400W Nexus NX-4000 is not compatible with a Seagate HDD

JEP · Post by **JEP** » Mon May 26, 2003 12:42 pm

Short version: NX-4000 is loud with Seagate hard drives, at least with Barracuda ATA V. Source: Nexus Technology BV.

The long version: I bought a 400W NX-4000. Result: it was loud. The fan was running at probably full speed soon after the PC had been turned on, even if the PC was not running any programs. I contacted the local reseller here in Finland and I received some interesting information.

A little while ago they started to receive reports of problems with NX-4000 from their customers (no problems with NX-3000). Some people said it was quiet, others said it was loud. They researched the problem and finally got an answer from the manufacturer, Nexus Technology BV.

The problem with the loudness (fan control circuit not functioning properly) was traced to having a Seagate Barracuda hard disk drive in the PC. And I have a 120GB Barracuda ATA V HDD.

The Finnish reseller tested NX-4000 with a heavily overclocked P4 system with an IBM HDD and it was quiet. PSU load does not seem to be the issue here.

I searched this forum and I think this might explain the disappointments some people have experienced with NX-4000. It also fits in with some people experiencing PSU coil whine with a Seagate HDD. Maybe a Seagate HDD loads a PSU differently than other HDD makes and this causes problems?

Nexus Technology BV is working on the problem and I think they are going to revise the PSU. The new revision might be V. 1.2.

At the moment, I would not recommend anyone use a NX-4000 with a Seagate HDD.

The rest of this message should maybe go under another topic, but here goes:

My solution was to I exchange the Nexus PSU for a Be Quiet! BQT P4 420W on the recommendation of the reseller (great service, by the way!). It has two fans but it is pretty quiet. Not very quiet, probably, but I have no known-to-be-silent PSU's to compare it with.

Be Quiet! is a pretty new, European PSU make. There are few articles about it in the Internet (and those in German). The manufacturer behind it is supposedly Revoltec, who seem to concentrate on PC "tuning", mostly improving the looks of a PC. No information about this in the Revoltec web pages, though. It fits in with the PSU being painted like a sports car, with a metallic, lacquered colour, and having the picture of an eye of a panther on the center of the outlet fan. No dull sheet metal, here. Still, it was 20 USD cheaper than NX-4000.

The real manufacturer is likely TOPower. They have very similar PSU models, but Be Quiet! PSUs are said to differ from them. The design has been modified to make it more silent, also in other ways than changing the fans.

So now I have a flashy, secretive PSU. Exciting. A little. I'm pretty happy with it, it's not loud and the PC has been stable.

MichaelS · Post by **MichaelS** » Mon May 26, 2003 4:15 pm

I just ordered a Nexus NX-4000 power supply for my system where I have 6 Seagate Barracuda V 120GB ATA hard drives, so I am very curious to see (hear) the result...

If it is loud as you say I will contact Nexus directly.

Cheers,

Michael

al bundy · Post by **al bundy** » Mon May 26, 2003 8:54 pm

JEP wrote:...The manufacturer behind it is supposedly Revoltec, who seem to concentrate... mostly improving the looks of a PC.

Anybody else find this combo of name and mission kind of funny?

Doomer · Post by **Doomer** » Tue May 27, 2003 6:12 am

Very interesting information. I'm finnish too and was disappointed to the Nexus 400w. I have Barracuda IV 80Gb on my system. Had some coil whine problems in the past but I corrected them with the ferrite ring trick.

The electronics in the Barracuda hard drives ain't too impressive. First the coil whine problem and now this?

MichaelS · Post by **MichaelS** » Tue May 27, 2003 8:54 am

I have an email reply from Nexus now and they just discovered the problem and have changed the design of the NX-4000 now. I am waiting for more detailed information but just wanted to share it with you.

halcyon · Post by **halcyon** » Tue May 27, 2003 10:57 am

I wonder how Nexus can change the design, when the PSU is desgined and manufactured by Fortron?

I don't think Nexus buys them in large enough quantities for FSP to start building custom versions to Nexus?

I remain skeptical until somebody has actually tested a new "modified Nexus" and found it to have no problems.

regards,
Halcyon

Bat · Post by **Bat** » Tue May 27, 2003 1:19 pm

Does this issue affect only the Nexus 400W PSU, or also other Fortron and Fortron-based PSUs? Does anyone know yet?
I'd be interested to learn just how this happens anyway. I hope Nexus give MichaelS a proper explanation to share with us.

400W Nexus NX-4000 is not compatible with a Seagate HDD

400W Nexus NX-4000 is not compatible with a Seagate HDD

Re: 400W Nexus NX-4000 is not compatible with a Seagate HDD