Enermax 431W not good enough? Need help...

[vryce]

Ok guys, I've been out of the loop for a while, but I'm no newbie so bear with me.

I just rebuilt my system from scratch, and used my old Enermax 431W power supply. Here are the system specs:

P4 2.0A
Asus P4PE
512MB Corsair XMS 3500 DDR (1 stick)
Gainward GF4 Ti4200 128MB
Adaptec 2940U2W
WD 100GB Special Edition (8MB cache) x2
Plextor UltraPlex 40max
Plextor PlexWriter 12/10/32S
Plextor PlexWriter 48/24/48
Pioneer 10x SCSI DVD
Floppy
Drive bay card reader
2x 80mm fans and 1x 92mm fan (all Sunon) in back
3x 80mm fans on radiator (stock Koolance)

All this is packed into a Koolance full tower with the 200W gold block on the CPU and a block on the video card too.

Running the system at all default values / voltages under XP Pro doesn't produce any problems- but the 12V+ line runs at about 11.8V under full load. At 2.5G the 12V line drops to 11.6V (idle) and 11.2V (full load). The core never goes over 40 degrees C. All values are pulled from the latest version of Sandra.

The system runs mostly stable under Prime95 and 3DMark 2001 looping continuously- no crashes, but Prime95 sometimes errors out, sometimes after 18 hours, sometimes after 30+ hours. Any attempts at higher speeds, no matter what voltage- they all produce errors under Prime95. Worst case- I tried running the chip at 2.8G @ 1.85V, and the 12V line dropped down to 10.8V. Running the chip at higher voltages at only 2.5G results in lower 12V+ measurements and decreased stability. All motherboard and RAM settings were kept at stock values.

Other power rails- the 12V- dips to -11.2 at worst, while the 5V+ never goes below 4.9V, and the other rails all stay within a few tenths.

Now I've searched through as much of the forum as I could, and it seems like many of you are running more taxing setups than mine on this power supply without any problems. I'm trying to break 3.0G on this CPU, but I can't get past 2.5G no matter what voltage I try or no matter how cold the CPU runs. It just seems like I can sprint straight up to 2.5G but hit a brick wall immediately afterwards.

I assume this means I need a new power supply- but I want to get all of your input before I drop another $120 on something bigger/better. Could I have 'worn out' the 12V rail on my previous system? I've had this PSU for over 2 years, and it's been through quite a few ridiculous setups.

Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for any input.

 

[anomaly]

It seems to me like your psu is just getting old. Id try a 550 watt to be on the safe side.

 

[Adul]

Originally posted by: anomaly
It seems to me like your psu is just getting old. Id try a 550 watt to be on the safe side.

now that is way overkill.

i would try a differennt brand of power supply. I have had more running then that on my 300 antec PS. try one of their true power ones. Very nice pS units.

 

[pillage2001]

I believe the Enermax 431watts will serve you well with the specs. I own one and it's plenty for me till today.

 

[vryce]

Originally posted by: Adul
now that is way overkill.
i would try a differennt brand of power supply. I have had more running then that on my 300 antec PS. try one of their true power ones. Very nice pS units.

Wow. I really have been off the forums for a LONG time. I remember when your avatar was some dude with pink hair. Do you really think 550W is overkill? I've been looking through all the power supply reviews and specs, and I think I'm going to go Antec. They have the Truepower in 480 and 550... I'm going to get the 480W version at the very least- I still have some system expansion to go.

 

[nnnyyy]

I sure think 550 watts is overkill!
The enermax has always had 12v line problems. Thats just how it was made.
Try a different brand of power supply such as the antecs. They will give you a more stable 12v line.
Had a similar system to yours except for the 4 optical drives and it ran fine on a 330watt truepower.

Is your p4 the newer stepping or the old one?

 

[vryce]

I'll hit up the Antec power supplies and see what happens.

I bought the older stepping P4- I had to get a chip, and I knew that I wanted to wait a while for the new steppings to become available... so I bought a cheaper/slower P4 for now. The 2.0 will go into my LAN box later when I upgrade to the newer stepping.

 

[Mem]

The enermax has always had 12v line problems. Thats just how it was made.

I`ve to disagree with that,to me it sounds like it`s going faulty,btw my old 431w Enermax gives 12.16v to 12.22v on 12v rail and yes I`ve a cathode tube,7x fans(5 are LED type), blue laserbay etc.

