Mushkin Bargain Bin PSUs, terrible!

Bobnova · 12-22-10, 12:19 AM

Mushkin has a tuesday Bargain Bin these days with some pretty seriously low prices, $20 for 650w PSUs, $35 for 128gb SSDs, that sort of thing.
The downside? 30 day warranty.

I bought two 650w PSUs, tested one and it worked fine, the other I got lazy (uhoh) and did not test.
Last night I decided to test it, so I plugged it into my main box with the intention of doing some light benching, it fired right up, then while in bios it went ZZZOT, gave a blue flash out the back, and was dead as a doornail.

I unplugged and opened it up, and A) the soldering is lousy, B) they didn't wash the flux off after soldering, and C) it's been stored in a wet warehouse! Corrosion everywhere! It's no wonder it failed. So much for giving that to my friend!

I then opened the first one, which worked, and found it to have marginally better soldering, a bit less flux, and plenty of corrosion there, too.
So much for that gift!
Just for giggles I tried to put it into their online RMA form and the form denies the very existence of such a PSU!
Worse, today I checked the bargain bin and found another stack of the same PSUs being sold, so how you're supposed to get warranty service on them is beyond me.
I'm now out $40 (at least they were cheap!), and y'all've been warned: You get what you pay for.

CharlieCS · 12-22-10, 08:33 AM

Flux will cause corrosion,I doubt they were stored in a wet warehouse.Also I believe the stuff from the bargain bin doesn't qualify for regular warranty and most of the items are discontinued models,which is likely why you didn't find the models listed on the RMA form. If you bought these less then 30 day ago,you should contact costumer service,but I am not sure they will help you ,since you did open the units.

Super Nade · 12-22-10, 10:02 AM

Can you post some pics?

Bobnova · 12-22-10, 10:08 AM

I'll take my camera to work and take some pics.

Warranty wise I'm out of luck because I waited too long.

Nebulous · 12-22-10, 11:44 AM

Well that does suck

Even if you're out of warranty, I say call them up and explain the situation. Won't hurt to try

MattNo5ss · 12-22-10, 11:47 AM

Either way, you got a working 650W for $40

Marshmallow64 · 12-22-10, 01:02 PM

Sucks =/

Bobnova · 12-22-10, 02:08 PM

Ok here we go, these are pics of the worse of the two units.
The other one that actually functions i'm going to use as a dedicated peltier PSU, if it chunks itself and kills a $12 pelt i don't care much :P
Chunking my brother's computer wouldn't be quite so good.

EDIT:
The last pic is the AC receptacle, note the partially soldered main lead. Classy!

gofaster87 · 12-22-10, 02:17 PM

Wow, that is even worse than I expected.

Bobnova · 12-22-10, 02:23 PM

I was certainly less then impressed!
I don't know what failed on that one, the fuse is still intact. I plan to desolder it and see what is usable and what is junk.
The main cap has a tiny amount of bulging in the cap, small enough that i can almost think it's my imagination.

maxfly · 12-22-10, 05:08 PM

that is the worst soldering work ive seen in a psu.

Deathhorse · 12-22-10, 05:42 PM

wow that's all spot soldering wth its just globbed everywhere. you should send them those pictures. Maybe that was a returned unit that got mixed in to refurbs.

moocow · 12-22-10, 07:41 PM

Thats some pro soldering.

My soldering is better than that and I dont even know how to solder

jmdixon85 · 12-22-10, 07:47 PM

MAN! That is unreal! How can a company be even allowed to sell such a poor PSU! (or even make one) Looks like a 5yr old has been let loose with a soldering iron! Im actually in shock how bad that is

Honestly, it looks like that has been made to purposely wreck someones pc

updawg · 12-22-10, 08:19 PM

Post it on their forums they have a thread for Bargain Bin with a link to the pictures, they will resolve it ASAP due to the bad publicity.

Bobnova · 12-22-10, 09:14 PM

Hey now that's a good plan, thanks!

johan851 · 12-23-10, 11:52 AM

Used to be that Mushkin was a top-notch company. They had the best RAM around and amazing support. I browsed through their forums just now and I'm sort of unimpressed - seems they've fallen behind. Bummer.

