the gutless, bloated, and fried power supply hall of shame

[Pentium4]

Pulled this PSU out of an old Pentium 4 Dell Dimension with 36,000 running hours on it. Was pretty dusty. Cleaned it and discovered some dead Teapos. The primaries are both bulged and one on the secondary is bulging a fair amount. I thought that plastic caps on the top of the primaries were just curved up but when I push on them, there is pressure so they don't move down at all. Not really worth repairing? It's pretty weak. Only 12A on the 12V...

[IMG]http://img444.**************/img444/7014/dsc07961v.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img444.**************/img444/3382/dsc07962z.jpg[/IMG]

Doesn't look like the secondary could get much airflow, especially with how dusty it was before I cleaned it out.

[momaka]

Originally Posted by Pentium4

Not really worth repairing? It's pretty weak. Only 12A on the 12V...

Looks like a HiPro - those are always worth repairing. With good caps, it will probably last forever. Just make sure the fan didn't get or isn't becoming seized.

The dust in the primary side actually indicates that there was a lot of airflow in there. The primary caps most likely died because of the heat generated after the dust accumulation. 360 000 power-on hours is quite a lot. I would actually be surprised if the fan is not running dry by now.

But yes, definitely fix it.

[Shocker]

360 000 power-on hours is quite a lot.

Yes it is. That's 41 years.

[Agent24]

Originally Posted by Shocker

Yes it is. That's 41 years.

Quite right, but the original figure was 36,000 - only 4.1 years

[momaka]

Oops.

This is proof that lack of sleep isn't good for you. In my case, I've been up until 4am almost every night for the last few months, so today (actually yesterday), I decided to fix that by staying up all night. So let's see how that goes. 21 hours uptime so far. Or is it 210 hours .

[Pentium4]

Hahaha, 210 hours that'd be a long time. I'll think about replacing the caps, it'd do fine in a HTPC or something. I haven't tested to see if the fans spins. And you're right, this thing does look just like the inside of my Hipro from a Gateway I bought in 2007, except the newer one Has Elite caps on the primary

[mockingbird]

I have a Deer PSU here labeled as "550W MAX"...




I have a few of these in computers that are getting their motherboards re-capped (ASRock AM2 boards that oddly have 20 pin ATX connectors)... Is it economically feasible to repair these PSUs and does that just entail changing the caps?

[mockingbird]

Here are some better pics:



This one is 244KB, so I am attaching it rather than posting it in-line.

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

That PSU is a pile of rubbish. I don't even give it 200W in spec, and that would be with good caps. Just look at the tiny transformer (EI-28, not even 33), tiny inductors, and missing pi filter coils.

[c_hegge]

Actually, it looks like a low end CWT.

[mockingbird]

That PSU is a pile of rubbish. I don't even give it 200W in spec, and that would be with good caps. Just look at the tiny transformer (EI-28, not even 33), tiny inductors, and missing pi filter coils.

200W is more than enough... I think even 150W would be fine... These are being used on AM2 Semprons with a 59W TDP.

So if I change the caps, would these be reliable (taking into account the fact that they're missing basic input protection)? It's just not practical to spend $30 on 300W Fortron Sparkle PSUs for these systems which don't even need a 24-pin connector.

Actually, it looks like a low end CWT.

I checked the Underwriters Laboratory Database... They say it's a Deer.

[ratdude747]

It needs both caps and PI coils to make it usable... Personally I would look for some used newton/delta units. These PSUs that you have, frankly, suck.

[c_hegge]

Originally Posted by mockingbird

200W is more than enough... I think even 150W would be fine... These are being used on AM2 Semprons with a 59W TDP.

So if I change the caps, would these be reliable (taking into account the fact that they're missing basic input protection)? It's just not practical to spend $30 on 300W Fortron Sparkle PSUs for these systems which don't even need a 24-pin connector.


I checked the Underwriters Laboratory Database... They say it's a Deer.

Compare the OKIA on the HWI El cheapo PSU roundup (http://hardwareinsights.com/wp/2011/...-round-up-2/9/). That PSU you have won't do anything at all with the ripple in spec. It is absoloutely practical to spend $30 on a decent PSU on ANY system.

[Pentium4]

And for the record, what are the brands of those caps? That looks like my old Okia that I had. I did the world a favor and dunked it into the trash can with force.

[mockingbird]

Compare the OKIA on the HWI El cheapo PSU roundup (http://hardwareinsights.com/wp/2011/...-round-up-2/9/). That PSU you have won't do anything at all with the ripple in spec. It is absoloutely practical to spend $30 on a decent PSU on ANY system.

Wow, almost exactly the same... Mine has two more coils, on both sides of the heatsink and one pi-filter coil, for what I think is the 3.3 line.

