My 300 watt Antec PSU conked out after only 14 mos... (?) [Archive]

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jory29

Mar 12th, 2006, 11:22 PM

Do you guys think this is from shutting down windows at numerous intervals (around 5 times) during the day?? It is covered under a 3 year warranty, and thankfully, I found the receipt, so will be able to have it covered, but... I noticed Staples sells on-line, the 350 watt Antec for $48, and the 450 watt Antec for $60. Seems to be a reasonable price to buy one there now. My question is: how do I know if I need the 350 watt one, or the 450 watt one? I have 2 cd-rom drives, and 4 hard drives, total. {2 external via usb, and two internal.} I do have a sound card and video card as well. Does all of this make any diff? Thanks, if anyone can tell me. When our Psu conked out, it was making a lot of whirring, whiny noises. The original PSU for my pc was only 250 watts, I noticed. This is the 3rd PSU in like, 3 - 4 years... This does not make sense, does it? Rather fast to be going through PSU's? What do you guys think? Thanks!!

TenzoR

Mar 12th, 2006, 11:26 PM

looks like your maxing out your 300W psu with so much stuff connected to it

probably best to get something with more power

sumrandomguy

Mar 12th, 2006, 11:52 PM

give this website a try. it helps you calculate how much juice you need to power up your system (and keep it stable)

http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/

CompWizrd

Mar 13th, 2006, 12:06 AM

When our Psu conked out, it was making a lot of whirring, whiny noises. The original PSU for my pc was only 250 watts, I
sounds like the fan died.. and wouldn't surprise me if the fan died on some of the previous ones.
anyone smoke in the house?

abstract808

Mar 13th, 2006, 12:11 AM

Antec PSU quality has gone into the crapper in recent years. A google search will find many other people in your situation. I'd suggest another more reliable power supply brand like Enermax, Aopen, PC Power & Cooling...

jory29

Mar 13th, 2006, 12:15 AM

Thank You, guys!! Looks like I ought to be up-grading to the 450 watt power supply. {Thanks to sumrandomguy's link! :razz: }

We don't smoke, CompWizrd, but we do have cats; I imagine the fur can get caught up in the fans?? :cheesygri

Thanks abstract, for your thoughts on Antec brand as well.

Thanks again, everyone, for your replies!! :)

Daijoubu

Mar 13th, 2006, 01:17 AM

The one at Staples should be on clearance in store (30% off) so you may want to try your luck (I got the 450W for the price of the 350 :))

RMA your 350W and sell it

edmonton2001

Mar 13th, 2006, 02:28 AM

My 300 watt Antec SmartPower went on me too after about 8 months of use. I filed for a RMA about two weeks ago and no response yet. How long does it usually take to get the RMA number and stuff so i can send it back? Any luck with yours yet?

I got the 450 watt at Staples to replace it but just thought it might be good to get another 300 though the warrenty process as it only lasted 8 months.

Cafe_333

Mar 13th, 2006, 06:54 AM

My 300 watt Antec SmartPower went on me too after about 8 months of use. I filed for a RMA about two weeks ago and no response yet. How long does it usually take to get the RMA number and stuff so i can send it back? Any luck with yours yet?Have you tried following up on it? Two weeks is way too long to get an RMA number. You should always call in yourself and you can get a number right away, and ship it out the same day.

goofball

Mar 13th, 2006, 07:29 AM

The problem with Antec PSU's is their cooling and sometimes bad capacitor choice (CWT is famous for this). In a well ventilated case, you won't have any issues. If your system runs on the hot side, you will normally have a problem. This has not changed with them.

Talks with their engineers have yielded less than positive feedback. Seems they would rather you RMA and send you another unit rather than deal with the cooling problem.

