Antec Neo HE PSU Users Poll

Share your experiences about noisy computers and components, and vendors responses to your valid complaints.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee, Devonavar

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How is your Antec Neo HE PSU working out?

Works great, no problems
129
48%
Works, but... (provide details)
37
14%
It failed (provide details)
102
38%
 
Total votes: 268

fmwaz
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2006 11:40 am

Supply Number 4

Post by fmwaz » Thu Mar 09, 2006 12:40 pm

After waiting 3 days to get an RMA number, I received the my replacement supply from Antec and installed it with my Asus A8N-SLI Premium board. The system runs for a few minutes then shuts down. I put my Seasonic supply in and there are no problems. In my RMA request to Antec, I told them that I had the Asus A8N-SLI board since there have been problems reported with this combination. I will send it back to get a replacement and then sell it on EBAY. I doubt if I will ever buy another Antec power supply. This is a shame since I have purchased 6 cases and power supplies from Antec over the past 3 years.

KnightRT
Posts: 100
Joined: Sun Nov 21, 2004 11:13 pm

Post by KnightRT » Thu Mar 09, 2006 12:57 pm

I bought a P150 with the included power supply a month ago.

As of two days ago, it's started to make an intermittent clicking I've narrowed down to the power supply fan. Very odd. Antec offered me an RMA, though, so we'll see how that works out.

DI

pietkiwi
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 1:43 pm

Post by pietkiwi » Thu Mar 09, 2006 1:54 pm

I got an P-150 with a NeoHE 430. I also bought an Asus A7N8X-XE. The CPU and PSU fan would spin for a second and then they'd stop. I've returned the PSU to the store where I bought it (www.empc.nl, yes, the Netherlands) and they confirmed that it was broken. I got a new one (with the warranty seal broken) and they showed me that it works in their test setup but at my own testing motherboard it fails. This testmotherboard is an Abit BH6 Pentium3 motherboard. I am now waiting for my A7N8X-XE to return because that wouldn't boot even with another PSU. Another PSU did give a little more result than the Neo because the board would keep it's power up but then failed to beep or give a signal somehow. I hope they return a new board soon so I can start using my new setup with an old PSU until Antec returns my email and send me a new one or upgrade my current NeoHE 430...

:(

shadestalker
Posts: 82
Joined: Wed Oct 29, 2003 5:55 pm

Post by shadestalker » Thu Mar 09, 2006 3:59 pm

Neo 430 HE, purchased about 3 weeks ago from Fry's Atlanta store.
No seals or stickers broken. SN begins with 0510.


In use with Asus A8N SLI Premium rev 1.02, XFX Geforce 6800 GS, Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, Samsung 250G SATA2, 2 optical drives.

In testing the initial build, I was able to power up:

motherboard / CPU, VGA
motherboard / CPU, VGA, 80G WD 7200RPM drive
motherboard / CPU, VGA, 80G WD 7200RPM drive, 250G SATA2 Samsung
motherboard / CPU, VGA, 80G WD 7200RPM drive, 250G SATA2 Samsung, CDRW

These were all tested without chassis fans, with the case side cover off. Everything also works with one or two 120mm fans attached to fanmates.

No combination of more / less power cables has given me any issues. My only issues with stability were purely due to moving Windows XP from an Intel to an AMD Athlon64 system.

I have noticed that at boot, the chassis exhaust fan spins up, stops, then spins up again. I am under the impression that this is just how the A8N SLI goes through it's power up sequence, and everything has consistently worked.

Edit: added SN prefix and MB rev.
Last edited by shadestalker on Sat Mar 11, 2006 1:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

chrisewaters
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Jan 22, 2006 10:08 pm
Location: Melbourne Australia

Post by chrisewaters » Sat Mar 11, 2006 1:15 am

After a few months i finialy got a new NeoHE from Antec sn S06010175723 . The restarting during games stopped with my ASUS A8N-SLI Premium but now eveytime i play a game or use the graphics card it makes a weird electrical noise. WHat do i do?

Russell
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Mar 13, 2006 7:33 pm

Post by Russell » Mon Mar 13, 2006 7:39 pm

Despite reading the warnings on this forum, I ordered an Antec P150 case and an ASUS A8N-SLI MB.

