Hardware Insights Forum

OK, we have seen fake PFC on this site before. But, I tore down a HPS 680W PSU for the el-cheapo PSU roundup (much like this one), and it was a little more.... disturbing.

Frankly, at this rate, I'm surprised they used a proper X2 capacitor (on the main PCB, anyway; what about the filter section attached to the inlet?). (Those ceramic caps also look thick enough to be real Y2-class.)

And what's a Chemi-con cap doing in this abomination, anyway? (Or is it a KZG? I can only clearly tell the voltage rating from the photo.)

How many points come off for this? Or does it get a 0 anyway?

The NCC cap is a KZG, although that's unusual too as rated the ESR is usually too low for use in a PSU.

It's getting a 0, but yes, by the time I got the the uninsulated wire, I was already out of points to knock off, as it also gave us some poor voltage regulation and ripple numbers in the load testing, and the caps are junk. Otherwise, there would be a total of 4 points off - one for just having fake PFC, one for mounting it on the rear grille in the path of the exhaust air, and two for the uninsulated wire.

I just looked at that eBay listing, and the bundled power cord appears to be counterfeit. What penalty would that command (for a unit that doesn't already get a 0, that is)? (Presumably at least 5 points off, but knowing how deadly they can be under the wrong circumstances, quite possibly an instant 0 for a unit including one. On a side note, knowing that there are already loads of power cords in disuse, I might even consider a half-point off for bundling a normal power cord with the unit.)

Maybe 1-2 points, depending on the real wattage. They're fine for PCs usually. As long as you don't go using them on a crypto-currency mining rig or something like that. I realise that there's the whole short circuit argument, but primary side short on a will blow the fuse on the PSU before melting the power cord.

I understand where you are coming from, and I don't agree with bundling uncertified or undersized power cords with PSUs, but it just hasn't been enough of a problem in practice for it to be worth knocking 5 points of for.

EDIT: I would probably add an advisory in a review to junk the supplied power cable it I did consider it to be unsafe, as well as knocking a point or two off for it.

Personally, I wouldn't use a counterfeit power cord with anything; they have no guarantees that the socket contacts will be tight enough, that the insulation will hold up over the coming years (even at a suitably low load for the conductor size), that the wires are solidly attached to the terminals, that the dimensions are correct, that the wires aren't crossed, or pretty much anything, really. As for whether the PSU fuse is enough to prevent a counterfeit-cord meltdown, that would depend on the rating and response characteristics of the fuse chosen (it could be fast blow or slow blow, rated at anywhere up to 10A), and it's pretty much guaranteed that many of the IEC-type cords (counterfeit or otherwise) will be used with multiple different devices, for many years after their manufacture.

Consider also that the DHT cords had conductors several times smaller again than the one I blew up.

I suppose I could try splitting the difference: How about a uniform 3-point penalty for a counterfeit cord? (The rating of the PSU it originally came with becomes irrelevant as soon as someone uses the cord for something else, which leads me to think that even a 200W unit, for example, should get the same penalty as a 600W model would have.)

Even if you put a warning in the manual that the cord should never be used with anything else, it's doubtful that anyone would read it.

Well, after this (http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?na ... 5&reid=293) maybe you're right. 3 points it is. More than likely, though, I'll actually cut the power cord open and check whether the wires are of a decent thickness or not and score based on what I see there.

That said, though. In the case of this unit, I'm not going to do it, simply because my unit was removed from a PC and I never got the cord with it.

My suggestion for future reviews:

• Examine the cord for approval logos. If they are absent, there's a good chance you have a counterfeit on your hands. They have been forged, though (on the DHT cords for example).
• Measure the resistance if you can; the procedure will also alert you to possible mis-wiring of the cord (not that it hasn't happened with cords from known brands — there was a case recently of wrongly wired HPM extension cords that had to be recalled — but it's more likely with counterfeits than anything else).
• Attempt to press your thumbnail into the outer sheath of the cord. This should not leave more than a slight dent, that will almost disappear after a short time. If the sheath breaks, then the cord is (not might be) a counterfeit.

If the cord indeed appears to be counterfeit, proceed to cut it open and show us inside.

Also, I've seen a few strangely stiff light-duty 0.75mm² cords — so stiff that an ordinary-duty 1.0mm² cord is more flexible. Having cut one open, the conductors are as normal, and the markings on the cord are as expected, but it's weird nonetheless. Also, the sockets are so tight that they take an absurd amount of force to insert or remove. That can't be good.

I suppose each of those issues gets a 1-point deduction, for a total of 2 points off. Not as bad as an outright counterfeit, but still rather undesirable.

Also, the sockets on them have fake-looking UL, CSA, and CCC logos, with what appears to be a UL file number (E208969) but goes nowhere. Either it's an unusually good counterfeit or the manufacturer is just stupid. I haven't tried it under any great load.