Quality Seasonic PSU kicks the bucket early

[qubit]

It's a 360W Seasonic SSR-360GP which I installed for a client's very basic PC only 8 months ago. While you can hear the mains crackle when inserting the mains lead, there's no output at all from it.

I connected it to my Thermaltake PSU tester and it was dead there too, so it's not a mobo or case switch problem.

The irony is that I got my client to buy one of the best brands out there specifically to avoid headaches like this. From a technical perspective, I suspect that an output fuse may have died, perhaps. It would also have been good to try out the PC with another PSU, to check that it works properly, but I don't have any handy at the moment.

I advised him to RMA it, so let's see what he gets back.

 

[Mr.Scott]

Being that it's in a clients machine, failure could have been caused by an outside factor. Pretty hard to blame Seasonic for that.
Not saying that's what caused it, just saying that maybe the failure could have been avoided.
Nobody but the client will ever know.......and maybe not even the client.

 

[Norton]

That failure can most likely be filed under shit happens.

I have only had 2 psu's die on me of the dozens I've owned or installed over the past 4 or 5 years (knocks wood). One was a Silverstone that made it the end of its warranty and the other was a Seasonic that died after a month. With the amount of hardware most of us deal with it's inevitable that we run into a dud from time to time

 

[Solaris17]

I'm surprised your so hasty to throw seasonic under the bus. Considering their quality with almost all high end machines here that post it almost seems like your salty with an entire established brand over 1 bad psu. I think you understand that it happens. I also think your actually salty because it happened to a client you convinced to buy seasonic. Had it been your machine or your system I think you would brush it off. cheeks red?

 

[Bill_Bright]

From a technical perspective, I suspect that an output fuse may have died

Not if you hear the mains "crackle"! A blown fuse will "open" the circuit so no current will flow. A "crackle" suggests some arcing across (shorting) of circuits which means the fuse is not blown and still allowing current to flow through it. Not good in any case.

Seasonics are still a great choice, but until Man can create perfection 100% of the time, there will always be imperfect samples out there, even from the best makers.

Also, unless this PSU was plugged into a quality surge and spike protector, or better yet, a "good" UPS with AVR, an extreme power anomaly could have taken out the PSU which is not something you can blame on the PSU.

At least being just 8 months old, there should be no problem (other than the down time/lost productivity) getting it replaced under warranty.

 

[revin]

Agree^^^ It just may have Saved the entire system from a costly failure, I've had a Tt that DID take out a killer GPU..........
I've seen my X750 SAVE my ass from being well stupid, so I know they do perform awesome, but like said shit happens you never know unless your right there when it occurs.

 

[pbm86]

I have been using my G series 550W for over 2 years and it is flawless.

 

[ChevyOwner]

At least the PSU lasted 8 months before it failed.

I had SeaSonic fail in less then 24 hours sometime in January. Turned the PC off, and it simply would not turn back on. My complaint there was not with SeaSonic. It was with Newegg, but I'm not going into that here.

 

[Frick]

The only way to safeguard against hardware failures is to be redundant.

And BTW:


EDIT: The famous french failure rate thingy show these numbers:

- be quiet! 0,62% (contre 0,84%)
- Zalman 0,74% (contre 1,72%)
- FSP Group 0,82% (contre 0,83%)
- Corsair 1,55% (contre 1,32%)
- Cooler Master 1,65% (contre 1,51%)
- Seasonic 2,10% (contre 2,31%)
- Akasa 2,56% (contre 2,97%)


Which are pointless numbers, as is anything that isn't known mass failures.

 

[INSTG8R]

Have to admit I just recently RMA'd my X-1050 as it failed in a little under 2yrs. Thank goodness it has a 5yr warranty. Still hasn't put me off Seasonic at all tho.

 

[AsRock]

That failure can most likely be filed under shit happens.

I have only had 2 psu's die on me of the dozens I've owned or installed over the past 4 or 5 years (knocks wood). One was a Silverstone that made it the end of its warranty and the other was a Seasonic that died after a month. With the amount of hardware most of us deal with it's inevitable that we run into a dud from time to time

Some thing on the lines i was thinking, as this is being looked at totally wrong, sure the PSU died which is never good but it happens to even the best but what did not happen is that it did not fry the whole system and to me this is why you get a quality PSU.


Maybe you should tell the client that it saved the PC were as it was a cheap PSU there would of been a much higher chance of more stuff getting fired.

