Would not buy again - The tale of a angry/disappointed customer

[Nuxly]

Hello there

 

I'm posting here to report about my experience with a Corsair product which may be the last one I buy from this brand, allow me to explain...

 

 

A few years back, I used my savings to build a gaming PC which I decided to power with a Corsair TX-650W.

 

Everything worked fine until yesterday, when the PSU died. Bad things happen, no problem so far.

Because the warranty had expired, I decided I'd go ahead and fix it myself (something I've done successfully several times in the past). Sometimes it's nothing more than just a dead component that needs to be replaced.

 

I opened the PSU. And closed it back in shock without attempting any repairing, after taking a couple shots I will link below.

 

I didn't go into deep exploration of the part, but here's everything I've seen from a quick examination:

- The components look like they've been soldered by a five years old. I've never seen such a thing even when we were learning to solder in middle school.

- The manufacturer had glued the components together (I'm not lying, see the pictures below), probably to prevent users from fixing the psu themselves (I can't see any other reason).

- Some of the circuits were tightly attached to the connections. They weren't screwed or held in place by anything other than the connectors joints (which had also seemingly been soldered by a drunk one-armed baby with parkinson's). Probably another strategy to prevent the users from fixing the part themselves, as this design prevents access to some of the components.

 

I've worked a very long time in a computer shop where I had to fix various parts myself, including power supplies. The power supplies I had to fix came from random chinese manufacturers that didn't even have a name (or a website, or anything for that matter). Yet these power supplies were cleanly designed and manufactured.

So now I'm wondering: what justifies the difference of price between a cheap no-name part and an expansive "high-end" part from Corsair? Why is there such a big price difference? Is it just because of the fancy cardboard and fabric packaging? Might be. Because clearly, that Corsair psu was of a lesser quality than the cheap unbranded ones (if you don't believe me, I can open one of them I still have and post pictures, you'll be surprised, cause I'm not lying or exaggerating).

 

I decided not to even try to fix my PSU, and to order a new one. But not from Corsair. I don't feel like buying any Corsair product ever again.

 

I was also planing to upgrade my motherboard, cpu, and RAM. I won't be able to do it for now because of the cost of the new psu. But when I can afford that upgrade again, I will definitely remember this misadventure when I'll have to choose the brand of my RAM sticks.

 

So yes, that's a goodbye-forever to Corsair. I might also post my pictures and comments to some hardware forums and review websites. Corsair seems to have quite a reputation when it comes to power supplies, but apparently nobody else ever opened one to discover the mess.

 

Today I really do feel like I've been robbed, because that PSU was expansive when I bought it. Again, I'm not mad because the PSU died, but because the design and manufacture is messy as hell, which is not something I can tolerate considering the price I paid and the reputation of the brand.

 

 

 

Now, time for the horror show:

 

Here's how the components are soldered

It's not appearing well because of my bad camera but it basically consists of BIG randomly-shaped bubbles of metal with sort of inward round traces, clearly indicating that whomever did this was having a hard time using a soldering iron...

http://i.share.pho.to/8c9fad24_l.jpeg

 

Here's another view of the same board, showing that it's held by the connector's joints and thus nearly impossible to remove. Notice the inaccessible components.

http://i.share.pho.to/afb58836_o.jpeg

 

This is a capacitor taking a bath in a pool of glue. If you look closely you will notice a human hair caught in the glue.

http://i.share.pho.to/8beeb7da_l.jpeg

 

Components glued together, as promised:

http://i.share.pho.to/03960739_l.jpeg

http://i.share.pho.to/feafebc3_l.jpeg

 

A resistor buried under the glue:

http://i.share.pho.to/8ef7c778_l.jpeg

 

Big mess of glue. Glue glue glue.

http://i.share.pho.to/27544175_l.jpeg

http://i.share.pho.to/1b97ec6a_l.jpeg

http://i.share.pho.to/bd325bbf_l.jpeg

[ep260]

Ridiculous. I understand that gluing components to keep them secured is pretty common, but that is just sloppy. My other PSU is mint in comparison.

[jlhawn]

that is a rubberized adhesive that keeps the parts from vibrating under heavy load so you don't get any noise such as coil wine etc. it is very common in high end electronics. so no it's not due to Corsair making cheap products, so maybe do a little research before you bash a company when it is clear you don't know much about electronics.

 

and no I don't work for Corsair, and I am not a fanboy, I have had lots of Corsair products and have built lots of computers for myself, friends, and family and have not had a Corsair product fail as of yet. I use Corsair cases, psu, mice, and fans, and all have worked perfect for me and look to be of good quality.

[Synthohol]

the hair appears to me to be from the Llama or Marmoset family.

:toomuchin: :)::laughing:

[WesternDreaming]

im just going to speak for the "big globs of solder"

 

i fond it very nice that the manufacturer has taken the time to preserve the entirety of the plate

and not "just enough" to pass a quick inspection, this is done on purpose to prevent short circuits from random magnetic dust motes that come into the case

 

the fact that the thing lasted the entire warranty period fills me with a sense of relief for my own product

[geronimo427]

I agree with jhawn. These are common manufacturing techniques that most first class manufactures use as cushioning/isolation tactics, when assembling ferro-resonant products. I have two Corsair power supplies, a VX550(8yrs), and a TX750(2yrs). They have far outlasted an Antec(1yr), and an OCZ(1.5yrs) that they replaced.

[peanutz94]

the hair appears to me to be from the Llama or Marmoset family.

:toomuchin: :)::laughing:

 

Would that be the the Bare-eared marmoset or the Buffy-tufted-ear marmoset?

 

I can't tell the pic is too fuzzy! :p::eek:;):

 

 

So yes, that's a goodbye-forever to Corsair. I might also post my pictures and comments to some hardware forums and review websites. Corsair seems to have quite a reputation when it comes to power supplies, but apparently nobody else ever opened one to discover the mess.

There are plenty of "open case" reviews for these PSU's. Not one of them say anything about poor build quality.

 

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article813-page3.html

 

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/Corsair_TX650W/packaging.php

 

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/articles/psu/corsair/tx650/corsair_tx_650_4.jsp

Just as a few examples.

[Synthohol]

in a closed case aesthetics are not required, as long as it works as described thats all that matters.

if thats what makes you drop Corsair, please dont ever eat a hotdog or chicken nugget. LOL

 

oh and Peanutz, the tufted ear one, DUH isn't it obvious?? and you call yourself a plumber... :):

[wytnyt]

in a closed case aesthetics are not required, as long as it works as described thats all that matters.

if thats what makes you drop Corsair, please dont ever eat a hotdog or chicken nugget. LOL

 

oh and Peanutz, the tufted ear one, DUH isn't it obvious?? and you call yourself a plumber... :):

 

it lasted thru the warranty so obviously it was properly constructed...