Is my Antec PSU defected?

[MLLK]

I notice that there's a lot of warm air blowing out from my antec true550 PSU compared to my two exhaust fans that's right under it. Also, I opened up the case and touched the PSU and notice that when I touch the top of the PSU, it was pretty hot but the bottom of the PSU stayed pretty cool. Is this normal or my PSU might be defected?

My computer specs

Antec 1080AMG /w True 550
2 exhaust fans, 2 intake fans, 1 side-panel fan
AMD Athlong XP 2100+
768 PC2700 DDR
Asus Geforece 2 GTS 32mb
120 gig, 60 gig
CD-RW, DVD-Rom
Sound Blaster live

 

[amdskip]

This is normal and especially because it is a larger power supply.

 

[Bovinicus]

It sounds like normal operation to me. PSUs get hot, that is why there are cooling fans on them.

 

[MLLK]

how hot does a PSU go? It doesn't look like the cooling fan is doing much help.
Does it matter if I have a larger power supply or not?
Is this a "switching" power supply? If it is, I don't think the size of the power supply should matter.

If I leave the side panel open, the top of the PSU becomes much cooler than before. Can it be the air flow problem?


I'm just wondering because I have the True550 and my brother has a True430 and we almost have the same specs but his PSU is running much cooler than mine.

"If you're afraid that running a 425W power supply will increase your electricity bills, fear not. A "switching" power supply only pulls out what's needed. If your PC needs 200W total, but you have a 400W supply, the system will only consume 200W. In fact, some power supply vendors say the extra breathing room can actually save you money because the more powerful unit will run cooler and more efficiently than the cheap power supply." Link

 

[Kowan]

Does your brother have a similar case and fan setup?
The side fan can cause the flow to be disrupted can have hot spots.
You could try masking over the side fan and see if it helps/no effect?

 

[OulOat]

"Is my Antec PSU defected"

Dunno, was he on the sub with Homer?

 

[amdskip]

Case size/ventillation will make a difference also. The smaller the case, usually there are fewer fans and more hot air exits via the power supply. I really don't think you have anything to worry about.

 

[MLLK]

I ran SiSoftware Sandra 2000 Professional
I'm wondering if this is normal
I notice that all the + voltages seem to be correct except for +3.3V voltage which is 1.57V
Is this a problem I should be concerned about?

Under Mainboard Information

Voltage Sensor(s)
CPU Core Voltage : 1.79V
+3.3V Voltage : 1.57V
+5V Voltage : 4.97V
+12V Voltage : 11.73V
-12V Voltage : 1.95V
-5V Voltage : 0.48V
+5V Standby Voltage : 4.95V
Battery Voltage : 3.14V

 

[Bovinicus]

That is definitely too low for the 3.3v rail. However, I have a feeling that the reading is innacurate. Otherwise, there is no way your system would be running stable.

 

[JBT]

that seems a LOT low mine stays exctly at 3.23v never changes.

 

[MLLK]

<<Otherwise, there is no way your system would be running stable. >>

What do you consider "stable"?
lately, I've been getting errors with various programs
my hard drives seem like they're running slightly slower
My CPU used to be around 47, now its around 51.5 to 55 while my MB is 32 degrees celcius.
As I've said before, when I touch the top of the PSU, it feels very very hot, not warm to the touch.

 

[mandrake88]

that does not seems normal. i have the same psu and it is not even warm at all, running
three disk drives, asus p4b533-e and other hardware in a lian-li pc-71 case. you might want to reseat
20 pin plug that goes to your mb, it is a shot. otherwise, i would return the psu or have it
fixed. and also check the ventilation of you case and i would also keep an eye on the 3.3v.
another possibility is your motherboard, have you tried a different psu?
good luck..