 

[Bill_Bright]

EDIT: The famous french failure rate thingy show these numbers:

- Corsair 1,55% (contre 1,32%)
- Seasonic 2,10% (contre 2,31%)

A bit surprised that Seasonic has a worse failure rate than Corsair because in the last couple years, Corsairs (at least their lower end lines) have seen some disappointing failure rates. I wonder what the time period is for those figures?

 

[Solaris17]

A bit surprised that Seasonic has a worse failure rate than Corsair because in the last couple years, Corsairs (at least their lower end lines) have seen some disappointing failure rates. I wonder what the time period is for those figures?

you have to take it with a grain of salt because seasonic makes some of their PSUs but only a specific line. You would really need to know specific models to get a good metric.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-psu-brands,3762-5.html

unlike seasonic who is a manufacturer they make all of their own PSUs

 

[qubit]

Being that it's in a clients machine, failure could have been caused by an outside factor. Pretty hard to blame Seasonic for that.
Not saying that's what caused it, just saying that maybe the failure could have been avoided.
Nobody but the client will ever know.......and maybe not even the client.

Well, I know this client pretty well and they just wouldn't do anything to the PC to trigger a PSU failure. It's just used for internet and email occasionally and that's about it.
I'm just pissed about it.

That failure can most likely be filed under shit happens.

I have only had 2 psu's die on me of the dozens I've owned or installed over the past 4 or 5 years (knocks wood). One was a Silverstone that made it the end of its warranty and the other was a Seasonic that died after a month. With the amount of hardware most of us deal with it's inevitable that we run into a dud from time to time

Yeah, indeed it's definitely under the shit happens category. It's just annoying, especially when I was specifically trying to avoid it by getting a top brand.

I'm surprised your so hasty to throw seasonic under the bus. Considering their quality with almost all high end machines here that post it almost seems like your salty with an entire established brand over 1 bad psu. I think you understand that it happens. I also think your actually salty because it happened to a client you convinced to buy seasonic. Had it been your machine or your system I think you would brush it off. cheeks red?

Nah, I'm not chucking the whole brand under a bus, it's just annoying that it had to happen to this PSU and I'm just venting. I'd have been pissed if it had happened to me as well, but I guess, yeah, it has an extra dimension when it's a clients' machine.

Not if you hear the mains "crackle"! A blown fuse will "open" the circuit so no current will flow. A "crackle" suggests some arcing across (shorting) of circuits which means the fuse is not blown and still allowing current to flow through it. Not good in any case.

Seasonics are still a great choice, but until Man can create perfection 100% of the time, there will always be imperfect samples out there, even from the best makers.

Also, unless this PSU was plugged into a quality surge and spike protector, or better yet, a "good" UPS with AVR, an extreme power anomaly could have taken out the PSU which is not something you can blame on the PSU.

At least being just 8 months old, there should be no problem (other than the down time/lost productivity) getting it replaced under warranty.

Indeed, I know the crackle means the fuse is intact. That's a fuse on the input side, which is why I was careful to point out that perhaps there's another fuse on the output side which has blown. I'm only guessing that it's a fuse, since I don't know the internal design of this model and complete failure like this suggests a fuse.

Sure, it's possible that a mains spike took it out, who knows? It's a bit unlikely though.

 

[the54thvoid]

Seasonic are good with RMA's - I had one a year or so back. Their rep occasionally frequents the forums but yeah, as folk say, hardware fails - the point is Seasonic honour their equipment with good long warranties.

 

[Frick]

Corsairs (at least their lower end lines) have seen some disappointing failure rates

You have some numbers, if yes what are they based on?

But again, it's pointless unless you have massive amounts of data to mine OR if something have a known fault.

 

[newtekie1]

Whenever I see a quality PSU fail I always start looking at external causes. A good power surge will kill any PSU, quality or not. And so many people think any 6-Outlet power strip is a surge protector when they aren't, or they buy a $10 "Surge Protector" from Wal-Mart and expect it to protect them.

Of course, there are ust times when, as @Norton points out, shit happens. Even the best manufacturer can't be perfect. Most of the parts in their PSU are outsourced, so it only takes one bad batch of a particular component to cause a PSU to die. The good thing about quality PSUs is that when this does happen they are designed in a way so it is unlikely they will take out other components in the system.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Yeah, I know Corsair does not make their own PSUs and for sure that matters in the figures overall. And no, I don't have any numbers. But personal experience as a tech and forum posts surely indicate many more unhappy Corsair owners in recent years compared to before. I realize some of this is simply due to Corsair selling many more units, but the professional review sites clearly show lower quality components and poorer construction and assembly techniques compared to reviews of older models too.

