Tuesday, January 11th 2011
Antec PSUs Achieve Lowest Failure Rate: Study
Antec, Inc., the global leader in high-performance computer components and accessories for the gaming, PC upgrade and Do-It-Yourself markets, has again achieved the lowest failure return rate for its power supply units (PSUs), based on the release of an independent comparative study on PSU failure return rates from Hardware.fr. The study, carried out by Hardware.fr, a leading French web site dedicated to providing the latest independent hardware information for consumers, placed Antec in the forefront of the competition for achieving the lowest overall failure rates of power supplies with consumers.
The comparison study utilized a calculation base of the number of power supplies sold between October 1, 2009 and April 1, 2010. The study parameters required the PSUs to have been active for six months to one year, and the failure rates of the PSUs measured were taken from a major French e-tailer. The statistics "per brand" were based on a minimum of 500 PSUs sold and the statistics "per model" were based on a minimum of 100 PSUs sold. For statistics "per brand", Antec earned a rating of 0.61 percent, securing its number one spot for having the lowest rate of power supply returns. The figure below displays the statistics "per brand" comparison results.
"Throughout its 25 year history, Antec has remained a consumer-centric company. For the third time a row, the results in this independent study underscore the reliability and value of Antec power supplies," said Scott Richards, senior vice president, Antec. "We're proud of this recognition because it is product related, not just a popularity vote. The results serve as a testament to our focus on quality. It is the only independent survey of its kind I know of anywhere in the world so it is relevant to consumers everywhere."
Additional information and access to the complete Hardware.fr study, is available here.
The comparison study utilized a calculation base of the number of power supplies sold between October 1, 2009 and April 1, 2010. The study parameters required the PSUs to have been active for six months to one year, and the failure rates of the PSUs measured were taken from a major French e-tailer. The statistics "per brand" were based on a minimum of 500 PSUs sold and the statistics "per model" were based on a minimum of 100 PSUs sold. For statistics "per brand", Antec earned a rating of 0.61 percent, securing its number one spot for having the lowest rate of power supply returns. The figure below displays the statistics "per brand" comparison results.
- Antec 0.61%
- CoolerMaster 1.10%
- Fortron 1.29%
- Thermaltake 1.39%
- Corsair 1.68%
- Enermax 2.47%
- Seasonic 3.32%
"Throughout its 25 year history, Antec has remained a consumer-centric company. For the third time a row, the results in this independent study underscore the reliability and value of Antec power supplies," said Scott Richards, senior vice president, Antec. "We're proud of this recognition because it is product related, not just a popularity vote. The results serve as a testament to our focus on quality. It is the only independent survey of its kind I know of anywhere in the world so it is relevant to consumers everywhere."
Additional information and access to the complete Hardware.fr study, is available here.
45 Comments on Antec PSUs Achieve Lowest Failure Rate: Study
comparing a bunch of brands (many of which are built by the same 2 manufacturers) and getting drastically different results is a load of bullshit.. all should be near each other, with the exception of enermax.. plus seasonic having the worst failures is very hard to digest, since they are renowned for having the highest quality of components and praised for the brands which use it (pcp&c, corsair, antec,etc. ), AND the fact that most antecs (Which scored so damn good) are built by seasonic themselves.
where is the data? testing methods? who was the oem for the psu's tested?
also, if antec is so damn good, why is their warranty 3 years, vs the up to 10 years offered by solid, built-by-seasonic, brands.
Are the sample sizes large enough to be scientifically valid? Where is the data relating to the time-to-failure (aka DOA vs 2 months and then failure)?
I'd like more info on their methodology.
So returns, does this mean even an item that is in working condition, and just returned for a different item?
And a 1yr span?! I would prefer a RMA list of items 2+ yrs old before warranty runs out to see the % of failures over the % of items returned over the span of a year.
Interesting none the less.
IMO two years is too long to justify quality, alot of things change by then.. And also I'm assuming the returns rate is for product replacements or RMA after they buy the faulty PSU
Heh, glad I only buy Antec now. I've had stuff from FSP in the past and some others, all failed within a year or 2. If I hadn't have been forced to buy an Antec at a Best Buy when I had an emergency situation, I probably would still be buying that junk.
The point everyone should take from this is that all top brands have a failure rate below 4%. That is damned impressive for items with as many components as a PSU or HDD have.
Not unless the number of the sample are the same on each manufacturer, RMA recorded within fixed time (i.e 6 months, 1 year, etc etc).
If they are indeed right, and I don't mean to pick any side, the most selling things (in this case, psu), are highly get more RMA than any other brand.
And people with seasonic, corsair and enermax psus are often OCed their pc, if not extreme. We all know what could it be if you pushed your hardware to the limit
I will say that I have an Antec TruePower-II going on 6 years of 24/7 that is still running like a champ.
We need to know what percentage of HX-xxx's (with the 7-year warranty), HX-xxx's (with the 5-year warranty) and CX-400's (the crappy one's) etc. individually. This would be helpful.
Seasonic, the makers of Corsair and Antec is at the bottom of the list?? Does not make sense to me at all. As far as i am concerned, Seasonic changed the game on PSUs when it comes to quality long life components and stable effecient products since 2005 when they started out as the first to have the 80 PLUS certification.