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Your comment on Antec PS?

F

foxnews

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 9, 2006
Messages
378
I just saw a good deal at compusa and bought an Antec 500W SmartPower 2.0 (model PS-500) for $40 ($100 - $30 instant - $30 mail-in rebate = $40).

is this a good PS? or is it a too good to be true deal?
 
Its a good PSU but has crappy Fuhjyyu caps that, in normal situations, won't last longer then a couple years.
 
dBTelos said:
Its a good PSU but has crappy Fuhjyyu caps that, in normal situations, won't last longer then a couple years.
Click to expand...

uh oh, should I return it? I already got a PS, no need to upgrade. but if this is a good deal, then I don't mind buying it.
 
It is a great PSU for only $40! :D

I recommend these as a "Best Bang for the Buck" at $67 & recommend them for up to light SLI.

As to the "cap issue", you need good case cooling,
if the PSU is your only exhaust fan, you will be RMA'ing within 2yrs.
 
davidhammock200 said:
It is a great PSU for only $40! :D

I recommend these as a "Best Bang for the Buck" at $67 & recommend them for up to light SLI.

As to the "cap issue", you need good case cooling,
if the PSU is your only exhaust fan, you will be RMA'ing within 2yrs.
Click to expand...

1- what is this cap issue about?
2- is there a fix?
3- is this the only Antec PS that has this isssue? or all Antec PS have this issue?
3- is that a reason why this PS has big rebate?

I hate this; there is always a bad side to a too good deal. I have other 4 fans in my cases: 2x120mm and 2x80mm.
 
foxnews said:
1- what is this cap issue about?
2- is there a fix?
3- is this the only Antec PS that has this isssue? or all Antec PS have this issue?
3- is that a reason why this PS has big rebate?

I hate this; there is always a bad side to a too good deal. I have other 4 fans in my cases: 2x120mm and 2x80mm.
Click to expand...
Buy it before the rebate ends.

The PSU's filter caps will fail if over-heated for long peroids of time,
this is not unique to Antec, just make sure you have good case cooling & it should last for years. ;)
 
foxnews said:
1- what is this cap issue about?
2- is there a fix?
3- is this the only Antec PS that has this isssue? or all Antec PS have this issue?
4- is that a reason why this PS has big rebate?
Click to expand...

1 - CWT made Antecs are usually full of cheapish Fuhjyyu caps which don't like heat. CWT doesn't like their units noisy, so they slow the fans down as much as possible. Too far, IMO. As little as a year later, unless the supply is very lightly loaded and well cooled, the Fuhjyyu caps start to fail.

2 - Wire the fans to full 12v or connect them to a manual fan controller for good cooling at all times and/or replace the secondary caps with something halfway decent after a year of use. I use Panasonic and Nippon Chemi-Con being easy to get for me, but Rubycon, Nichicon, and Samxon are other good choices. CWT often leaves little room for good replacements, but it can usually be done. These are incredibly good units with good caps in them - definitely worth it if you can solder.

3 - All CWT made Antecs are vulnerable, including Truepower, Truecontrol 1 and 2, Truepower 2, Smartpower, Smartpower 2, and Phantom. Other non-Antec CWT's are also susceptible depending on whether CWT used Fuhjjyu or not, and cooling... for this reason I am not currently recommending low end XClio or Thermaltake.

4 - No idea on that one.
 
davidhammock200 said:
Buy it before the rebate ends.

The PSU's filter caps will fail if over-heated for long peroids of time,
this is not unique to Antec, just make sure you have good case cooling & it should last for years. ;)
Click to expand...


all other models from Antec got this issue as well? did they fix it yet?
 
foxnews said:
all other models from Antec got this issue as well? did they fix it yet?
Click to expand...

The new Seasonic made units, Neo HE and Truepower Trio, are a little better. They're low end Seasonic, using OST caps (not much better than Fuhjyyu) and Teapo (much better than Fuhjyyu); but they are more efficient and much better cooled. I don't expect them to have as high a failure rate.
 
I plan to keep this PS for a long time, > 5 years.

should I keep it or return it?
 
foxnews said:
I plan to keep this PS for a long time, > 5 years.

should I keep it or return it?
Click to expand...


check my previous posts.

return it. i paid abit more than you, and i took it back.

my expensive scsi U320, sound and other items are worth more than the $60 i COULD save instead of spending $100 or so on a good unit.

ALL antec stuff dropped in price.

we are sure its because of the problems.
 
1- Can someone point me to an instruction on how to replace these cap? or any picture of what the cap look like?

2- where can I get new cap? and how much they cost?

3- can I use the cap from my old Antec 350W PS?

4- would replacing build-in fans with my own fans fix this issue without the need to replace the cap?
 
1- badcaps.net is a good resource for this kind of thing
2- I use Digikey, but there are other sources. Good new caps aren't that expensive.
3- No.
4- Maybe, however it is likely the thermal fan controller would just slow down a higher cfm fan anyway. Better to put the stock fans on an outside fan controller, run them at full speed at first, load the machine down as far as you can, and then back off on the PSU fan speed until the air coming out of the back is only just slightly warm.

I should mention that with good quality caps in these, you should be able to leave the stock cooling alone. It's only the heat sensitive Fuhjyyu caps in these causing problems.
 
damn it, I thought I was lucky to find this great PS deal at compusa.


I read DeepFreeze's thread and I want to return this PS. it is not worth it. oh well, I just continue to use my old 350W antec PS which I bought from Bestbuy 5 years ago. it is a very good PS.

is there any risk if I use this old 350w PS for my system which has E6300 (overclocked), Radeon x850 XT PE, 250G HD, 2 DVD burners, 5 case fans.
 