The SN of the PSU is 0512xxxx
the Bios Rev on the MB is 1011.
AMD Athlon 64 3000+

After putting it all together, it works just fine...

Russell.

Kevinn
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Mar 04, 2006 1:07 pm
Location: Heeze, the Netherlands

Post by Kevinn » Wed Mar 15, 2006 10:06 am

what videocard, do you think it matters? I'm considering buying a P150..
thanks

rwerp
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:56 pm
Location: London, UK

Post by rwerp » Wed Mar 15, 2006 2:19 pm

Case: Antec P150
MB: Gigabyte K8NS Pro s. 754
CPU: AMD Athlon64 3000+
VGA: Sapphire Atlantis ATI Radeon 9600
PSU: Antec NeoHE 430 W

Works without problems. Didn't test the voltages with a meter, however what BIOS shows is OK. PSU is cool and quiet :)

Warranty sticker is torn.

Serial number: S05110053538

Case was bought a week ago at pixmania.com (case is EC version), came to me yesterday (didn't go to work to have time to move the system into the new case... how much more crazy can one get???)

StrangeClicking
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Mar 16, 2006 10:33 am

Strange Clicking

Post by StrangeClicking » Thu Mar 16, 2006 7:09 pm

KnightRT said:

As of two days ago, it's started to make an intermittent clicking I've narrowed down to the power supply fan. Very odd. Antec offered me an RMA, though, so we'll see how that works out.

Hello and thank you for your post.

I put together a system using the 500W version of this PSU* and an MSI motherboard. Although the system worked fine (no shutdowns / no instability whatsoever) I discovered the clicking sound recently.

* Note: It is the OLD version of the PSU but the seal was NOT broken. It was purchased in Tokyo, Japan so that may explain why. Sorry can't check the serial number right now but will post it as soon as I can.

It was driving me nuts - didn't know where the clicking sound was coming from or what could be causing it. Thanks to your post, I now know where the problem lies.

Since this system is for a friend, I will be replacing the PSU with a Seasonic S12 500HT today.

Should I send back the NeoPower HE for a refund? I love the modular cables, the PSU runs silent, cool and the energy efficiency is good. I was thinking of keeping the PSU for another system (one of my home systems - not mission critical). Is the clicking a sign of trouble to come? Should I keep it, exchange it for a new NeoPower HE or scrap Antec altogether?

Disclaimer: I am an Antec fan and believe that even good companies make mistakes (I could forgive them one problem product). What separates a good company from a great company, however, is the way they handle a mistake. Reading some of the comments above regarding Antec's handling of the situation makes me wonder if Antec is even a good company. While problems in a certain product are understandable and I really want to forgive Antec, I cannot forgive any company that treats their customers poorly.

StrangeClicking
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Mar 16, 2006 10:33 am

Electrical Noise

Post by StrangeClicking » Thu Mar 16, 2006 7:15 pm

chrisewaters wrote:

...but now eveytime i play a game or use the graphics card it makes a weird electrical noise...

Are you sure it is an electrical noise and not the fan clicking that KnightRT reported? When I first discovered the irregular clicking sound, it sounded a lot like something electrical. So much, in fact, that I suspected the motherboard and probably would not have discovered the true cause were it not for KnightRT's kind post.

foxmulder1994
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Mar 19, 2006 6:06 am

HE 430 also not working

Post by foxmulder1994 » Sun Mar 19, 2006 6:22 am

I bought a new Antec p150 with the he 430 power supply last week. This did not work out of the box - the machine would not stay on for longer than 1 second. I should have read those SPCR warnings more closely - supposedly these power supplies were meant to be fixed by now, but somehow I received a dud.

motherboard: Gigabyte 7vrxp v2.0 (socket A/462)
Athlon xp 1800+ (thunderbird)
Zalman 7000B AlCu CPU cooler
2 IDE hard drives


No problems with startup when I use an old noisy power supply. After reading this thread I am already starting to dread the process of getting this fixed.

