12V & 5V on Antec TP 550W < on Enermax 350W !!! HELP

[Fred Koser]

Just got an Antec TruePower 550W PSU from NewEgg to replace my Enermax 350W. Took out the Enermax and put in the Antec. Booted into the BIOS to check the voltages and, to my suprise, the 12V and 5V lines were at 11.50V and 4.84V,. . .LOWER THAN WITH MY 350W PSU!!! I get the same voltages in SiSoft Sandra and Hardware Doctor. I know the voltages, as read by the MoBo can't really be trusted, but I would expect them to at least be consistant. (i.e.- the Enermax shouldn't read higher.)
Can anyone tell my why this is, or how I can fix it?

System:

AthlonXP 1600+ @ 1713 (180*9.5 1.8V)
SLK-800 w/ 50cfm Sunon
Abit Kx7-333 rev. 1.1
Corsair XMS3200c2 2-2-2 1T
Visiontek GF3ti200 @ 215/460
80Gb WDse / 20Gb IBM60gxp
Asus 52x / Teac 40x12x48 / TBSC
Hauppague WinTV Go! / Linksys NIC / 3Com 56K modem
2 blue cold cathodes / Lian-Li PC-70 w/ PC-75 side panel
Antec TruePower 550W / 2 80mm intake 4 80mm exhaust

 

[HeXenViRii]

I know certian power supplies have little "POTs" (usually a blue holder with a grey wheel on the top about 7mm wide) inside them that let u adjust the juice to the lines . If you take the cover off the PSU , WHILE ITS OFF , and find one , turn it a quarter turn and plug your devices back in boot it up and observe. Keep testing , turning it off , and turning it by quarters till you get it where u want it , then close it back up , throw it back in you case , and you should be good.

 

[rogerdugans]

First off: Welcome to the Forums!

Opening a power supply is dangerous, and will void any warranty.

Before doing anything else, check the voltage at one of the molex connectors: if it is close to what it should be there, the power supply is NOT the trouble.

Some power supplies (like my Enermax) have very long ATX cables- that does not help voltages (increased resistance = lower volts.) A loose ATX connector itself also will lower the voltages.

Make certain that the problem lies with the psu, especially since you've had the problem with two units.

It is possible that the voltage regulation circuit on the mobo is causing problems as well.....

But the first thing to do is checking a molex with a multimeter.

 

[stereo555]

** NOTE ** The TruePower line of Antec PSU , DO NOT HAVE THE POTS ! I have "verified" this with AntecRep . Geez , I just purchased a Antec TP550 , but have yet to install it ; this report of lower than usual voltages is not sounding good (and I'll be using 4 drives in RAID0 config ) . Been thinking of the Vantec 520 ; looks like it may still be on my list (or a PCPWRCOOL) !!!

 

[HeXenViRii]

Opening a power supply is dangerous, and will void any warranty.

Before doing anything else, check the voltage at one of the molex connectors: if it is close to what it should be there, the power supply is NOT the trouble.

Some power supplies (like my Enermax) have very long ATX cables- that does not help voltages (increased resistance = lower volts.) A loose ATX connector itself also will lower the voltages.

Make certain that the problem lies with the psu, especially since you've had the problem with two units.

It is possible that the voltage regulation circuit on the mobo is causing problems as well.....

But the first thing to do is checking a molex with a multimeter. [/B]

Oh ya , that too

 

[HeXenViRii]

** NOTE ** The TruePower line of Antec PSU , DO NOT HAVE THE POTS ! I have already "verified" this with AntecRep .

Thats why i said "certian" .... i guess no adjusting for you then ....

 

[Fred Koser]

Yeah -

I'm not nuts about having to tweak a $140 PSU and void the warranty (if ther were pots.) Sounds like the problem isnt' the PSU, but maybe the voltage regulation on my MoBo.
The whole thing stems from my dissapointment with my O.C.
I'm at 1713, and sometimes 1800, but I can't get any higher. If I go higher than 180fsb or 10x my system won't boot. I'd watched the Core voltage in Hardware Dr. (Abit's monitoring software) while running Prime and it dips to 1.74 at times. This seems like it wouldn't be HUGE deal, but I decided to replace my 350W Enermax anyways (can't hurt, right?) Now, I've blown $140 on a new PSU and my O.C. is still just "okay" considering my hardware. I was really hoping to hit 1900mhz. My temps are great (IMO) at 35C idle 39C load. Any other suggestions?

 

[stereo555]

I do know that Antec PP412X (400watt) DO have the pots ; and mine has been "tweaked" abit with GREAT results for the past year . My.02

 

[Matrix78]

just wondering... should i be concerned with my volts... I have an Antec 450W PSU

 

[chachmarach]

I read on another thread I think in this forum that some of the Antecs need some time for the 5V line to come up.I just installed my Truepower 430 tonight and my 5V is around 4.92 also. My 12V is around 11.70 so it is not too too bad but I would like to see it higher.If my voltages don't go up I may phone Antec and ask them what is going on. I found it , and it is titled "DISAPPOINTED with Antec TruePower PSU ". it says in there that some of them need 48Hrs for them to burn in. I think that persons did go up after the burn in time.Hope this helps.

