Enermax Infiniti Dies on 2nd Birthday

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

That is why I bought a Lian-li V1100, The PSU only cools itself. It really never did make much sense to draw warm air into something your trying to cool did it ?

Yep, makes sense exactly. However many SFF PCs have this arrangement which I personally do not like. Some people like to have less fans in the system too so to cut down on noise. Sure many of the better PSUs have components that are rated for over 100C but I still rather prefer my PSU to run cooler even if it means a nosier system overall. Also many PSUs cannot reliably perform above 50c anyway(I could be wrong here though).

Luckily I modded my Shuttle P2 SFF PC so that very little hot air is routed though the PSU but though the graphics card itself. The card still idles at 40c and does not exceed 60c to 70c when in full use. This is certainly FAR better than the stock cooler. Win-win situation methinks!!

[peterb]

Well a little while ago I had to return one of my Enermax Liberty PSUs, and whilst they have outsourced their RMA (I cant remember who too) the person who I dealt with was really good and the turn around on the RMA was very quick. I couldnt complain about it. Its my 3rd Enermax and the only one Ive ever had problems with, great PSUs.

Hawker

Thank you - good to know that the RMA process was good and that your experience has been good - they have had a good reputation (judging by comments on Hexus)

That is why I bought a Lian-li V1100, The PSU only cools itself. It really never did make much sense to draw warm air into something your trying to cool did it ?

True - - cooling (particularly a high end machine) is more than just slapping a few fans in!

The first unit worked, Just the rear fan did not turn or turned occasionally. The direct RMA was fast but, I only used it for about 20hours when the replacement was sent on a low power system.
Recently I put it in my Current PC mainly because it has the 8 pin connection for the motherboard. After a couple of weeks, it was tripping either on short circuit protection or over current. Due to it being out of warranty I opened it up to find one of the heatsinks was bent and pressing hard against the enamel wire of an inductor (possibly a short circuit) and that the fan wiring was badlt routed and was being crush by the fan mounted on the removeable part of the case. I've straighten out the Heatsink, re-routed the fan cables and now have it back in use again but, Have read several reviews of which state that they won't start with a load of more than approx 450watts. Yes I know it's an old design unit now but, it was a high end unit when bought 4 years ago.

To sum it up really for me, I'm not bothered about metalic paintwork, Fans with LED's, Braided cables etc.

I just want a good, solid PSU that can provide very smooth power at the required rate without going 'pop' for at least 3years and at a sensible price. With this in mind I'd probably consider an OEM version of the FSP 700watt.

That sounds like poor assembly. A lot (most) PSUs are 'badge engineered' - outsourced to one of a few actual mfrs but built to a particular spec - so there is no gurantee that two PSUs of the same model number may be actually built by the same company - and the difficulty then is assuring quality control - which in your case sounds as if it was non-existant - and that reflects badly on Enermax (in this case)

[TooNice]

Shame to hear about the failure. Then again, it does happen, even with expensive units. The last time I had to RMA an Enermax (about 2 years ago), the process went very smoothly. A phone call, mailed it, then got a brand new the unit the same week. By then I was using a much quieter Seasonic, but at least I managed to get a *profit* from selling off the Enermax on Ebay (didn't get that - but didn't complain).

I wouldn't mind trying another Enermax now that they make quiet units, but I'd like to know how well they handle returns now (I am willing tp write off the failure as just a poor draw).

[Thorsson]

I also had one of the Noisetakers, which I have to say I was also disappointed with - IMO it was fairly noisy and the cables were a bit short for a supposedly high end product. I also found that it struggled power-wise.

The Infiniti was a second chance - I was persuaded by the reviews. Later it became clear that there were some issues with it, which I was lucky not to suffer from. But after this Enermax is off my shopping list for good, regardless of how good the return turns out to be.

[tonschk]

That is why I bought a Lian-li V1100, The PSU only cools itself. It really never did make much sense to draw warm air into something your trying to cool did it ?

Yes I agree my PSU only cool it self

[how1]

I have bought a few over the years with no problems. Very stable and still going strong! This is why i say they are good and i would buy them again.

