My Antec Earthwatts 650 blew up

[balerogg]

Ok So my Antec Earthwatts 650 PSU blew up on me and I dont know if it fried my other components yet, but in any case from what I have read here I will not be returning back to these PSU's. I need a new PSU!! Other posts have suggested Corsair and others but I have a couple of noob questions. First here is my setup

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel

EVGA 512-P3-N841-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

320G Western Digital Caviar Blue SATA HDD

Pioneer DVD/CDROM Writer

So my Questions are:

(1) My MB takes a 20+4 pin power input and a 6 Pin Molex input. I am only seeing 4 Pin Molex on the Corsairs (specifically the TX650) Is the 6 Pin Molex just a given? or does it need to say 6 Pin.

(2) The specs on the new PSU says 12V rails = 1 - does this mean it only has 1 line of the 4 pin peripheral power connectors?

(3) I only need 1 line of SATA power, 2 lines of 4pin peripheral power, and 1 line of 6pin PCI-E Video card power. Should I go Modular?

and finally, this is only my 2nd build in 5 years (upgrading my previous build) what do you think and please be honest, I can take critical comments. This is only meant to play 2 games- LOTRO in HiRez and EVE Online in HiRex. No video creating or Call of duty fragfests. Just a game system that can play my favorite 2 games the best they can be played.

 

[ainarssems]

1) there is no such thing as 6 pin molex. this is a picture of m/b:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.aspx?CurImage=13-128-358-S03&ISList=13-128-358-S01%2c13-128-358-S02%2c13-128-358-S03%2c13-128-358-S04%2c13-128-358-S05&S7ImageFlag=1&Item=N82E16813128358&Depa=0&WaterMark=1&Description=GIGABYTE%20GA-EP45-UD3P%20ATX%20Intel%20Motherboard%20-%20Retail

2)no it has 8 4pin molex connectors which are most likely 2 lines with 4 on each
3)it is a case of personal preference. I would not go for modular unless You have small case where it is hard to neetly tuck away unneded wires.

Also VX550 or HX520 would give plenty of power for your needs. Obviously TX650 gives more future expandibility.

 

[dvanholland]

The 650W Corsair has PCI-Express Connector = 2 x 6+2-Pin. I believe that means it has 2 6 pin connectors. Not sure about your other two questions.

 

[dvanholland]

Sorry I just assumed he was talking about the graphics card power connectors.

 

[balerogg]

I am sorry I meant 8 pin, but the specs on the tx650 said 4 pin and now i see it says x2, thank you for pointing that out. Thx for the swift replies, you guys rock

 

[megamanx00]

You may want to RMA your PSU. If it's under warranty then you can get a new one free, assuming it wasn't your fault it blew up of course.

 

[balerogg]

Wasnt even using the system at the time, was sitting idle. Dont understand it, but newegg rocks and I'm gonna upgrade to the corsair tx750 anyway. I've been reading posts since I posted this (which is what I should have done first) and got a good couple of references regarding PSU performance vs cost. I want to reserve power for the future if I want to add more HDD's and maybe SLI another 8800GTS since they're so cheap now. So I think the TX 750 will do me for now and a few years down the road.
Thx again guys

 

[bluzman32]

I always thought Antec Earthwatts were pretty good quality?

 

[theAnimal]

I always thought Antec Earthwatts were pretty good quality?

Yes. The EA650 is about equal to the Corsair TX650.

 

[balerogg]

Ok I went with the TX750 Corsair, and I gotta say this thing is awesome. Very Quiet, very powerful for what I'm using it for. I got lucky and the protective circuitry on the Antec 650 saved my components. Back up an running. Newegg agreed to RMA my Antec PSU back to my credit card and I picked up the new one tonight. All in all I think the Antex 650 is probably a really good PSU, I just got unlucky with one, and it says alot about the technology that it actually saved my parts from being toasted. Cheers Antec.

 

[4745454b]

The EA series is a good one. First, any company can make a dud. You can't test them all, one can slip through. Second, we don't know how it died. If it died because it was poorly made and it just blew, then he got a bad one. If many others report this, then the series is bad. I haven't really seen or heard about this. If it died however because he got a power surge or something like that, then he got a good one. Yes it died, but has he pointed out it failed to take anything with it. This is why you buy the good ones, as they will fry without letting anything die. If you buy a cheap model, odds are that it will allow the voltage spike through, taking your motherboard with it.

 

[dirtmountain]

^ +1 to 4745454b

 

[Xenonvector927]

The EA series is a good one. First, any company can make a dud. You can't test them all, one can slip through. Second, we don't know how it died. If it died because it was poorly made and it just blew, then he got a bad one. If many others report this, then the series is bad. I haven't really seen or heard about this. If it died however because he got a power surge or something like that, then he got a good one. Yes it died, but has he pointed out it failed to take anything with it. This is why you buy the good ones, as they will fry without letting anything die. If you buy a cheap model, odds are that it will allow the voltage spike through, taking your motherboard with it.

+1. I remember reading a review on Newegg from a customer who had their Corsair PSU catch on fire and nearly set their house alight. Bad things happen to the best of products. I bought the Corsair PSU anyway and have not looked back.
OP: Sorry about your experience. I'm glad you're enjoying your brand new Corsair!

 

[invisik]

Probably just got a bad no big deal it happens to us but antec ea series is very reliable in my opinion best psu i have owned. ea500w runs my quad q6600 @ 3.2ghz, 2 gtx260 oc in sli.

=]

 

[4745454b]

How do you get it to do that? There are only two 6 pin PCIe plugs. Don't the GTX260 need two each?