 

[Gnufsh]

Yes, the volts on mine looked a little low. Then I checked with a DMM at the molex connectors. My crappy no-name 300W turns out to have 5v lines at 5.17 at no load. The Antec TP550 had 5.1 no-load and 5.1 full load. The 300 watt no-name drops percipitously. So basically, the Antec's voltages are closer to spec then other PSU's (3% regulation on some lines). I would bet that the other PSU puts out higher voltages. But the TP550W will not drop as load increases (at least, not that I could see.) I would like to see a mod to increase voltage though. I'd like to run 5.2 at the molex connector. My mobo saya I'm running at 4.94, but I know the PSU's putting out 5.1.

 

[Fred Koser]

Yikes.
Just did some more extensive "looking around" and found an awful lot of people complaining about the TruePowers. Every thread mentions the "burn-in" period, but no-one seems to have had their problems fixed by letting the new PSU burn it.
Another upsetting point made by Mr Steveo here:

http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=117331&highlight=antec+truepower

I have the same concern as Mr Steveo about the whole "winbond chips don't read the voltages correctly" thing. I've been told to check with a multimeter, which seems like a great idea, but when I start to think about it - it doesn't make sense.
My Enermax (as reported in BIOS, Sandra, MBM, etc.) was slightly over on the 3.3V and 5V lines and just barely under on the 12V (like 11.9V) If the MoBo's sensors are reporting the voltages too low, then that would mean the Enermax was WAY over spec on the 3.3V and 5V rails.
It's just like reading your temps from the MoBo's sensors. People seem to take it whatever way they want. If there temps look good, then they believe them. If the suck, they chalk it up to bad sensors.

I don't mind having problems on my path to Overclocking Bliss, but it bugs me when I can't seem to find any real answers.
Gah! NOT a good night for OverClocker Dan.

 

[stereo555]

Just did some testing on my (slightly pot tweaked) PP412X under a HEAVY load (CD-burning , defraging w/Diskeeper-light , Prime95 , Seti , few more programs running , with 4 drives in RAID0 and fans ; ALL this the same time) !!! *** SPECS @ Idle : +3.3=3.28 , +5=5.22 , +12=12.23 *** now under load ... +3.3=3.26 , +5=5.22 , +12=12.17-12.05 . All this with using only Winbond HWDr (for a quick check only) . Further testing tommorow (w/multimeter) . The PP412X did get warmer , but never hot . For now , it seems I have alot more going for me than I thought , and maybe much better off without my uninstalled True550 ( still sitting in unopened box) . A Vantec-520 or 475-watt PCPCooling still sound possible . My.02

 

[chachmarach]

I just got off of the phone with Antec.I asked the tech what the voltages should be on the True Power Power supplies.He advised me that they should not be much under 5V or 12V.Mine is showing 11.68V and 4.89V and he advised me to return it for another one or to get my money back.He didn't seem to positive about their products. I thought he would have a little more to say but that was it basically, return it.He advised me to get it from a large retailer because the smaller ones may have them on the shelf for longer and that this may effect them??Who knows.

 

[Fred Koser]

I'm going to make a call to Antec today and if I don't get some kind of positive feedback I'm probably going to return it to NewEgg. Not going to settle for a $130 PSU that has less going for it than my 350W Enermax! I'll either just keep the Enermax, or maybe get a 425W PCP&C. Probably what I should've done in the first place,. . .

 

[chachmarach]

I am returning mine and having another one crosshipped to me. If this one isn't any better, I won't be buying any more Antec that's for sure. Especially when they don't seem to be to positive about their own products. I guess I should have listened to LARVA and got another Sparkle.

 

[equalizr]

i did the exact same thing...bought the Antec true 550...it had really low voltages...took it back and got the Enermax 431W and no probs no whatso ever

 

[aftermath]

i have an enermax 550w and the voltages are a bit above normal when read with the dmm but they are low when the board reads them. They dont flutuate much at all and i have a lot running.

 

[Arghuin]

Mine is showing 11.68V and 4.89V

Exact same voltages I'm getting from my original 300W Antec PSU (non-truepower obviously)

Can't really say that I've had any probs with it so far (running axp 1600+, kx7, hdd, dvd, gf4 ti4200, audigy, ethernet, 2x antec case fans, thermaltake smart fan just fine), but kind of makes me wonder/worry (delete as appropriate) about how much more (if any) my system can take....

Funny thing is, the theoretical max of 3.3 plus 5 output is rated at 180w for this PSU (almost at a 350w levels.....) but still...

Any suggestions?

 

[Vfrjim1]

I had a similar situation on my setup, my 12v went to 11.13v on the MB sensor but when checking it with a multimeter, it was actually 11.9 to 12V. I tried 3 different PSU's, an 550w enermax, 300 watt antec, and a 300 watt enlight with similar results on each, something on the motherboard was consuming voltage and would not allow me to overclock, whenever I tried to push the system when voltages were reading 11.13v in the bios, the system would just shut down by itself, as it seems as a safety measure eventhough at the molex connectors it was reading 11.9 to 12v. I solved my problem by finding a PP412X and tweaking the 12v pot so it read 12.7v at the molex with a multimeter. When I fired up the system, my 5v read 5.1, 3.3 reads 3.4 and my 12v reads 11.92v when I am pushing my system hard, sometimes it isn't the PSU but is the motherboard's fault.

Jim