bleeding power supply?

S

Spiderman

New Member
I had a custom build done for me about 9 months ago. The case is an ANTEC:

TX1050B, 500W PS (http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=61050#)

It's very quiet, but after about four months there was this terrible high-pitched noise coming from the power supply. It gradually worsened over about a month and eventually on restarting the computer once it just gave out. I took it in and from my description the guy said it was probably the capacitors bleeding. He replaced it and everything worked fine again. Now, about 5 months after the replacement, I'm starting to get the noise again. It's very mild but its there. I'm going to take it in, but does anyone have an idea as to why this may be happening?

I'm not a hardware guru, so I don't know if the power supply capacitors can bleed, or if the power supply even has capacitors. If you need to know any more info just ask and I'll do my best.
 
Yeah it has caps. It's probably a bad batch. Rather than throwing all your money at this guy maybe just buy a new PSU.
 
Spiderman said:
I'm going to take it in, but does anyone have an idea as to why this may be happening?
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Yes, its called cheap-o-crappy power supplies, dont buy them. Even stock antec ones arent that good... Either that guy is rubbish at installing them and doing something seriosly rong or he is constantly buying crappy PSU's. I suggest you buy your own, spend about £40 ($85 USD) and you can get a good-mid range one that wont crap out on you in 5 months time.

Dont worry about installing it, thats where we come in handy...

dragon
 
Ya, it's a high-pitched squeel, like some sort of pig on methamphetamines.

So its a cheap power supply? The case is fine, right, and I should just get a different power supply?

It's still under warrenty (parts and labour), so it doesn't cost me anything to get it replaced, but if it would be better to upgrade then I will. Any recommendations?
 
No, just upgrade it. Look for HEC, Enermax, or one of the higher end Antecs. PC P&C are great, but they're expensive. There's a couple other good brands, but those come to mind. You'll find the HEC to be the cheapest.. They go forever. Mine is 7 years old and still going strong. Also, I have an Antec that comes with the Antec cases. It's nothing special, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. It's serviced me for two years already and still going strong.
 
It's still under warrenty (parts and labour), so it doesn't cost me anything to get it replaced, but if it would be better to upgrade then I will. Any recommendations?
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The include power supply is an SP500, which currently retails for $70 from newegg. It is by no means a crappy PSU and i'd be inclined to have it replaced since it's still under warranty. Do ensure that he's replaced the original PSU with another Antec Smartpower 500, and not a cheap, generic unit. If you don't want to deal with him, try contacting Antec directly.

dragon2309 said:
Yes, its called cheap-o-crappy power supplies, dont buy them. Even stock antec ones arent that good...
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Stock Antec PSUs are fine, they're the same (Smartpower) units they sell seperately. Unfortunately, despite Antec PSUs generally being of high quality, they use cheap Fuhjyyu capacitors, which is why they are often disproportionately represented with these sort of complaints.

If you do decide to replace it, post your system specs here. PSU recommendations really aren't much use unless we know what you're powering.
 
I've always had good luck with Enermax's, and they are decently priced as well.

Capacitors are always a pain, I've had 2 motherboards with blown caps which led to there instability. One was a high quality board, the other was a cheapo. Not much I could do, unless I felt like soldering on a new one...if I could even find/buy the right replacement.
 
ceewi1 said:
The include power supply is an SP500, which currently retails for $70 from newegg. It is by no means a crappy PSU and i'd be inclined to have it replaced since it's still under warranty. Do ensure that he's replaced the original PSU with another Antec Smartpower 500, and not a cheap, generic unit. If you don't want to deal with him, try contacting Antec directly.


Stock Antec PSUs are fine, they're the same (Smartpower) units they sell seperately. Unfortunately, despite Antec PSUs generally being of high quality, they use cheap Fuhjyyu capacitors, which is why they are often disproportionately represented with these sort of complaints.

If you do decide to replace it, post your system specs here. PSU recommendations really aren't much use unless we know what you're powering.
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Good info. Thanks very much.

Most likely I'll change manufacturers, providing I can talk the store into cutting me a deal. Here are my specs:

CPU: Athlon 64 X2 4200
MOBO: Asus A8N SLI Premium
GPU: GForce 6200
RAM: 1GB Kingston 400Mhz DDR PC3200
HDD: WD Ultraspeed 160GB SATA
 
Okay, I realize I may come off as lazy by looking to you guys for advice, but I don't have the knowledge and want to make sure I don't buy a lemon.

I've spoken with the store and they said if I get an upgrade I'll just have to pay the difference. That's the way it should be but you never know with these guys.

So the Antec SP-500 is $95 (Canadian), and I'd be willing to pay $50 extra.

Here's their list of PSUs. Based on my system specs I posted in the last reply, what would be a good buy? One of my main concerns is noise. So I'd like something quiet.

http://www.pccyber.ca/scrMain2.asp?product_types_id=30&page=1
 
Thanks for the advice. Their in store supply was less extensive than advertised on their website, so I ended up going with the Antec TP Trio 550w for $20 more.
 
Spiderman said:
Their in store supply was less extensive than advertised on their website.
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It almost always is. It is too costly to keep a lot of stock, so they don't advertise what they have, but what they can get. When an order is placed, they order it in and ship it out or have it drop shipped. It's much cheaper that way.
 
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