First post, by tegrady
- Rank
- Member
I found this PSU in a new old stock computer case that was made in 2001. I assume that the PSU is garbage and I should not use it. If the PSU is good, please let me know. Thanks.
I found this PSU in a new old stock computer case that was made in 2001. I assume that the PSU is garbage and I should not use it. If the PSU is good, please let me know. Thanks.
Fan seems temp controlled. That's a plus.
How heavy is it in terms of weight. 😁
It's not a 100% correct manner of course, but there are some PSU's who are very light and scream for instance 550 Watt on the label. Those are trash. Most of the time passive PFC.
This one 'looks' alright. 😀
i386 16 ⇒ i486 DX4 100 ⇒ Pentium MMX 200 ⇒ Athlon Orion 700 | TB 1000 ⇒ AthlonXP 1700+ ⇒ Opteron 165 ⇒ Dual Opteron 856
Including the cables, it weighs 1.3kg / 2lbs, 14oz. It doesn't feel "too light" in my opinion, but it is not especially heavy either.
The last time I used a no-name PSU like this, it literally exploded. Sparks shot out the back of the case and it fried my motherboard.
I likely won't use this PSU either way, but I don't really know how tell a good no-name PSU from a bad one. I almost always stick to name brand PSUs in my personal builds.
Thanks.
Get an account on hardforum.com and post in the PSU forum.
They should be able to give you a bit more info from your pic and may ask for some more pics.
My guess is that it is trash.
From a design point of view, it seems that the 300W rating for that unit is adequate, and the manufacturer did not skimp on components such as EMI filtering, fan controller, and so on. That transformer should be able to do 300W without issue, and even though it's not possible to see the switching transistors or the output diodes clearly, they're probably fine too.
The big question here is the caps, I cannot see what brand they are but they appear to be on good shape. However, keep in mind this unit is from the capacitor plague era, so be careful. If you feel you're up to the task, this can be a really nice 5V-heavy unit after a recap. Otherwise, check output voltages if you intend to use it as-is.
So I Googled this PSU's model number, HPC-300-101. I found this same model number on a Dell and Enlight PSU. They both have the same specs and physically look the same.
If this is a generic/re-branded Dell PSU, it may actually not be too bad. Also, it seems that Enlight is generally considered a decent PSU brand. Am I correct?
Enlight power supplies are decent units. The one you have looks to be a nice unit. I'd test it on the bench first before just tossing it.
tegrady wrote on 2020-11-30, 20:55:So I Googled this PSU's model number, HPC-300-101. I found this same model number on a Dell and Enlight PSU. They both have the same specs and physically look the same.
If this is a generic/re-branded Dell PSU, it may actually not be too bad. Also, it seems that Enlight is generally considered a decent PSU brand. Am I correct?
The capacitors are Teapo (luxon).
It looks to be fairly complete, although it's hard to be more specific without checking semiconductor ratings and capacitor selection (edit: Teapo is mid tier but can last in PSU applications given decent cooling). I'm also terrible at spotting two transistor regulator circuits and always have to check part numbers. Better designs use an integrated module with current and voltage protection to produce standby voltages.
Looking into OEMs, I think this one might be from Sirfa. It's not Delta, but it could be worse.
All hail the Great Capacitor Brand Finder
So I got a psu tester and hooked up the psu. This is what I got. I assume that the error codes for the +12v2 and 5vsb just indicates that this psu does not have those voltages, not that there is something wrong with the psu. Is that correct? Thanks.
The label does give good advice - "select the right voltage!"
P1: Packard Bell - 233 MMX, Voodoo1, 64 MB, ALS100+
P2-V2: Dell Dimension - 400 Mhz, Voodoo2, 256 MB
P!!! Custom: 1 Ghz, GeForce2 Pro/64MB, 384 MB
Voltages look good and gives you somewhat of an indication. You are testing the PSU without proper load.
Hook up a replaceable/spare mainboard, mid-end graphics card and some hdd's. Measure the voltages again with a multimeter.
Then again, no guarantees with that old stuff. 😜
i386 16 ⇒ i486 DX4 100 ⇒ Pentium MMX 200 ⇒ Athlon Orion 700 | TB 1000 ⇒ AthlonXP 1700+ ⇒ Opteron 165 ⇒ Dual Opteron 856