just ordered a FSP Epsilon 700w to replace it with, I'm done with OCZ :mad:



.... Anybody from the UK want to buy a brand new OCZ powerstream 520 when I get it RMA'd for a new one :rolleyes:
 
Instead of getting a new power supply (which may have not been required), you should've invested in a quality UPS (with AVR of course). RMA the second Powerstream to OCZ, get a new one, and use it through the UPS.
 
_Korruption_ said:
Instead of getting a new power supply (which may have not been required), you should've invested in a quality UPS (with AVR of course). RMA the second Powerstream to OCZ, get a new one, and use it through the UPS.
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Exactly, its not like it just croaked by running with clean power, you had a brown-out and it choked. Dont blame it on the company or model..
 
dchrsf said:
Exactly, its not like it just croaked by running with clean power, you had a brown-out and it choked. Dont blame it on the company or model..
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A brownout shouldn't kill a PSU. It's called overvolt and undervolt protection. I have a lot of brownouts here, and the NMBs and Deltas just laugh at it. If a brownout can kill that PSU, then they got some seriously defective design there.
 
AreEss said:
A brownout shouldn't kill a PSU. It's called overvolt and undervolt protection. I have a lot of brownouts here, and the NMBs and Deltas just laugh at it. If a brownout can kill that PSU, then they got some seriously defective design there.
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Very true, however if the line quality in his house is also poor, combined with other factors, then the "design" flaw really wouldnt be there at all, and the fact that real world situations stressed the standards the industry has built on. Just a guess.

But I agree, 2 supplies failing is sort of weird. Now the real test is to see if your FSP dies in a similiar siutation :)

Good luck on that.
 
dchrsf said:
, however if the line quality in his house is also poor, combined with other factors, then the "design" flaw really wouldnt be there at all, and the fact that real world situations stressed the standards the industry has built on. Just a guess.
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Won't the PSU's line filter remove most of the junk and also block the smaller surges?
 
An update...

Had my electrics tested in the house, they are not causing the problem.....

My Girlfriends PC is in the same room and has a cheap generic PSU that came in a Hewlett Packard OEM machine in it and is still fine.

I have surge protectors hooked up to both PCs. They are not cheap surge protectors and had them checked also.

When i first had the problem, I found a number of similar reports when I googled the problem and it seemed then that I wasn't the only person, although the number of reports I found were small.

It just seems wierd that it has happened twice to me now :confused:

Everything else in my PC is fine, I have an older PSU in it right now as I'm typing this (Luckily I keep old parts as spares when I upgrade)
 
Ah, Good to know. Maybe the PSU was at fault afterall, but it just seems odd that such a popular model and brand known for putting out quality stuff would have this sort of a problem (big or small) like this.

Anyways, no more doubts..and good luck with your Epsilon!
 
Why don't you just ask them to send you one of the GamerXtreme models, instead of getting back the same one? It is the FSP, just rebadged. Just my 2 cents worth.


Doc
 
dchrsf said:
Ah, Good to know. Maybe the PSU was at fault afterall, but it just seems odd that such a popular model and brand known for putting out quality stuff would have this sort of a problem (big or small) like this.

Anyways, no more doubts..and good luck with your Epsilon!
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Docmhz said:
Why don't you just ask them to send you one of the GamerXtreme models, instead of getting back the same one? It is the FSP, just rebadged. Just my 2 cents worth.Doc
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I have contacted OCZ and started RMA proceedings. The one thing I will say about OCZ is that they seem eager to rectify any problems. The last time I had the poblem, they let me ship to a UK address which saved me a small amount of money as opposed to shipping overseas to the Netherlands. The whole thing done and dusted within 2 weeks (this was around the run up to christmas aswell).

I have enquired about being supplied a different model and I think if they do offer me a GameXStream model I will keep it for a second build that I'm planning on doing when Conroe comes out. I guess that'd make me a very happy OCZ customer, even after the troubles. :)
 
Another update.

I got an Email back from one of the OCZ reps the other night who have told me they will exchange my Powerstream 520 for a 700w GameXStream.

IMO, this goes way beyond good customer service. At the start of this thread I was pissed with OCZ, now they have won me back as a (very happy) customer. OCZ could have simply supplied me with another Powerstream 520w. To offer me their top line model in the 700w GameXStream straight from the off is excellent customer service. If only every company was as efficient as this.

I had my FSP Epsilon 700w delivered today and have it installed right now (damn those wires are long!!), so will not immediatly be using the GameXStream when I receive it. However, it will go in my new build when Conroe comes out, and knowing that OCZ actually gives a damn about its customers in the event of any problems, I will probably put their RAM into my next build also.

I see alot of horror stories about companies on here and elsewhere not doing right by the customer with not enough people sharing stories about companies that go beyond the call of duty to sort a problem out, so thought I'd share this one with you all.

If there's anyone from OCZ that frequents these boards, kudos guys and keep up the good work. ;)
 
That is truly a great experience that I wish more companies would model themselves after. I have had unbelievable experience with OCZ and have used their components and recommended them because of it.

Glad that it is a happy ending for you Source.

Doc
 
yea OCZ is awesome for RMAs.

I have a powerstream 600 and have no problems. However, I had a 2 gig DDR set that kept failing memtest, so they OVERNIGHTED a second set to me. That one failed too, so they overnighted a third one. They even paid return shipping for the 2 bad sets. All in all, I'd say they couldn't have handled it better.
 
OCZ has awesome customer service. Emails always answered within the hour (even off work-hours), rma's are fast and often unneccisary, products are excellent, and not a huge price premium for that service. I wish All companies were like that.
 
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