A Look Inside & Component Analysis

Before reading this page, we strongly suggest a look at this article, which will help you understand the internal components of a PSU much better. Our main tool for the disassembly of the PSU is a Thermaltronics TMT-9000S soldering and rework station. It is of extreme quality and is equipped with a matching de-soldering gun. With such equipment in hand, breaking apart every PSU is like a walk in the park!


The unit is made by HEC/Compucase and uses an older platform, which has, however, been updated with the addition of two DC-DC converters to its secondary side for the generation of the minor rails. The main PCB is small, which makes sense given how small of a chassis is used, and the heatsinks aren't that large for a Bronze PSU with a capacity of 600 W. The build quality is fair, especially for Cougar's asking price, and after the top panel had been removed, we were immediately greeted by Teapo filtering caps. Thankfully, HEC didn't use Chinese caps of lesser quality; however, the Teapo SC caps this unit uses don't feature a very long lifetime, either.


A small PCB holds the AC receptacle and the power switch, along with two Y caps, an X cap, and a CM choke. The transient filtering stage continues on the main PCB with two more Y caps, an additional X cap, and another CM choke. We also spotted a small MOV for protection against spikes from the mains network.


The two bridge rectifiers are bolted to a dedicated heatsink. Two GBU1006 rectifiers are used. These can easily handle up to 20 A of current combined, which is enough to cover the needs of this PSU.


We had to remove the PFC's choke and the bulk cap in order to provide a better look at the PFC converter's FETs and its diode. Two Fairchild FDP18N50 FETs and an NXP BYC10 600 boost diode are used. The CapXon bulk cap is unfortunately not only of a low capacity (330uF) but of low quality since it is rated at only 85°C. Most PSUs, even budget ones, use 105°C bulk caps which last much longer than 85°C ones.


The main FETs are two Fairchild FDP18N50s.


A small PCB hosts the combo PFC/PWM controller, a Champion CM6800.


Four SG60N04P FETs generate the +12V rail. The IC that is used to drive these FETs is a Sync Power SP6019 IC.


A couple DC-DC converters generate the minor rails. In total, eight UBIQ QM3006D FETs are used, and each VRM has its own PWM controller, an ANPEC APW7164.


The rectifier is a MBR10U40CT SBR, and the standby PWM controller is a TNY279PN.


The filtering caps in the secondary side are by Teapo and belong to the SC series. Depending on their size, their lifetime ranges from 1,000-3,000 hours. These can't be compared to Chemi-Con's KY caps with a lifetime of 4,000-10,000 hours, or even KZE caps since those last 2,000-5,000 hours. However, Japanese caps cost much more and are, as such, more likely to be used in far more expensive PSUs. For a PSU supported by a 3-year warranty in the US, the Teapo SC caps look like a decent choice, a much better one than Chinese-made caps. However, don't expect these SC caps to last for a very long time since especially the small ones will quickly depreciate in performance under high operating temperatures. Make sure to keep this PSU's operating temperature at close to 30 °C if you want it to survive for quite a while. We would prefer a semi-modular design and higher quality caps in the secondary side instead, but Cougar sought to take a different route. Yet with 230V input, thermal losses will be lower than with 115VAC, which has Cougar provide a 5-year warranty in the EU.


This PCB holds the protections IC, a Weltrend WT7527V, which doesn't offer over temperature protection (OTP).


On the primary side of the modular PCB are three pretty large Teapo SC caps for some extra ripple filtering on the rails.


Soldering quality is pretty good, especially for a budget PSU. However, we spotted some component leads that are longer than we would like.


The 120mm HDB fan is by Power Logic. Its model number is PLA12025S12M ZP, and it spins at low speeds under normal operating conditions, which has it produce very little noise.