That is true at least in their mid down to their entry level models. When Corsairs first starting selling their own branded PSUs, if it said Corsair on the box, you knew you had a quality, reliable product. Corsairs were at or near the top of everyone's recommended list. That is just not true today.

Now for sure, the high-end Corsairs are still some of the best you can buy so you have to do your homework before buying.

 

[red_stapler]

Even quality brands that have a low failure rate, still have a failure rate. Sorry to hear you won (lost?) the lottery.

 

[Pill Monster]

Some thing on the lines i was thinking, as this is being looked at totally wrong, sure the PSU died which is never good but it happens to even the best but what did not happen is that it did not fry the whole system and to me this is why you get a quality PSU.


Maybe you should tell the client that it saved the PC were as it was a cheap PSU there would of been a much higher chance of more stuff getting fired.

Heheh that makes 3 of us.
I guess even the best names have bad days every now and again.....

A bit surprised that Seasonic has a worse failure rate than Corsair because in the last couple years, Corsairs (at least their lower end lines) have seen some disappointing failure rates. I wonder what the time period is for those figures?

That's because 3-4yrs ago Corsair switched OEM's. I think Fortron or Seasonic were making their budget units, now it's CWT? Pretty sure it's CWT might have to google it, but they seem to have a few issues with whoever it is..

 

[Bill_Bright]

That's because 3-4yrs ago Corsair switched OEM's

Which suggests to me that French site should express the time frames involved.

 

[newtekie1]

That's because 3-4yrs ago Corsair switched OEM's. I think Fortron or Seasonic were making their budget units, now it's CWT? Pretty sure it's CWT might have to google it, but they seem to have a few issues with whoever it is..

3-4 Years ago CWT was making their high end units, but then 3-4 years ago Corsair only had the high end. Now Corsair uses a mix of CWT, Seasonic, and Greatwall(and maybe someone else). I know the CX series is CWT and has always been CWT. The largest problem with the CX series is the low rated operating temperatures, which cause the PSU to shut down in a hot PC at full power. But in a case with the PSU at the bottom sucking cool air in they have no problem.

I think the problem people seem to have with the low end Corsair unit is that they expect to pay less, but still get the same HX/AX quality. Well that simply isn't going to happen. They are more than capable and adequate but, they aren't going to be as good as the high end units.

It doesn't really matter much though because the CX series is being replaced by the CS series. There isn't much point in buying the CX series when the CS series is priced almost exactly the same and are Gold rated and have slightly better build quality.

 

[Mr.Scott]

Well, I know this client pretty well and they just wouldn't do anything to the PC to trigger a PSU failure. It's just used for internet and email occasionally and that's about it.

You get the idea. Shit happens.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

This client doesn't happen to live in a storm prone area does he? This time of year, electrical storms are common, and most surge protectors don't really assure you of protection from the resulting spikes.

Your OP doesn't really mention any questioning you went through with him regarding house voltage/amperage, storms, any kind of surge prrotection, etc. Or for that matter, if he checked the PC voltage stability anytime leading up to this.

These are all helpful factors. Not saying it isn't possible even top brands can fail, but much more rare with one like Seasonic, esp the non OEM models.

 

[qubit]

View attachment 65270
You get the idea. Shit happens.

Sure, but that didn't happen here. For obvious reasons I can't give away personal information on an open internet forum, but I do know that the thing just failed. Yes, a voltage spike is on inconceivable, but there's no way to know.

This client doesn't happen to live in a storm prone area does he? This time of year, electrical storms are common, and most surge protectors don't really assure you of protection from the resulting spikes.

Your OP doesn't really mention any questioning you went through with him regarding house voltage/amperage, storms, any kind of surge prrotection, etc. Or for that matter, if he checked the PC voltage stability anytime leading up to this.

These are all helpful factors. Not saying it isn't possible even top brands can fail, but much more rare with one like Seasonic, esp the non OEM models.

No, there's no chance of that kind of storm damage round here and again, I can't say anything personally identifying unfortunately, including the areas where people live. As I said to Mr.Scott, it's possible that there was a voltage spike, but it's not all that likely. It's just ironic that the very thing I tried to avoid happening by getting a top brand then happened. <facepalm>