Serial Number: S05100032763

P.S I finally got this to work by loading up rail 1 and 2 with as many devices as I could find, as mentioned by others on this thread. Plug 2 (rail 1) has as the TriCool fan ( turned up to max), 2 IDE HDD drives. Plug 4 (rail 2) has 1 IDE DVDRW drive, and 1 CDRW drive with a failed read head, and a floppy drive. The motherboard also has a Panaflow 80mm case fan (max speed) + the Zalman CPU fan, a Nvidia MX 440 (passively cooled card) and 2 extra Ethernet cards. Remove anything from this setup - the extra Panaflow case fan, the non working CDRW drive, and the machine fails to start.
I am surprised that I required the extra case fan plugged into the motherboard, as I thought enough 12V current would be used by rail 3 ( the motherboard) by all the other mobo components. This is something you should watch if you are having issues - even the mobo rail may need extra power draw as most of the other mobo devices could be using the +5V rather than +12V rail.
Last edited by foxmulder1994 on Sun Mar 26, 2006 8:26 pm, edited 2 times in total.

KnightRT
Posts: 100
Joined: Sun Nov 21, 2004 11:13 pm

Re: Strange Clicking

Post by KnightRT » Sun Mar 19, 2006 3:25 pm

StrangeClicking wrote:
Should I send back the NeoPower HE for a refund? I love the modular cables, the PSU runs silent, cool and the energy efficiency is good. I was thinking of keeping the PSU for another system (one of my home systems - not mission critical). Is the clicking a sign of trouble to come? Should I keep it, exchange it for a new NeoPower HE or scrap Antec altogether?
[/size]
I called Antec about an RMA, but they won't just send me a new power supply. I have to send back the old one first. I can't afford to be without a system for two weeks, so they told me if I charged a new one, they would reverse the charge when I sent the old one back.

When I asked to do this, they told me they were out of stock and to call back in two weeks.

If this system were out of warranty, I'd just pull it apart and replace the fan. It looks like a standard 80mm in the breakdown pictures.

Other than the noise annoyance, the case is pretty solid. The fan isn't about to die.

DI

deCarnac
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Mar 19, 2006 3:42 pm
Location: Norrköping, Sweden

Post by deCarnac » Sun Mar 19, 2006 4:14 pm

Found and bought a NeoPowerHE 430 on sale today. To my horror, I later found the incompatibility post script on SPCR.

Europe version (230V AC).
Serial no: S05090011xxx
The warranty seal is intact.

The box says "Compatible with all ATX12V systems", so I plugged it into my current setup:
motherboard: Asus A7V880
CPU: AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1400
graphics card: Asus Radeon 9200SE 128Mb
256 Mb RAM
1 CD-writer
2 hard drives
1 120mm fan + 1 80 mm fan

Symptoms:
Fans started, LEDs lit up, built-in sound card probably started (crackle from the speakers), but nothing more happened. I then tried disconnecting the case fan, which made everything stop completely (except for the MB LED), including a speaker crackle. Without the fan connected, the system would not even start fans and LEDs. I tried various connection combos of the five outlets, with no apparent change in effect.


I plan to use it with my future silent system where I'll need an ATX12V2 compatible PSU:
motherboard: Epox K8T890CE (EP-9HEAI)
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+
graphics card: Gigabyte Radeon X1300 Pro 256MB Silent Pipe
1 Gb RAM
1-2 hard drive(s)
2 120mm fans

Subsequent actions:
2006-02-20
Contacted Antec via their TroubleTicket-system, describing the problem.
2006-02-21
Got the following answer from Antec:
Your ASUS A7V880 is actually not an ATX12V system since it does not use the ATX12V connector(4pin). But you can get it to work with the power supply by adding more components and fans. As for the Epox motherboard, that motherboard will work with our power supply. You might want to look at other motherboards like Intel, Abit, or MSI.
Within an hour, I replied asking about how much power must be drawn from which connectors in order to get the system running.
2006-02-22
Got the following answer from Antec:
The NeoHE needs a minimum load of 1A on the +12V rails. Just try to install the cables to your power supply as far apart as you can.
They are quoting the ATX12V2.2 spec. But I have a hard time believing my system draws less than 1A on 12V.
2006-02-25
Figured Mike C's description of the issue is satisfactory; that many systems draw merely a tiny current at 12V before POST and that it can be fairly easily resolved by adding something that draws at least about 0.5A as soon as it gets voltage. Will not bother Antec with more questions. A pity they didn't supply this explanation on their website though. Now they get bashed even though they fulfilled the spec.
2006-04-08
Tested my NeoHE 430 in a friend's system (MSI motherboard, one fan at 12V). It all powered up nicely. Would change my poll vote if I could.
Last edited by deCarnac on Sun Apr 09, 2006 4:27 am, edited 6 times in total.

