Avoid Antec Power Supplies (January 2008)

In the past month I have had a hard failure of one computer system and strange problems with two other systems. A quick trip to Generic Computers on Broadway, the shop that built my generic computer systems, confirmed that power supply had failed on the system with the hard failure -- no surprise given the strong burnt insulation smell when the machine failed and given that the machine would not power up after the failure event. Generic Computer replaced the power supply, while I waited, for a very reasonable charge (the machine was close to 3 year old so no warranty) and system works fine with its new generic power supply.

At Generic Computers, I did ask about whether or not they were seeing a lot of problems with Antec power supplies -- many of my generic computer systems were built using, at my request to minimize room noise, Antec Sonata computer cases which come with a built in Antec power supply. The answer to my question was a bit guarded, "we are seeing a few more failures than expected a little bit sooner than we expected with Antec power supplies"... Hmm.... Interesting I though, so I did a quick search and found the site Antec Power Supply Trouble.

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Many people have reported this same problem with other motherboards. It's not just the A7N8X. Read the many user comments below. As of January 2007, the emails of failed Antec PSUs keep coming in. Sadly, lots of websites still recommend Antec as a top-quality brand and people only seem to find this little web page after their Antecs dip to 4.5 volts (or worse) and their computers start having lots of difficult-to-diagnose problems (from the main page, January 8, 2008).

Since fixing the hard failure, I have also resolved problems with two other generic systems, with Antec Sonata cases, by changing power supplies. The first system was causing my Belkin power strip to trip when ever the system was under prolonged heavy internet traffic loads -- this started to happen a few days ago. On the second system a client application that does 10s of internet updates per minute periodically locks up, typically during the hours with highest traffic updates -- this system problem was an issue for many months previously. Looking at my logs, I noticed the same application lockup behavior under heavy internet traffic was happening on the system with the hard failure for the months before the hard power supply failure occurred. Sure enough the same application performs flawlessly on other systems that do not have the same older generation Sonata cases (and built in Antec power supplies) and on systems where I have I have since replaced the suspect Antec power supply.

So far, 3 Antec power supplies changed out and system issues resolved.

Conclusions and Lessons Learned

Plug your computer into a good quality power strip such as those supplied by Belkin. In two cases, my Belkin power strip cut power to my computer system with a failing Antec power supply. I expect that, if the power strip had not cut power, I might have suffered more grievous damage such as the following, as reported by a visitor on Antec Power Supply Trouble:

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"So I very MAD about ANTEC because their power supply has burn my MB, video card,and 2 hard drive!!! ".

The fact that the Belkin power strip acted as a very fast fuse, protecting my system when there were Antec power supply problems, is an excellent protection feature for the Belkin power strip. This "fast fuse feature" isn't readily apparent in their product description material in my quick read of their product description -- one generally thinks of the surge protection as originating from your electricity provider and not from your own system. I am a confirmed believer in always plugging into a good quality power strip and NOT the wall socket.

Monitor power supply voltage levels if you are diagnosing an apparently random system crashes. If voltage levels are off or changing then get your power supply checked (or just replace it).

Ask about failure rates in components when you find a failed component in your system. Avoid components that have unexpectedly high failure rates. To this end, I am avoiding future purchases of Antec power supply products and I am replacing the Antec power supplies in any existing systems at the first sign of unexpected system problems.

AVOID Antec power supplies (at least until they re-establish their reputation as a quality component supplier). And if you have any doubts about the integrity of a system with an Antec power supply, then consider the preventative step of just replacing the power supply -- I'm not sure that your power strip will always save your system components when your Antec power supply finally crashes with a hard failure (the kind where you smell burning insulation).

Links:

Home Computer System Purchase Tips for Vancouver

Antec Power Supply Trouble -- the site has several detailed tips for diagnosing power supply troubles as well as lots of visitor feedback, including on-going dialogs with Antec.

Send me an e-mail with any issues you have had (or your good experiences) with Antec power supplies and I will publish your response below.

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