Actually I'd keep the new one rather than trust a 5 year old CWT made Antec. It'll still last a good year before you need to worry about caps, whereas the 350W has a 4 year head start on developing the problem.
 
Oklahoma Wolf said:
Actually I'd keep the new one rather than trust a 5 year old CWT made Antec. It'll still last a good year before you need to worry about caps, whereas the 350W has a 4 year head start on developing the problem.
Click to expand...
Can you confirm that XCilo fans run faster than Antec's?

I tested the XCilo 400W & 450W a little over a year ago & they had some pretty good air flow.
 
Unfortunately I can't... however if the units you tested were blowing reasonably cool air, they probably were moving more of it than Antec's ;)

My SL350 was always blowing very warm air - it actually lasted a long time (3 years) before needing recapping, but in the end it blew 2 of them - 1 on the 12v rail, 1 on the 5v. The fans barely push any air at all when there's no dust in it. It's now running Panasonic and Chemicon caps in my sister's computer, 100% stable :)
 
Oklahoma Wolf said:
Unfortunately I can't... however if the units you tested were blowing reasonably cool air, they probably were moving more of it than Antec's ;)

My SL350 was always blowing very warm air - it actually lasted a long time (3 years) before needing recapping, but in the end it blew 2 of them - 1 on the 12v rail, 1 on the 5v. The fans barely push any air at all when there's no dust in it. It's now running Panasonic and Chemicon caps in my sister's computer, 100% stable :)
Click to expand...
They were, but since then XCilo has changed the 450W,
my test samples had manual/automatic control of up to 4 fans & were NOT rubber coated.

What are the current model fans doing?
 
I haven't bought a new Antec or CWT unit for years - can't say personally what new Antec/CWT fans are doing. Have heard frequent complaints about True 2's running hot though.
 
Oklahoma Wolf said:
Actually I'd keep the new one rather than trust a 5 year old CWT made Antec. It'll still last a good year before you need to worry about caps, whereas the 350W has a 4 year head start on developing the problem.
Click to expand...


I don't understand. Antec power spec has a lifespan of 80k hours. if I use 4 hours a day, it would last up to 54 years.

words from you guys seem old or new Antect PS last only a couple years or less. why? does the spec exagerate?
 
foxnews said:
I don't understand. Antec power spec has a lifespan of 80k hours. if I use 4 hours a day, it would last up to 54 years.

words from you guys seem old or new Antect PS last only a couple years or less. why? does the spec exagerate?
Click to expand...
Depends on case temp & air flow.

With low case temps & lots of air flow, they will last for years. ;)
 
I bought a SmartPower 500 in February and it died 2 weeks ago. I swapped it for another, and that one lasted 2 days before going bad.

For the record, my case cooling is fantastic. My CPU idles at 27-28C and tops out around 39C running at the speeds in my sig.

Antec sucks now. I'm not happy about saying it, but that's the way it is. This is what happens when business majors start making decisions that should be left to engineers. :(
 
Rabid Badger said:
Antec sucks now. I'm not happy about saying it, but that's the way it is. This is what happens when business majors start making decisions that should be left to engineers. :(
Click to expand...


In fact, almost everything is business driven. engineers are at the bottom of the process.
if engineers makes decision, companies never make profit or go bankrupt. that being said, business makes mistakes as well.
 
This Antec PS has alot of good review on newegg. does that mean something?
 
I have bought 2 so far. Extremely quiet and the last one did tend to get a tad warm.

However this one has an 8 pin and the other didn't. Might be some kind of new revision. This one is cool to the touch. Can't complain.

I do want the Liberty or the Cors 520 when things better upa bit. I'm always changing stuff.

Don't worry. I got for cheap and you won't regret.
 
MC FLMJIG said:
I have bought 2 so far. Extremely quiet and the last one did tend to get a tad warm.

However this one has an 8 pin and the other didn't. Might be some kind of new revision. This one is cool to the touch. Can't complain.

I do want the Liberty or the Cors 520 when things better upa bit. I'm always changing stuff.

Don't worry. I got for cheap and you won't regret.
Click to expand...


how long have you been using it? what do you mean by 8 bin? how do you like it so far?
I really want to keep it but not feeling comfortable knowing it will die soon. that sucks
 
8 pin for the newer MB's.

Instead of the 4pin 12v it has a 12 and a n 8 pin together. Kind of annoying but it's cool that it has it.
 
_Korruption_ said:
Not a real review.



:rolleyes:

Here's a more proper review.
Click to expand...



Both of these reviews highly recommended the Antec SmartPower 2.0. Do these professional reviews ignore the quality of the cap? this is a huge issue but these reviews metioned nothing about it.
 
Unfortunately, in testing brand new samples they can't really tell how they'll hold up over a year of constant use.

About the only thing I can offer you is my personal experience with my 420W CWT, which ran an nForce2 IGP rig for two years non-stop. After a year and a half of service, the fan died and it overheated. When the fan died, the caps were still ok. I replaced the fan and put it back into heavy service. Six months later I opened it up again - it now had 4 bulging Fuhjyyu caps. Replaced the PSU at once, even though it was still working fine. This year, I finally got around to recapping it - it's once more in very heavy use in a friend's rig.

This is the most extreme example of failed caps on a CWT made unit I can offer - the other two with bad caps weren't running nearly as hard as this one was, and had less trouble with the issue. My Antec SL350, which was in my parents' system, lasted for 3 years before needing recapping... mostly because it always built up so much dust the fans ran fast enough to cool the caps better.
 
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