SixToes
Posts: 66
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2003 2:05 am
Location: London

Antec NeoHE 380

Post by SixToes » Mon Mar 20, 2006 2:11 am

My Antec NeoHE 380 experience:

The Good:
-Amazingly quiet
-Modular cabling is great
-Seems stable once working, although it's a bit too early to say this

The Bad:
-I can't undervolt as I could with my TruePower 330. I've had to give CPU, RAM, and chipset more voltage. I'm checking this isn't caused by re-assenbly gremlins at the moment, but to get my setup Prime stable I have to increase voltages so much the system overheats. To be fair I have changed my cooling setup quite a bit and it isn't working correctly yet, but I was suprised to have to increase voltages.
-Could do with more Molex connectors in the package. I run 2 optical drives, 1 HD, 1 FD (uses a Molex with an adaptor) and 2 case fans. This uses every single Molex connector supplied so I have to run the CPU fan off the motherboard.

[EDIT - Sorry, missed out the requested technical details]
PSU
Serial number: Will check later
Purchase source: Ebuyer
Purchase date: 13 March 2006

Motherboard
Make: Abit
Model: NF7
Revision: Will check later, but probably the latest
BIOS: Will check later, but probably the latest

elaking
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2006 5:38 pm
Location: Linköping, Sweden

Update

Post by elaking » Tue Mar 21, 2006 9:12 am

Hm, noticed I didn't write anything about my success or failure when adding more fans - it didn't work anyway so I RMA:d it.

(My first post is here)
After letting my package lie at the postal office for a week and after another week has passed since they went there to get it I today got an answer, not entirely surprising they say my PSU is not faulty at all... They did ask me what I want them to do, whether they should continue troubleshooting or send it back to me. We'll see what they'll say, I replied with "as long as you send me a PSU that is guaranteed to work with nForce4 cards I'm happy". Gah, I don't want to pay for their testing and whatever if they say my PSU is working when it's not :cry:
Last edited by elaking on Tue Mar 21, 2006 10:57 am, edited 1 time in total.

veryevilmike
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2005 7:21 pm
Location: Perth, AU

Post by veryevilmike » Tue Mar 21, 2006 9:44 pm

I have a newly bought antec p150 with a neo 430 (s/n 0510xxxxxx) running the following:

AMD x2 4200
DFI RS482
1x Seagate Spinpoint 250gig SATA
Sony DVD via PATA/molex plug

Now, for the purposes of this description, consider "nearest" to be the plugs closest to you when the side acess panel is open (socket 1), and furthest to be the modular psu socket that is nearest the motherboard, ie a pain to get to. (socket 5)

Now i built this new system using 1x SATA modular power cable and 1x Molex power cable. Initially I set it up such that the SATA was in the nearest socket (1) and the Molex on the 2nd nearest (2). Everything worked fine - install, prime95, repeated reboots.

Then after having installed winxp and just tidying up wiring etc, moved them down so that using the two furthest sockets (4 and 5). Then get the same problems as many others - case fans spin up, motherboard LED is on but no power to the chip or drives.

Moving the sockets back to the nearest scenario fixes it again, as does moving it to the furtherest and 3rd furtherest (3 and 5). Like everyone else using a noisy cheap psu works fine. It works but I plan to add more drives to this to turn it into a media server and will need the extra power plugs so its going back.
Last edited by veryevilmike on Thu Mar 23, 2006 1:02 am, edited 1 time in total.

oldabelincoln
Posts: 144
Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2003 3:46 pm
Location: Silicon Valley

Post by oldabelincoln » Wed Mar 22, 2006 8:42 pm

Works OK with ASUS as per sig, but requires minimum load on each 12V rail. I voted in the poll as "OK, but..."