[Blitzen]

I have had:
485W Noisetaker
500W Liberty
625W MODU+82

All were good although i had one problem with the Noisetaker and the RMA took 5 days for replacement.

I am astonished you thought the Noisetaker was loud as it definitely wasn't for me.
The MODU i have at the moment was put in to replace a Corsair 500W as the Enermax was far superior in quality.

It is very easy to get put off when something goes wrong but does any seriously think that an OCZ/Corsair/Antec/Any other make that is highly regarded is less likely to die? Of course it isn't.

[Thorsson]

Maybe they are all as likely to die, but Enermax is a lot more expensive.

[Blitzen]

Maybe they are all as likely to die, but Enermax is a lot more expensive.

Take a look at the equivalents:

Antec - slightly more expensive
Corsair - More expensive
OCZ - Cheaper but not as good as they were

[Thorsson]

More expensive than what? The 750W Corsair is £20 cheaper (at Scan) than the Infiniti. The Seasonic is more expensive, but they are one brand I don't see any reported problems with.

[Blitzen]

More expensive than what? The 750W Corsair is £20 cheaper (at Scan) than the Infiniti. The Seasonic is more expensive, but they are one brand I don't see any reported problems with.

You had a bad Infiniti....it happens.
Fact is, the Infiniti is a FAR better unit than the Corsair (even though you were unlucky).

Seasonic is actually a Corsair anyway, but even though you dont read about the issues, there are as many failures as any other top tier brand.

[Badbonji]

Components fail all the time, some even die in the first few weeks. Probably unlucky, I have an Enermax PSU in an old 478 pc and running smooth for several years at least! I will recommend enermax to many people, considering on average their PSU's are of very high quality, and very happy with their new Revolution 85+ range, I had one and tested their 1250W version at GOOC and worked flawlessly even when the system was pushed to the limits by another team on LN2.

[jimborae]

Not bought new Enermax psu for years now as I had trouble with them in the past, I only buy them now when they're very cheap secondhand. Seasonic & FSP are may favorite brands. And Blitzen it's the other way round mate, some Corsairs are actually Seasonics, i.e. the good ones, as are some older OCZ psu's.

[Thorsson]

Components fail all the time, some even die in the first few weeks. Probably unlucky, I have an Enermax PSU in an old 478 pc and running smooth for several years at least! I will recommend enermax to many people, considering on average their PSU's are of very high quality, and very happy with their new Revolution 85+ range, I had one and tested their 1250W version at GOOC and worked flawlessly even when the system was pushed to the limits by another team on LN2.

Well yes. But plenty of units do this. And maybe their old units ran fine - my Noisetaker ran, just not very well. The question is do they last? And do problems turn up (like they definitely did with the Infiniti - I've seen numerous threads about issues at places like Anandtech Forums).

Can't see I've ever seen any issues with Seasonic. Others can spend their money how they wish. I know where mine's going.

[TooNice]

I had an Antec Truepower which was clearly audible and the Noisetake managed to be even louder. Definitely the loudest PSU I've used so far (Noisemaker?). The Liberty was a lot than the aforementioned two, yet still audible when the system was primary idling. The Seasonic that replaced it was completely inaudible even on idle (admittedly not the quietest system around - hence I dare not say it's 'silent'). Ironically, the Seasonic I bought was also cheaper than Enermax at the time, hence I profited from the swap.

I am going to build a system with low noise as a my top priority either tonight or tomorrow and fitting a Corsair (Seasonic made) to it. If it fails during it's useful lifespan, then I may look at another Enermax; but right now, I have no good reason for picking Seasonic over Enermax.

[Sputnik]

I had an Antec Truepower which was clearly audible and the Noisetake managed to be even louder. Definitely the loudest PSU I've used so far (Noisemaker?).

I have to agree with that, The Noisetaker I have has only been used for a short while (probably 200 hours now) but is far louder than the Antec neopower which has been in constant use since 2004. This is comparing them both out of a system without load.

I bought the Enermax as it was a highly respected brand.


Talking of PSU's my nephew has a Q-tec 550w and its still going strong, It must be 6+ years old.