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[blafrisch]

I just blew my Antec Smartpower 500 because the new case I got shorted the motherboard.  The more frustrating part is that I have to take out all the drives to put a new power supply in there.  Anyone ever have to deal with an RMA to Antec.  Will they take something that was caused by a short?  It's probably just a fuse inside the PSU, but since it's still under warranty (Black Friday 2005 purchase date) I figure I should just try the RMA.

Anyone else ever fry stuff with a short?  I've had shorts before, but nothing ever died.

[urgannagru]

i have called antec before and they were easy to get a hold of and friendly. that having been said, it wasn't for an RMA, it was dor a replacement part i wanted to buy, but i digress. if you don't tell them it was a short, how will they know? all they will check for when you send it back is if it works or not, and if not they will send a new one. besides, its in their budget to know that x% of people will be sending them back, and they can reuse the parts rather than letting it sit in a dump.

the only thing i have ever fried with a short is a motherboard, but maybe i'm lucky? definitely check new cases for clearance before turning them on though, it seems like standoffs aren't tall enough these days or companies are getting lazier at tolerances, or maybe motherboard makers are letting the solder hang too much or something. i've had a few fry with this current generation of gear and had to buy taller standoffs, which made the board not fit in the case quite right.

[Hak Foo]

Well, I had a fairly positive RMA experience when my SP-500 went kaput (the machine became ultra-unstable with the PSU in, but swapping a spare 350W unit in fixed everything)-- the process was quick enough-- print out some forms, fill them out, scan them in, and email them in with scans of the reciepts, and the replacement PSU came quick.  However, I'm a "keep the reciepts, keep the box, keep everything" sort of person.  I recall they had trouble with PNG images of the scans, but otherwise, I was very pleased.  The replacement PSU seemed new, and was even an updated model (old SP-500s have 24+4 plugs, later ones have 24+8-to-4).

[pinkpanther]

I returned an Antec w/o receipt the other month.  All you do is call, they ask for the S/N off the PSU.  They tell you it's OK or not to RMA.  They issue the number, and you mail them the defective PSU.  I think the whole process took about two weeks to get the new one.

[blafrisch]

Well I got a Ultra V-Series 500W PSU powering the rig right now.  It's actually the one that came with the case.  A review says it's a pretty good PSU so I may just stick with it even if I get the SP-500 RMA'd.

[blafrisch]

They did give me an Earthwatts 500W PSU that I now keep in my closet at a backup.  I'd say it played out pretty well in the end.