Mushkin was awesome around the time that OCZ seemed like a crappy knockoff brand that wouldn't last long.

beenthere · 12-23-10, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by updawg

Post it on their forums they have a thread for Bargain Bin with a link to the pictures, they will resolve it ASAP due to the bad publicity.

Not likely... Most suppliers of low quality products know full well that their products are inferior. They use marketing hype to sell the stuff. When fanbois latch onto a brand it's tough for them to let go even when their beliefs are not supported in reality. This is how a lot of PC junk is sold to gullible consumers - regardless of brand. If you actually knew... you'd be amazed.

madhatter256 · 12-23-10, 02:16 PM

I almost bought a Mushkin years ago before I found out how great Corsair is....

ghost_recon88 · 12-23-10, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by madhatter256

I almost bought a Mushkin years ago before I found out how great Corsair is....

+1 for Corsair

Everything I've had from Corsair has been top notch (RAM and PSU).

12-22-10, 12:19 AM	Thread Starter #1
Bobnova Air Superiority Senior Member Benching Team Leader Join Date: May 2009 Location: Humboldt	Mushkin Bargain Bin PSUs, terrible! Mushkin has a tuesday Bargain Bin these days with some pretty seriously low prices, $20 for 650w PSUs, $35 for 128gb SSDs, that sort of thing. The downside? 30 day warranty. I bought two 650w PSUs, tested one and it worked fine, the other I got lazy (uhoh) and did not test. Last night I decided to test it, so I plugged it into my main box with the intention of doing some light benching, it fired right up, then while in bios it went ZZZOT, gave a blue flash out the back, and was dead as a doornail. I unplugged and opened it up, and A) the soldering is lousy, B) they didn't wash the flux off after soldering, and C) it's been stored in a wet warehouse! Corrosion everywhere! It's no wonder it failed. So much for giving that to my friend! I then opened the first one, which worked, and found it to have marginally better soldering, a bit less flux, and plenty of corrosion there, too. So much for that gift! Just for giggles I tried to put it into their online RMA form and the form denies the very existence of such a PSU! Worse, today I checked the bargain bin and found another stack of the same PSUs being sold, so how you're supposed to get warranty service on them is beyond me. I'm now out $40 (at least they were cheap!), and y'all've been warned: You get what you pay for. __________________ "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." -- Einstein (maybe) How to check your PSU with a multimeter. 17bXw5t51rEBXGavJFMJsC8g7HQgThUGc7 Heatware.
	QUOTE Thanks

12-22-10, 08:33 AM	#2
CharlieCS Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: New York Forum Points:4576	Flux will cause corrosion,I doubt they were stored in a wet warehouse.Also I believe the stuff from the bargain bin doesn't qualify for regular warranty and most of the items are discontinued models,which is likely why you didn't find the models listed on the RMA form. If you bought these less then 30 day ago,you should contact costumer service,but I am not sure they will help you ,since you did open the units.
	QUOTE Thanks

12-22-10, 10:02 AM	#3
Super Nade † SU(3) Moderator † Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Indianapolis	Can you post some pics? __________________ Motherboard Repair Tutorial \|\| Power Supply Repair Tutorial \|\| A Closer Look at PSU Signals \|\| Understanding SMPS Technology \|\| ASUS P5K Capacitor mod \|\| Kernel Compile Guide \|\| Guide to Wiping an SSD Words of wisdom from krag: "Love & trust are 2 completely different things. Trust is earned, love on the other hand should be given without measure." My hwbot profile
	QUOTE Thanks

12-22-10, 10:08 AM	Thread Starter #4
Bobnova Air Superiority Senior Member Benching Team Leader Join Date: May 2009 Location: Humboldt	I'll take my camera to work and take some pics. Warranty wise I'm out of luck because I waited too long. __________________ "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." -- Einstein (maybe) How to check your PSU with a multimeter. 17bXw5t51rEBXGavJFMJsC8g7HQgThUGc7 Heatware.
	QUOTE Thanks

