New/current 12V v2.3x PSUs compatible with older v2.01 motherboards?

[njs2k]

Hi,

I'm rather frustrated with Antec right now as I'm in an RMA process with them for the second time now.

I have a Gigabyte P35C-DS3R v2.1 motherboard, which is of ATX 12v v2.01 standard. The current PSU is an Antec Earthwatts 500W, which came with the case.

I bought a Antec TruePower 650W (TP-650GB), which kept rebooting my system randomly. Its 12v rail would drop to 11.10v on load and idle at 11.73v. This was then replaced with an Antec TP-650C, which seems to be dead. No fans spin, and no lights when I plugged everything in. It also failed the paper-clip test.

Antec keep saying that it’s my motherboard that’s not compatible. They seem to ignore the fact that it failed the paper-clip test ffs. I don’t have another board to test on and I don’t want to upgrade right now. I need a better PSU because the current one is too loud, inefficient, and has a low current draw.

I assumed that all ATX 12v v2.x power supplies should be compatible for all v2.x motherboards?

The TP-650C is ATX12V v2.4 and EPS12V v2.92 spec. They don’t mention anything else on their manual regarding backwards compatibility. I only found something on Wikipedia:

“EPS12V is defined in SSI and used primarily by SMP/multi-core systems such as Core 2, Core i7, Opteron and Xeon. It has a 24-pin main connector (same as ATX12V v2.x), an 8-pin secondary connector and an optional 4-pin tertiary connector. Rather than include the extra cable, many power supply makers implement the 8-pin connector as two combinable 4-pin connectors to ensure backwards compatibility with ATX12V motherboards."

So that should mean that it should’ve worked on a ATX12V v2.01 motherboard?

 

[Tsumi]

The PSU should be backwards compatible with older motherboards, all the way back to Pentium 4 era. Don't let Antec tell you otherwise, it's likely an incompetent customer rep trying to weasel his way out of doing warranty work.

 

[njs2k]

They said they'll replace my PSU with another of my choosing, but only after testing it themselves to see if it works after I've sent it over. Otherwise they'll just send the same one back. They're basing this process on an incompatibility clause with my 'old' motherboard.

I feel like this could get messy. What's the best way forward? I've only been in contact via email so far.

 

[Quix]

I've got a system running a ga-g33m-ds2r (same generation) and an Strider ST600F-P, which is ATX 2.3 without any issues. If Antec continues to give you issues, you may want to consider testing it with a newer board and reporting the results. If a newer board is unavailable, consider just claiming you tested it.

 

[JoeBob]

If it failed the paper clip test, it's obviously dead. That Antec rep should quit his job and sweep sidewalks instead, and you just send that PSU for RMA.