Motherboard, case, memory and CPU purchased 2/16/06 from Central Computer, Sunnyvale, California, from in-store stock. Cases were stacked about 4 feet high at that time. Note that Central has 2 locations, and it is unclear what you will get if you mail order or buy from the San Francisco store. They were out of the motherboard on 2/13, and had good stocks on 2/16, so apparently they have turnover.

Warranty seal was broken, and I informed Antec by email.

Initial tests would not work with only one power cable plugged in, giving the symptoms that have been documented here many times.

I followed the advice given here on balancing load to give at least 1 amp on each 12V rail, and it worked fine. I use 2 cables plugged into the PSU thus, reading from left to right facing the PS from front:
  • 1-no | 2-yes | 3-no | 4-yes | 5-no | 24&4 pin fixed cables.
I took no special precautions about which device went on which cable, and that has changed many times as I redid things for one reason or another, so it's unlikely that anything more than a 1A load per rail is needed.

Before installing XP, I ran over 12 hours of Memtest, no errors. Since then I have also logged a few hours on CPUburn, Prime 95, and Burnintest, all with no errors.

This is a system for my wife, with lots of disk in Raid 0+1, no gaming, everything stock out of the box, no BIOS updates. 3 drives are suspended, with the 4th in a sled above the uppermost suspended disk (clearance is tight, but no mod is needed, and temps appear OK, but I do have 2 92 mm fans going in front). Temps match Mike C's Thailand system as detailed in his article here, just as you'd expect from similar configurations. I put in the front fans because of the 4 disks, not because of ambient temperatures.

Pros: Many, many, as noted in all reviews. No point in repeating them, all the features work well. Excellent case engineering, PSU is very quiet.

Cons: PSU issues should not have happened in the first place, but the work-around worked fine for me. The quality of the case is such that the worst design issues for me are:
- The reset button requires a lot more pressure than the power button because the linkages are different. You have to check the power light to be sure that the reset worked - the switch really needs to have a detent so that you can tell it worked by feel.
- I'd much rather have an all black version of the case.
- No removeable motherboard tray, an annoyance for people with very large hands and very large heatsinks.

All in all, I'm very happy with this build, and I'm glad that I took the plunge after waiting for the PSU issue to be resolved.

aidanapword
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2006 5:29 am

Neo HE430 and A7N8X failed ...

Post by aidanapword » Thu Mar 23, 2006 5:36 am

All,
PSU SN: S05100027720

Failed in all configurations on the rails ... 4 IDE drives (2 HDD, 2 Optical) ...

I do note that the M/board does not use a VCore +12V supply ... is this a fundamental incompatibility (not sure I am missing something on the ATX specs!)? I ... don't think so, as I have seen others on this topic using a similar board - but I have been wrong before.

Received over the week-end from Ebuyer.co.uk.

Reading this topic with dismay ... will try it in my mother in laws machine (if RMA doesn't happen 1st) ... PcChips oard ... but I don't hold out much hope.

:D

Trevor

GoranS
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2004 2:03 pm
Location: Ronneby, Sweden

Post by GoranS » Thu Mar 23, 2006 7:59 am

oldabelincoln wrote:I followed the advice given here on balancing load to give at least 1 amp on each 12V rail, and it worked fine. I use 2 cables plugged into the PSU thus, reading from left to right facing the PS from front:
  • 1-no | 2-yes | 3-no | 4-yes | 5-no | 24&4 pin fixed cables.
I took no special precautions about which device went on which cable, and that has changed many times as I redid things for one reason or another, so it's unlikely that anything more than a 1A load per rail is needed.
I got an answer from Antecs technical support that said that the 4 pin & 24 pin fixed cables for the MB draws power from different rails. The tech guy did not tell me explicitly that the fixed 4 pin connector draws power from the 3:rd rail but that would be my guess. These two pictures show the configuration of the connectors. [Picture1] [Picture2] You will have to look at both images to se how the circuits are connected. Here is my interpretation of how things are connected.