12-22-10, 11:44 AM	#5
Nebulous Señor Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: The Empire State	Well that does suck Even if you're out of warranty, I say call them up and explain the situation. Won't hurt to try __________________ <MEGA-O> Gigabyte Z77X-UD4H / i5 3570K@ 4.5Ghz 16GB GSKILL Sniper F3-17000CL11D-8GBSR XSPC Rasa Black / RX360 / MCP-655 / MCRes OCZ Vertex III SSD 120GB / 2x Seagates 500GB~Raid-0 XFX Double D FX-787A-CDBC Radeon HD 7870 + H80 Sony AD-7220S / Lite On LH-16A1S SilverStone Zeus ZM1350 1350w CM Cosmos 1000 / Win7 Pro x64 Samsung LN40A550 40" HD TV ** Under TITLE II, SECTION 210.340 it is legal to overclock **
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Mushkin Bargain Bin PSUs, terrible!

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12-22-10, 11:47 AM	#6
MattNo5ss b4n4n4 dr4g0n d00m3d m0d3r4t0r Overclockers.com Editor Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: AL	Either way, you got a working 650W for $40 __________________ i7 3770K \| Asus Maximus V Gene \| 4x2GB Dominator GT DDR3-1600 6-6-6-20 \| eVGA GTX670 SC \| 50GB OCZ Vertex 2 \| SeaSonic SS-1000XP i7 2700K \| Gigabyte G1.Sniper M3 \| 4x2GB G.Skill Eco DDR3-1600 7-8-7-24 \| eVGA GTX680 \| 256GB OCZ Vertex 4 \| SeaSonic X750 E8700/E6750/P4 631 \| Rampage Extreme & EP45T-Extreme & Commando\| Whatever I Can Find Laying Around... O/C Author Profile \| HWBot Profile \| Heatware (89-0-0) \m/ OverClockers mATX L33T Club \m/ Projects: Copper-Framed, MDF Station \| PVC-Framed, MDF Station \| Custom Cascade Cart/Case \| Untitled TJ07 Build
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12-22-10, 01:02 PM	#7
Marshmallow64 Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: California	Sucks =/ __________________ :: Gaming Desktop :: CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1055T @ 3.9 Ghz 1.4v \| MOBO: MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 570 (732/1464/1900) \| RAM: 4 GB G-Skill DDR3 1600 SSD: OCZ Vertex 120 GB \| HD1: WD Black 640 GB \| HD2: WD Black 2 TB SC: Xfi Titanium Fatal1ty \| PSU: Corsair HX 620 W KB: Saitek Eclipse \| MOUSE: Logitech MX 518 CASE: Antec 1200 \| OS: Windows 7 x64 :: Laptop :: MOD: Macbook Pro 13” 2011 \| CPU: Intel Core i5 @ 2.3 Ghz RAM: 4 GB DDR3 1333 \| OS: OS X Lion 10.7.2
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12-22-10, 02:08 PM	Thread Starter #8
Bobnova Air Superiority Senior Member Benching Team Leader Join Date: May 2009 Location: Humboldt	Ok here we go, these are pics of the worse of the two units. The other one that actually functions i'm going to use as a dedicated peltier PSU, if it chunks itself and kills a $12 pelt i don't care much :P Chunking my brother's computer wouldn't be quite so good. EDIT: The last pic is the AC receptacle, note the partially soldered main lead. Classy! Attached Images __________________ "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." -- Einstein (maybe) How to check your PSU with a multimeter. 17bXw5t51rEBXGavJFMJsC8g7HQgThUGc7 Heatware.
	QUOTE Thanks

12-22-10, 02:17 PM	#9
gofaster87 Member Join Date: Feb 2008	Wow, that is even worse than I expected.
	QUOTE Thanks

12-22-10, 02:23 PM	Thread Starter #10
Bobnova Air Superiority Senior Member Benching Team Leader Join Date: May 2009 Location: Humboldt	I was certainly less then impressed! I don't know what failed on that one, the fuse is still intact. I plan to desolder it and see what is usable and what is junk. The main cap has a tiny amount of bulging in the cap, small enough that i can almost think it's my imagination. __________________ "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." -- Einstein (maybe) How to check your PSU with a multimeter. 17bXw5t51rEBXGavJFMJsC8g7HQgThUGc7 Heatware.
	QUOTE Thanks