And for the record, what are the brands of those caps?

Mix of Koshin, Teapo, and Fuhjyyu.

[Scenic]

What series is that weird orange Teapo?
The ones I'm familiar with are dark green, brown or black, with some old/obsolete series (SX and SD for example) being baby blue.. but orange?! I've never seen them use that color before

[momaka]

Originally Posted by c_hegge

Actually, it looks like a low end CWT.

That's because it is.

Originally Posted by mockingbird

I checked the Underwriters Laboratory Database... They say it's a Deer.

Yes, but it's not. I have 2 of these PSUs - one is a CyberLink CWT-320ATX with UL number E133653 (which leads to REAL POWER ENTERPRISE CO LTD) and the other unit is a TurboLink LC-A420ATX which has UL number E164554 (leading to L&C - aka Deer). But I can tell you for sure that this is not a Deer/L&C. They are both low-end CWT as c_hegge noted.

One easy way to spot and distinguish these PSUs from others is by the QC sticker. Note how it has ink stamps indicating that it passed the various stages of QC rather than just a simple "QC Pass" sticker that most cheap PSUs use. If anything, CWT does probably have good QC. What brings these PSUs down is their lack of guts. With good parts, they can be decent.

Originally Posted by mockingbird

200W is more than enough... I think even 150W would be fine... These are being used on AM2 Semprons with a 59W TDP.

Umm, no, not exactly - at least not this power supply. You'll have to look at the 12v rectifier before deciding this. On my Turbolink, the 12v rectifier is rated for 10A, so it actually might work... of course it won't, because the caps for the 12v rail consist of only a single 16V 680uF Fuhjyyu TMR - that's barely enough to filter ripple for a hard drive. Running even a 40W TDP CPU off of that will result in serious stress to the motherboard's capacitors.

And if you think this doesn't get worse - it does. The Cyberlink I have only has 2x 3A FR diodes for the 12V "rectifier" (read: diodes-on-a-bracket).

Despite all of that, I will admit that these PSUs are engineered fairly well. The 2-transistors 5VSB aside, they actually do have SCP, OVP, and UVP. Moreover, their voltage regulation is quite good. I pulled the Cyberlink from a PC with a ECS P4VXASD2+ motherboard and a 64W TDP Pentium 4 CPU. Judging by the dust, it was powering that system for probably at least a year or 2. The only reason it survived, however, is because that motherboard powers the CPU from the 5V rail rather than the 12V rail and the 5V rail had a 15A rectifier (so a total of 75W max). The darkened PCB under the 5V rectifier confirmed this.

Since the voltage regulation on these PSU is quite good, I'm currently using my TurboLink as an electronics test PSU. I'm actually planning on recapping it with "better" caps (read: not-yet-failed junk caps).

Originally Posted by Scenic

What series is that weird orange Teapo?

That would be a Fuhjyyu TNR.
*EDIT*
Oh wait, never mind. I now see it has a Teapo vent and says Teapo on it.
I have the same exact orange cap in my Turbolink in the same exact location and it's a Fuhjyyu TNR.

[mockingbird]

Momaka, thanks for your intuitive input... I am strongly leaning towards re-capping these units, but now that you have brought the issue of the anemic 12V line, I'm reconsidering.

Am I right in assuming I'm looking at the three TO-220 packages on the secondary side? Here are the markings:
1) STPR1020CT
2) STPS1545CT
3) STPS1545CT

Looking at the datasheet for the STPS1545, it's a 15A part... The datasheet for the STPR1020CT says "2 x 5A", is this my 12V rectifier!?.

Tracing back the 12V circuit, yes, I see that I've got that same Fuhjyyu TM 16V 680uF cap which obviously is filtering it alone because the coil is missing for the pi filter...

Ok, ok, you're starting to convince me... Let me ask you this... Let's say I switched the 16V 680uF cap with some nice, highly rated 10mm cap with a higher capacitance (Or should I stick to the same capacitance), would this help me any?

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Originally Posted by mockingbird

The datasheet for the STPR1020CT says "2 x 5A", is this my 12V rectifier!?

Yes.

Originally Posted by mockingbird

Tracing back the 12V circuit, yes, I see that I've got that same Fuhjyyu TM 16V 680uF cap which obviously is filtering it alone because the coil is missing for the pi filter...

Do yourself a favor and junk them already. I have at least one unit from almost all low-end ATX platforms lying around, and the one you have is the worst. I wouldn't trust that even with a Sempron. Especially if the motherboard happens to have Chemicon KZG or OSTs...

[mockingbird]

You're right... I'm going to buy some Sparkles for these machines or maybe use the ones I have that need re-capping...