Code: Select all

    rail2    |       rail3      |  rail1

 +---+---+---+---+---+----------+----------+
 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4pin[MB] | 24pin[MB]
 +---+---+---+---+---+----------+----------+


 1...6 = Five 6-pin sockets, MB = fixed connector to the motherboard. 
My system.
Case: P150 => NeoHE 430: serial 0512xxx
MB: Asus A8N-VM CSM
CPU: AMD 64 3200+
RAM: 2x512 Kingston value ram.
HD: 2x 250 GB Barracuda 7200.9 (SATA II)
DVD: Nec ND-4570
Flopy: Sony generic.

I hooked up the two barracudas to connector nr. 5 and DVD, floppy and TriCool fan to nr. 4.

This works as long as I have the noisy stock CPU fan connected. When I disconnect it, the PS will not power on. Cranking up the TriCool on high makes the system power on again.

Edit:
If my assumptions are correct this setup leaves rail 2 completely unused, and this seems to work with my PSU. I read another post saying the same placement of connectors did not work, so I don't really know what to make of it. Different loads from the components perhaps?

It is pretty clear the startup load on my PSU is close to the lower limit. I may have to add additional load to make it completely stable. I don’t think I really need extra fans and they would add noise. I may opt for one or more power resistors as per MikeCs description in http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... 051#254051 (at my own risk!).

The warranty sticker was torn almost all the way through. I don't think it is possible that someone actually opened the PSU. But the sticker looks like it could brake on it's own at any moment. :?
The strap holding the cables in place inside the case was broken, leaving the cables on the bottom of the case. The TriCool fan had a nasty clicking sound to it as well. All these things lead me to believe that my case has been subjected to some serious bumps during transportation. :?

culs
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2006 1:59 pm

Post by culs » Sun Mar 26, 2006 2:05 pm

My P150 with the PS ( S0511006xxxx) has been running in assemble mode for 2-3 days (drives hanging loose and resting on inner case wall).

I used the stock AMD heat sink and fan, seems quiet enough to me. The exhaust fan is on medium speed and I will watch the temps as I install the drives ( 1 floppy, 1 hard, 1 CD-RW)...so far the DFI RS482 MB has run OK...no overclocking yet.

I am not sure if 'Cool 'n Quiet ' is working.... I have read to see what I can learn from those who have set it up.

I have been reading the SANDRA Lite reports and guess so far to have lucked out to have a PSU that works!

dterrell
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Apr 02, 2006 1:09 pm
Location: Austin, TX

Antec Neo HE 430 Incompatibility

Post by dterrell » Sun Apr 02, 2006 2:11 pm

Forums like these are the place to check before buying components!

Bought my Antec Neo HE 430 P/S from Buy.com to use with an ASUS A8N-E motherboard. It would not run for more than a few minutes without powering down. RMA'ed for a replacement but checked the forums and found this is a known problem. I pinged Antec for "good" vs. "bad" serial numbers and got this response:

Yes we can determine if you have the older version of the NeoHE that has problems with the Asus boards, or the newer one that works fine with them. The new versions start with S0512. There are many new versions with the serial number S0511, but since that was the month the changes were made, we would need to run your entire serial number to see if it is an older version or the new one.

Bottom line - If you purchase this P/S be sure get one with a SN starting with S0512 OR GREATER!

ljohnston20003
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Apr 02, 2006 7:34 pm

Where can you find the latest models of NeoHE550?

Post by ljohnston20003 » Sun Apr 02, 2006 7:47 pm

I currently have a NeoHE550 sitting on the table waiting to be installed, but unfortunately it has the S0511... serial number. Once I get all the parts together, I'm sure I'll be holding my breath to see if I'm one of the lucky ones without a bad unit. I ordered this on-line. I have since gone to Best Buy and Micro Center and they both have units only with the same serial number. (It was a hassle at Best Buy to let me see the serial number, which, of course, is hidden and sealed up inside the shrink-wrapped box.) Does anyone know of a source for units with a later number?

I understand that much of the problem with the older units has been cleared up with a change made by ASUS in their bios. Is this true? Maybe I have the necessary updated bios in my ASUS board that I just bought, or else I'll have to hope to get my PC running long enough at least to flash the new bios!

cia
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Mar 10, 2006 6:29 am

Post by cia » Wed Apr 05, 2006 3:04 pm

Got my Neo HE430 to work after I hooked up 12V lines from opposite ends of the removable connectors to my 6800GS video card. Until then I had no power up at all.

