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

[jory29]

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]

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

probably best to get something with more power

[sumrandomguy]

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]

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]

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]

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

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

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

Thanks again, everyone, for your replies!!

[Daijoubu]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

order a fortron at ncix.com

excellent psu with a very good price.

[jory29]

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]

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.