PSUs can just go faulty.

 

[amdskip]

Originally posted by: Mem

The enermax has always had 12v line problems. Thats just how it was made.

I`ve to disagree with that,to me it sounds like it`s going faulty,btw my old 431w Enermax gives 12.16v to 12.22v on 12v rail and yes I`ve a cathode tube,7x fans(5 are LED type), blue laserbay etc.

PSUs can just go faulty.

It is true that they have problems with the 12v line. I would bet money though that an Antec 350w power supply would easily run your setup.

 

[vryce]

mem, amdskip- thanks. I just ordered a Antec TruePower 430W... that was the 'sweet spot' for price at Newegg. We'll see how it goes.

 

[vryce]

Alrighty everyone... the Antec 420 TruePower finally came in, and I'm still having the same problems. My 12V+ rail runs at about 11.9V at idle, and about the fastest I can make is 2.8G at 1.85V. That's as high as it'll go, and the chip doesn't break 42C at full load. The 12V+ rail stays at around 11.7, but Prime errors out when the 12V+ dips down to 11.64. Is this Antec too weak? I should have bought the 550W.

 

[Viper96720]

Maybe that's all your cpu can overclock. Tried running with bare minimum for your setup to run

 

[DX2Player]

Might be your mobo if new psu has same problem, i have Enermax 431Watt and it handles my Asus P4T533 fine even with Asus overvolting everything at stock 12V@12.352, 5V@5.134, 3.3V@3.376, VCore1.5V@1.568

 

[resinboy]

I was running basically the same system, along with 3 scsi hard drives, off an Enermax 350 watt- I doubt power is your problem.
Resinboy

 

[chizow]

Enermax has had issues with maintaining consistent voltage, if you could turn back time to this time last year, every other thread about PSUs were about people wondering why their voltages were below specs. That's why I went with Antec, and their TruePower line is supposedly even better....may have to pick one up if I can find one on the cheap.

Chiz

 

[vryce]

Originally posted by: Viper96720
Maybe that's all your cpu can overclock. Tried running with bare minimum for your setup to run

That's what I was thinking... but I unplugged everything in my system, and the voltage dips are still there. The chip can go higher with the Antec power supply, but not by much.

Originally posted by: DX2Player
Might be your mobo if new psu has same problem, i have Enermax 431Watt and it handles my Asus P4T533 fine even with Asus overvolting everything at stock 12V@12.352, 5V@5.134, 3.3V@3.376, VCore1.5V@1.568

Possibly- but this is a brand new Asus P4PE, and I'm running the Corsair XMS 3500 stick on it with lowest timings right now.

Originally posted by: resinboy
I was running basically the same system, along with 3 scsi hard drives, off an Enermax 350 watt- I doubt power is your problem.
Resinboy

How low did your 12V+ line dip to?

Originally posted by: chizow
Enermax has had issues with maintaining consistent voltage, if you could turn back time to this time last year, every other thread about PSUs were about people wondering why their voltages were below specs. That's why I went with Antec, and their TruePower line is supposedly even better....may have to pick one up if I can find one on the cheap.

Chiz

Well, this one is the TruePower unit.

Maybe I just got a chip that can't overclock worth a damn? On the Enermax it really did seem to just get to 2.5 at default voltage and hit a brick wall. Is there a way that I can adjust the 12V rail on the Antec? I tried searching here and on Google, but that information's tough to find...

 

[chizow]

You are using an Antec Trupower now? Sorry glanced through your original post and thought you were using the Enermax. Anyhows, there IS a way to mod your rail voltages, but I don't advocate it unless you know what you are doing. It requires you actually opening your PSU (scary :Q) and then adjusting the potentiometers with a flathead screwdriver. You'll have to ask someone with a bit more technical expertise on how much to turn and what not, but again, I don't recommend attempting it unless you know what you're doing.

Chiz

 

[vryce]

Well, I started the thread running an Enermax, but now I ordered and installed the TruePower.

I have no problem with opening up and playing with a potentiometer inside the power supply- I just need to know which one to adjust, and if it's safe to do so (for my components, not me). I've modded quite a few power supplies to reroute wires for mini cases and splice in relays to run AC water pumps, so popping one open is not an issue for me.

Does anyone know where I need to dig for the pot? I've heard that there are two pots to adjust- one for the +5V and one for the +12V. Is this correct? I'm not at home right now, so I can't bust it open to take a look.