RickTaylor
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 7:50 am

Post by RickTaylor » Thu Apr 06, 2006 8:49 am

Motherboard: BIOSTAR TForce6100 Socket 754 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX AMD
(purchased from newegg April 2006: I'll insert the bios when I get a replacement power supply that allows the board to post)

Power Supply: Antec NeoPower HE 380. S05110075643
(purchased from Fry's March 4, 2006)

Summary of results: Board would not post

Originally, turning on power to the unit resulted in the power light going on briefly and then off. After going removing all peripherals, the power came on and stayed on, but the unit would not post. One one occasion it did post, but usually it would just sit there, with the light on doing nothing. I traveled to a computer club (one hour drive each way, $30 to join) where I had access to spare parts, and eventually thought to try replacing the power supply; problem fixed.


Follow up: I contacted Antec and verified that the serial number of my power unit was one of the ones known to have difficulties with Asus motherboards. I am floored that this is a known problem, and units weren't recalled to be upgraded. The net effect is that a customer like myself must spend hours diagnosing the problem.

Follow up 2: I decided to try the power supply in my older (20 pin) unit: A dual Pentium board, Tiger Tyan 230 (revision 1.03). It did the exact same thing; the fan spun up briefly, but then nothing happened.

madlee
Posts: 44
Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2003 10:13 pm

Post by madlee » Sat Apr 08, 2006 10:19 am

Purchased an Antec 150 w/Neo PSU from Newegg 4/4/06.


PSU: NEO HE 430 serial # S05110052508 warranty tag broken
CPU: ATHLON XP 1800
MB: ABIT KW7
BIOS: UNKNOWN (board won't POST)


symptoms: depending on where I insert the connectors into the PSU, I get varying results.

the front LEDs all light up in one position. In another, the LEDs are on, the HDDs (2) turn on, the 2 optical drives turn on and the 3 fans (cpu, 120mm back case and a 92 mm front) all work.

ram light doesn't go on ever.

It's a new board, so I'm going to try another PSU to see if it's the board or the PSU.


****UPDATE****

went to best buy and picked up a truepower 430 v2.0

it was the only one they had and it was open box without and cellophane around it. I figured they probably tested it so, I bought it.

brought it home, and plugged it in. same symptoms as the neo he430.

fans work, hdds work, cd drives work, video card heatsink is warm, cpu heatsink is warm, modem lights up.

no post, no ram light.

now I'm really thinking it's the motherboard. however, I can't be for sure since I don't have a known working psu with the dual 12v.

what's the likelyhood that all those things work and the mb is still doa?

ARGGGH!



*****UPDATE*****

returned the truepower 2.0 to best buy and picked up their dynex atx12v 1.3 350watt psu. came home plugged it in. still dead. I now assume I have a dead motherboard.

called newegg this morning and they said they have been getting substantial returns on this abit kw7. they were cool about it, crediting my return postage. so... I'm going to order another one and cross my fingers...

I also still don't know if the neo he works or not.

Fixerman
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Apr 11, 2006 12:05 am

Solution in brief

Post by Fixerman » Tue Apr 11, 2006 12:32 am

If you have an Antec Neo HE PSU, it may seem to be defective (because it won't power up your computer). However, this may not be the case. Basically this is the problem (I think) and solution:

The Antec Neo HE PSU has to have a minimum current draw on each 12V rail or it just turns off and will seem like a defective PSU. So if you're computer is not turning on , just add more stuff in your case to consume power and it is best to put some power consuming device attached to the first and last slot. (You need a minimum of 1 amp on each rail, the mobo is rail 1, slots 1-3 (left to right looking straight at them) are on rail 2, and slots 4-5 are on rail 3.) Then when you try to power on the computer, it works! Hopefully it will stay that way.