12-22-10, 05:08 PM	#11
maxfly Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: GlassCity USA	that is the worst soldering work ive seen in a psu. __________________ I7 2600K-MSI Z68A GD65-MSI GTX 580 4x4gb Corsair Vengeance-OCZ Agility3 120gb WD 320gb-Seasonic X1050,CM HAF-X DDC-2 w/Bitspower mini tank EK Supreme HF DD GTX580 XSPC RX360 HEAT
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12-22-10, 05:42 PM	#12
Deathhorse Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Roseville, Ca	wow that's all spot soldering wth its just globbed everywhere. you should send them those pictures. Maybe that was a returned unit that got mixed in to refurbs. __________________ heatware 136-0-0 xbox live: crackjuice psn:bluedood steam:bluedood Dont take the classies for granted
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12-22-10, 07:41 PM	#13
moocow Join Date: May 2003 Location: Texas State	Thats some pro soldering. My soldering is better than that and I dont even know how to solder __________________ YAY HWBOT! [heatware]
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12-22-10, 07:47 PM	#14
jmdixon85 Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Cumbria (UK)	MAN! That is unreal! How can a company be even allowed to sell such a poor PSU! (or even make one) Looks like a 5yr old has been let loose with a soldering iron! Im actually in shock how bad that is Honestly, it looks like that has been made to purposely wreck someones pc __________________ Main System/File Server/Secondary System/SmoothWall CPU: I2500K @ 4.8Ghz (H2o cooled)//Q9650/Q6600 @ 3.5Ghz/AMD Athlon 215 Mainboard: AsRock Z77 Extreme 4/Asus P5Q Deluxe/Gigabyte P35-DS3P/Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz/6GB DDR2 800Mhz/4GB DDR2 1066Mhz/2GB DDR2 Video: nVidia GTX 460/nVidia 210/NVidia GTX295/Radeon 3000 HDD: 128GB SSD (System)/WD VR 300GB(Games)/ 80GB HDD (TV Recordings)/Samsung 160GB (Sytem), 4x 1TB (RAID5 Data)/3TB (Backup) HighpointRR 3520 RAID Card/VR 160GB (system) 1TB (Data)/160GB PSU: FSP 800W/Enermax 495W/Ximatek 500W/FSP 300W Case: Coolermaster HAF932/CM Cosmos S/Cosmos 1000 Audio: Toslink -> Pioneer VSX-820-K (Dolby TrueHD/DTS Master Audio)/Logitech X-530 i7/i5/i3 Overclocking Guide /Intel Core2 overclocking guide/AMD AM2 overclocking Guide
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12-22-10, 08:19 PM	#15
updawg StarCraft II Fanatic Join Date: May 2006 Location: NOVA	Post it on their forums they have a thread for Bargain Bin with a link to the pictures, they will resolve it ASAP due to the bad publicity.
	QUOTE Thanks

12-22-10, 09:14 PM	Thread Starter #16
Bobnova Air Superiority Senior Member Benching Team Leader Join Date: May 2009 Location: Humboldt	Hey now that's a good plan, thanks! __________________ "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." -- Einstein (maybe) How to check your PSU with a multimeter. 17bXw5t51rEBXGavJFMJsC8g7HQgThUGc7 Heatware.
	QUOTE Thanks

12-23-10, 11:52 AM	#17
johan851 Insatiably Malcontent Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Seattle, WA	Used to be that Mushkin was a top-notch company. They had the best RAM around and amazing support. I browsed through their forums just now and I'm sort of unimpressed - seems they've fallen behind. Bummer. Mushkin was awesome around the time that OCZ seemed like a crappy knockoff brand that wouldn't last long. __________________ ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 \| 2500K @ 4.6GHz \| 2x4GB Samsung DDR3 \| GTX460 768mb 120GB Crucial M4 \| 2x 2TB Samsung F4 \| Seasonic S12 600w AV-710 --> y2 DAC --> Custom M^3 --> Custom LM3875 ChipAmp --> Modula MTs Dual Dell 2007WFP \| Watercooled
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12-23-10, 02:16 PM	#19
madhatter256 Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: CFL	I almost bought a Mushkin years ago before I found out how great Corsair is.... __________________ Heatware
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