Opinion on Antec RMA

[Daijoubu]

I have an Antec Smart Power 2.0 350W from my SLK1650 case, it started whining awhile ago, now that I got a spare PSU, I went for a RMA and got the authorisation number

But when I checked the reviews on newegg, bunch of them had problems, DoA, failure after 6 months of use not to mention delay in processing RMA

It cost $17 to ship it to CA, I'm wonder if I should get a brand new PSU for some more money
I will most likely get the Sparkle ATX-400PN for $50 shipped from DirectCanada

Your thoughts?

[S_G]

Not worth it. The SmartPower 2.0 line from Antec is absolutely worthless, except as a paperweight:

For Antec the entire power supply range has very high failure rates: 21.6%, 18.1% and 17.3% for the Antec SmartPower 2.0 500, 350 and 400 Watts.
http://www.behardware.com/news/8550/power-supply-failure-rate.html

But don't let this make you run away from Antec; they do in fact make some very good PSUs sometimes.

As for that Sparkle, it's fantastic for the price. Honestly, at under $50 shipped, there is really nothing (except for used/open box) that can beat it. It has been tested by many, many people, and the only people who have ever complained about it were the unfortunate victims of DOA or fools who tried to overload it.

[Daijoubu]

Btw, what's the deal with the ATX-### line of Sparkle VS. FSP Fortron "FSP###" PSU?

I know at least that retail boxed ones are blue, sleeved, with blue leds and have higher rating on the 12V rail, does it justify the extra money?

The ATX-400PN is $37
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11700AC6643
http://www.fsp-group.com.tw/english/1_product/2_detail.asp?mainid=1&fid=78&proid=486

The FSP400-60THN-R is $53
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11730AC2265&vpn=FSP400-60THN-R&manufacture=FSP%20GROUP
http://www.fsp-group.com.tw/english/1_product/2_detail.asp?mainid=1&fid=49&proid=127

Recommended power for my system is 272W as per eXtreme's PSU calc
I could use a 300W PSU but I'm worried about the fan spinning at full speed when under nearly full load

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11730AC1607&vpn=FSP300-60THN&manufacture=FSP%20GROUP
http://www.fsp-group.com/english/1_product/2_detail.asp?mainid=1&fid=52&proid=212

Edit: The FSP300-60THN spins as fast as the 400W counterpart according to xbitlabs

[goofball]

The FSP ones are better than the ATX ones. ATX ones are more budget oriented. Not terrible but pushed to their limit, the FSP ones will hold up better.

[maniacshopper]

If you are OC'ing, Antec wouldn't be the best,
Stick to the big brands when OCing, like Seasonic, higher end Thermaltake, Fortron.

OCZ's powerful, but not efficient.

As for stock speeds, Antec is alright.

[wlee]

My Antec Sonata comes with 380Watt TruePower http://www.antec.com/specs/true380_spe.html, I can't OC XP 2500+ Barton, at the stock speed the sensor shows vcore is 1.69v instead of 1.65v, and +5v is showing 4.56v, is there a problem with PSU :?: motherboard is ASUS A7N8X 2.0

sorry for highjacking this thread

[ji2o0k]

I have a SmartPower Antec 450W (SP450) PSU that came with my Sonata II case. It also whines/buzzes when plugged in and powered on.

There is a very well documented thread about the failures of this PSU on NCIX:
http://forum.ncix.com/forums/index.php?mode=showthread&msg_id=1224034&threadid=1224034&forum=100&product_id=15422&msgcount=74&overclockid=0#msg1224034

It cost me $29 to ship to Sunnyvale CA. I opted to send it out for RMA, maybe not such a good decision.

The turnaround should be around 7 business days from the date they receive your PSU at their HQ. I'll keep you posted on how the PSU is.

[hagbard]

I have a SmartPower Antec 450W (SP450) PSU that came with my Sonata II case. It also whines/buzzes when plugged in and powered on.

There is a very well documented thread about the failures of this PSU on NCIX:
http://forum.ncix.com/forums/index.php?mode=showthread&msg_id=1224034&threadid=1224034&forum=100&product_id=15422&msgcount=74&overclockid=0#msg1224034

It cost me $29 to ship to Sunnyvale CA. I opted to send it out for RMA, maybe not such a good decision.

The turnaround should be around 7 business days from the date they receive your PSU at their HQ. I'll keep you posted on how the PSU is.

Thirty bucks would be more than I paid for mine (Staples sale last year). When mine starts making noise, I'll just chuck it. I hear the best for the money are Corsair badged power supplies.

[Daijoubu]

I think I'll go with the FSP300-60THN, can't go wrong for 30 bucks
The ATX line is somewhat lower quality and I don't need this much juice

[mlc2000]

I had a 430W die within 2 weeks of getting my Sonata II.
My computer dealer washed his hands of it, I had to ship to California.

It cost me $20 to ship and I got a new one in return, 6 weeks later.

Needless to say, I went out and bought a new PSU, an Enermax to be exact.

When the RMA Antec PSU came in, I sold it for $50.

[cloneman]

I might be going to the states soon. Shipping from a USPS location costs less than 10 USD. I'm gonna RMA mine as well - so we could probably have to pay like 7$ each to get it done if we put both in one box. :twisted:

Interested?



I have an Antec Smart Power 2.0 350W from my SLK1650 case, it started whining awhile ago, now that I got a spare PSU, I went for a RMA and got the authorisation number

But when I checked the reviews on newegg, bunch of them had problems, DoA, failure after 6 months of use not to mention delay in processing RMA

It cost $17 to ship it to CA, I'm wonder if I should get a brand new PSU for some more money
I will most likely get the Sparkle ATX-400PN for $50 shipped from DirectCanada

Your thoughts?

[Daijoubu]

I think the RMA would have expired then :P

[cloneman]

you can get a new one, and I don't think it expires ever :P

[balou911]

Antec used to be really reallt good, but they dropped the ball with these SP2.0 PSU.

best psu Id say are seasonic s12 (+) 5/600w.

lookup psu reviews on silentpcreview, they really put the psus through hell.

tomshardware had some blow up on them, they tortured them soo hard.

[cloneman]

Antec used to be really reallt good, but they dropped the ball with these SP2.0 PSU.

best psu Id say are seasonic s12 (+) 5/600w.

lookup psu reviews on silentpcreview, they really put the psus through hell.

tomshardware had some blow up on them, they tortured them soo hard.

$$$

I find it hard to pay 100$ for a PSU unless I'm building a system worth > 800$