The only PSU's from Antec that will last are the SmartPower 2.0's and any of the other's that have dual fans.

jory29

Mar 13th, 2006, 02:22 PM

Rats, I ended up buying a Retail Plus brand from Staples, for $51 {465 watts/} It was because they didn't have any Antec, and our Futureshop only carries Dynex [FS] brand. Walmart doesn't have any either, and that's about my only options in my town. Anyway, this thing is noisier than all get out. Looks like she's goin' back - so - I'll probably buy one from NCIX. Any recommendations? {450 watt and up.} I did phone in for an RMA # for my 300 watt Antec and I have to fax or email the form to them, and within 2 days or so, they will get me an Rma #. They specified to check junk email folders for their reply, so maybe that's why the other poster didn't hear back from them yet.

goofball

Mar 13th, 2006, 02:48 PM

what type of system do you have? Some systems are +5v based, other's are +12v based for power. List your system components first. That will help to get a better buying choice.

sleepyguy

Mar 13th, 2006, 02:59 PM

order a fortron at ncix.com

excellent psu with a very good price.

jory29

Mar 13th, 2006, 04:33 PM

what type of system do you have? Some systems are +5v based, other's are +12v based for power. List your system components first. That will help to get a better buying choice.

Thanks, I have an HP Pavilion A250N, a P4 with 2.60 GHz, only 512 MB RAM, video card NVidia Geforce 4 TI 4200, soundblaster audigy live soundcard, a DVD writer/cd-writer combo drive, a cd drive, memory card slot drive [for 4 memory cards total], 1 extra internal hard drive, plus 2 extra external hard drives. My original power supply was made by Hipro, it was a 250 watt one. {Original on-board power supply, I mean.}

I don't know if this gives enough info. or not. Thanks!!

And thanks, Sleepyguy, for your suggestion; it looks far better than 'retail plus' brand.

Riflem@n

Mar 13th, 2006, 04:54 PM

order a fortron at ncix.com

excellent psu with a very good price.

I agree, it's something like 50 bucks after taxes and shipping.

jory29

Mar 13th, 2006, 05:09 PM

O.K., thanks guys, looks like I'll order the Fortron @ 10% off. :) Thanks for all of your help!! :)

jory29

Mar 15th, 2006, 06:44 PM

Thanks again, guys, - I ordered it, they shipped it the same day, and it took only 2 days to get to me. {Ordered March 13th, received in Northern Alberta on March 15th via FedEx.} I do have one question; this model of the Fortron has the fan on the underside of it; am I correct, when I placed it in the pc, to have the fan going toward the inner pc, and not toward the top of the pc? Also - when I first turned it on, I panicked; it sounded HORRIBLE and loud for about 2 minutes tops; but now it has settled down very nicely, and is far quieter than the stupid Retail Plus one that I had purchased at Staples. That one is not even workable, it is that loud!! Anyway, it was a god price, and it feels very solid, too. Thanks, if someone can let me know if I did install it correctly. {fan facing toward the bottom of the pc, not the top.}

goofball

Mar 15th, 2006, 06:46 PM

jory29

Mar 15th, 2006, 06:51 PM

The screws on the back to fasten the PSU to the case only go one way.

The pictures they show you on their site are to show you the fan.

The fan should be facing the bottom of the case when installed, not the top (unless you have an inverted case like some of the Lian Li's).

Phew! Thanks for the confirmation that I have it installed the right way. It's just a traditional [HP tower] case that I have. I didn't even try it the other way to see if the screws were going the right way, but I guess since it fits, I've got it going the right way. I wonder why it sounded so loud/whirring when I first turned it on?

goofball

Mar 15th, 2006, 08:40 PM

I wonder why it sounded so loud/whirring when I first turned it on?

My guess? Brand new fan that just needed a few spins to get things in place. Could also be the unit trying to calibrate the temp sensor internally.

jory29

Mar 15th, 2006, 10:26 PM

My guess? Brand new fan that just needed a few spins to get things in place. Could also be the unit trying to calibrate the temp sensor internally.

Thanks for your input- it did spin around again and make loud noise again, so perhaps it is a temp. sensor issue that occurs normally, too. Does anyone else experience sudden rapid changes in fan speed every now and again? This is a 450 watt model....

weedb0y

Mar 16th, 2006, 12:28 AM

Daijoubu

Mar 16th, 2006, 12:34 AM

Generic are hit and miss, the fan may crap out after a week or a month, some even just blow up
If you draw little current, it may work but if you go anything close to the max rated...

I've had a bunch of friends come to me to replace the PSU that came with thier case

Consider yourself lucky :)