Thermaltake Smart 500W... will the Crapacitors last?

[shovenose]

Scored this for $20 BNIB sealed. Why do cheap power supplies smell worse when you first open the package than expensive ones, that is one thing I've never understood...

Anyway, it's got a bunch of bottom tier Chinese caps in there. I popped it open to replace the stock temp-controlled fan with a red RGB fan that I am powering directly from 12V so it's running at full blast all the time.

It's powering an i7-6700 and Tesla M40... I think it will be OK? The PSU has a 5 year warranty although obviously I already voided that... but will it last 5 years? I'm sure by then I will have moved on to a better PSU.

[stj]

red RGB fan???
are you trying to confuse us?

[petehall347]

Originally Posted by stj

red RGB fan???
are you trying to confuse us?

its a con cos you have to buy 3 for RGB

[PeteS in CA]

Cooling the bleep out of it may help those caps last a while. 5 years ... wellllllll in a few years I'd buy a batch of appropriate value/voltage PWs or HEs (or the UCC equivalent series).

[shovenose]

Originally Posted by PeteS in CA

Cooling the bleep out of it may help those caps last a while. 5 years ... wellllllll in a few years I'd buy a batch of appropriate value/voltage PWs or HEs (or the UCC equivalent series).

Thank you do you think I'd be better off with a 600 watt ATNG with Teapos I have floating around

[PeteS in CA]

I sent my crystal ball in for repairs and calibration years ago and the repair shop lost it. Sorry.

Guesstimating cap life in a particular piece of equipment is very complex - manufacturer, series, designed stress, % of load, internal cooling and airflow, how often the system is cleaned of dust, location of the system case relative to cooling air obstructions, ambient temperature. I'd suggest cleaning out dust every 6-12 months and checking the Teapos for signs of nascent failure. And like I said above, at some leisure, obtain a set of similar series caps from a good brand, to be prepared to replace the Teapos. Or if it's non-critical, run the PSU into the ground and replace it when the time comes.

BTW, stay dry!

[goodpsusearch]

Chinese caps seem to last longer in today's psus.

The 5 year warranty is important, as neither the brand that sells it nor the OEM want a high number of units RMAed due to failing caps.

So, they already engineered that unit to go past at least the warranty period and this is with the fan controller that you totally bypassed.

So I wouldn't worry for that power supply unless it has other design issues that we/you don't know yet.

I would worry about the input cap if it is only rated at 400V and Chinese brand AND rated at 85C max temp because this is a ticking timebomb on APFC designs.

[momaka]

Originally Posted by goodpsusearch

Chinese caps seem to last longer in today's psus.

The 5 year warranty is important, as neither the brand that sells it nor the OEM want a high number of units RMAed due to failing caps.

So, they already engineered that unit to go past at least the warranty period and this is with the fan controller that you totally bypassed.

So I wouldn't worry for that power supply unless it has other design issues that we/you don't know yet.

I would worry about the input cap if it is only rated at 400V and Chinese brand AND rated at 85C max temp because this is a ticking timebomb on APFC designs.

I agree with you on all of this 100%.
Thermaltake does honor their warranty, so they probably indeed designed it (or rather had someone make this PSU for them) to last as long as the warranty period... more or less. So it will probably make it to the 5 year mark.
Also, knowing Thermaltake for their usually mediocre PSUs (in the bargain segment, at least), this is probably an over-glorified 350-400 Watt PSU. So keep the load lower (half of the rating or less), and it will probably be OK for a good while.