I just posted this to put all the useful info I found in reading this thread in one place. I have the PSU (SN S05110063503), it wouldn't turn the computer (mobo A7N8x-E Deluxe) on. I added stuff to the 12V rails, like the info above says. Everything works now. I just need the test of time, as it has only been on 3 hours.

notareal
Posts: 67
Joined: Mon Jul 11, 2005 9:03 am
Location: Finland

Re: Solution in brief

Post by notareal » Tue Apr 11, 2006 2:18 am

Fixerman wrote:The Antec Neo HE PSU has to have a minimum current draw on each 12V rail or it just turns off and will seem like a defective PSU. So if you're computer is not turning on , just add more stuff in your case to consume power and it is best to put some power consuming device attached to the first and last slot. (You need a minimum of 1 amp on each rail, the mobo is rail 1, slots 1-3 (left to right looking straight at them) are on rail 2, and slots 4-5 are on rail 3.) Then when you try to power on the computer, it works! Hopefully it will stay that way.
True, NeoHE needs minimum 1A at +12V rail, but seems that it won't need that load on every rail - you can leave the rail that has no shared load from fixed motherboard cables empty, if total load is enough. Sometimes (like with my NeoHE) minimum load needed to power on is much greater than 1A per rail. Also what I have understood rails are actually located differently, if you look picture1 and picture2; +12V2 rail uses 1 - 3 slots from left and +12V3 rail uses 4 - 5 slots from left. Antec support told me about the third rail (+12V1 that is not shown in those pictures) "The other +12V rail is being used by the 4pin ATX12V connector for the CPU only.". You should note that 24-pin connection does share +12V with rail2 or rail3, most likely with rail3.

Little update to my HeoHE saga:
I just got a message from Antec from what I undertand that NeoHE with S/N starting 0601 or higher should be OK (atleast with MSI K8NGM2-FID) "The newest NeoHE that we have has been tested using your motherboard. This power supply should work fine.". Should I give a chance for the second RMA? I wonder if anyone with S0601 NeoHE and MSI K8NGM2-FID using only onboard graphics can confirm this.
Last edited by notareal on Tue Apr 11, 2006 11:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Wirrunna
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Aug 06, 2005 4:07 am
Location: South Coast, NSW, Australia

Post by Wirrunna » Tue Apr 11, 2006 5:54 am

Antec P150 case and supplied NeoHE power supply s/n S05100032788 works fine with Asus A8N-VM CSM and MSI RS480M2-IL motherboards.
Worked from first power up, power leads plugged into opposite ends of the 5 sockets on the power supply.
I did have a problem with intermittant system crashes but it has gone away since I unplugged an Arctic Fan 12 (that I installed instead of the supplied Tri-Cool) from the motherboard system fan socket and powered it via a molex to 3 pin adapter.
The supply voltage in Australia is 240 volts, maybe that also affects the Neo operation.

MikeC
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Post by MikeC » Tue Apr 11, 2006 12:05 pm

madlee wrote:called newegg this morning and they said they have been getting substantial returns on this abit kw7. they were cool about it, crediting my return postage. so... I'm going to order another one and cross my fingers...

I also still don't know if the neo he works or not.
It's really not a question of whether it works but whether it works with your particular board. If there is no incompatibility, as long as there is 1A on the 12V line from your system, it should power up without any problems. The combined 5V + 3.3V capacity is at least 120W, which is probably enough for your CPU. You will only find out by trying.

I'd suggest powering up the new board with one of the other PSUs first to make sure the board is OK. Then try the NeoHE. If it doesn't work, just add some stuff on the 12V line -- a couple fans, PSUs, whatever. See if that changes things. If this does change it, then you want to RMA the PSU.

HlfOrange
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:27 am

me too

Post by HlfOrange » Tue Apr 11, 2006 5:00 pm

I have exactly the same problem as h4rb1ng3r on page one of this post.

I have an Antec NeoHe 500w with a S0510... serial number connected to an Asus A8N32Sli Deluxe and an Amd 3800 Dual core processor in an Antec P180 case.

If I run any graphics intensive software : a game or 3D-Mark benchmark the computer switches off, usually about 30seconds into 3DMark 06. I assumed it was my XFX 7800GT but that´s been tested and works fine with other comps and motherboards.

Today I submitted a ticket to Antec asking for help. They replied within a few hours and directed me to the Microsoft Dual Core hotfix.
A good idea but one I´d already tried. It actually got me a few more seconds into the benchmark when I originally applied it. I also have the newest CPU drivers for dual core and XP from AMD.

So I´ve replied with this info to Antec and I´ll let you know what they say.

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