Why do good PSU's run so hot??

[subzero]

thisa is something that has bothered me for a while, every decent PSU ive ever seen is realy hot. i just bought an Antec 480w true power and the amount of heat pumping out of it is rediculous. i have my PC under my desk and there is a heat wave comming from under my desk now where as my previous Omni 550w PSU had next to no heat comming off it. i had this same problem with my old antect 420w true power and my room mates 500w smart power is the same, i though it was just an antec thing but i have 2 friends running enermax PSU's and they say they have the exact same problem.

so why do they run so hot? is it because they try to make them quiet? or is it because its better quality or something? would putting a better 120mm fan in my PSU help reduce some of the heat it produces?

thanks.

[burebista]

TruePower are known to be hot. Mainly because poor efficiency and somehow not so good fan/fan controller circuit.
I have had a Seasonic S-12 430 and now I have a Seasonic M-12 500. Both are cold and the fan is barely spinning. So that's better efficiency (both are 80Plus certified) and a intelligent fan controller. ;)

[Super Nade]

Quite a few Antecs have this problem. Their lifespan is greatly reduces as a result, because they use Fujjhyu caps, which by all accounts does not hold up well at higher temperatures. A well designed PSU would not get hot because, apart from being energy efficient, a superior cooling assembly takes care of heat issues.

[vaiopup]

My Trueblue 480's run cool whilst folding 24/7.......perhaps better case cooling may help???
Not as cool/quiet as my Seasonic but certainly acceptable.

The better the case cooling the less work the power supply will have to do :)

[subzero]

i got 5 thermaltake smart fans pumping 50cfm in and out of the case so case cooling isnt a problem, its definatly a noise problem though.

ive got the fan sensor for my PSU plugged in and its only doing 800RPM so that seems to be the problem to me, ill rip it out next week and put a 1500rpm fan in it see if that helps a bit.

[rainless]

I've got the Fortron Bluestorm. It's like an air conditioner... only quieter :)

[jonnyGURU]

i got 5 thermaltake smart fans pumping 50cfm in and out of the case so case cooling isnt a problem, its definatly a noise problem though.

ive got the fan sensor for my PSU plugged in and its only doing 800RPM so that seems to be the problem to me, ill rip it out next week and put a 1500rpm fan in it see if that helps a bit.

That will be useless. It's the fan controller, not the fan. Just bypass the fan controller so the PSU fan gets a full 12V.

Also, make sure you're not "robbing" air from the PSU. That can also be a problem. Like you say you have 5 Thermaltake fans. Is that 2 intake, 3 exhaust? Is so, add the PSU as an exhaust fan and you've got some serious negative pressure going on there.

[Adragontattoo]

Had an Aspire that ran fanless for about a year, the only that kept it from frying was the over abundance of fans elsewhere in the case.

[Deadbot1_1973]

That will be useless. It's the fan controller, not the fan. Just bypass the fan controller so the PSU fan gets a full 12V.

Also, make sure you're not "robbing" air from the PSU. That can also be a problem. Like you say you have 5 Thermaltake fans. Is that 2 intake, 3 exhaust? Is so, add the PSU as an exhaust fan and you've got some serious negative pressure going on there.

Quoted for truth...you must have good airflow for proper cooling. You generally want as much going in as going out. The fan in your PS is probably not as strong as the others and thus isn't pulling any air through the PSU. Try changing the direction of one or more of your fans. From the perspective of cleanliness, it's better to have positive pressure than negative.With negative pressure the fans have to work harder, and dust will find it's way to any little crack(like the door of your optical drive) leading to more problems down the line.