PSU output

[drwngflies]

I recently purcahsed an Antec TrueBlue 480w PSU, and had fluctations on the 12v Rail, that let it fall to 11.6v during load. I contacted Antec, and they informed me that 11.4v was an acceptable tolerance. I dissagreed, since I am overclocking my CPU and my Gfx card, and I need every bit of the 12v that was shown to be provided by that particular PSU.
So, now I have a 5 week old Antec on the shelf, after I purchased another PSU by Enermax, a 550w with 36a on all rails. Now, I get too much fluctuation on my 5v rail, when 3.3 and 12 are fine. There is no reason why it should fall below 2v.
Below is the Sandra Monitor when running one instance of prime95, with all unecessary processes disabled, nothing running but fans: (no CD or DVD).
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/drwngflies/Sandra5v.jpg
There is no reason why it should fall so low, with only (1)DVD/ROM (1) CD/RW (1) Floppy Drive (1) SATA and (2) 80mm fans attached, besides Mobo.
I am awaiting a response from Enermax now, but wanted to ask others have they encoutered similar readings, and if so, how were they handled, as to replacments, or fixes.
I have two PSU's for a total of $225 that don't give me the constant output I require. And I am in need of yet another PSU that will do what is printed on the box.

 

[JEDIYoda]

You have several options.....

PCP&C......you pay for the best but even on my system when I have it overclocked to 4.0 the 12v rail is rock solid never waivering!!

http://www.pcpowercooling.com/home/

look at the silencer series.....if your into quiet...
*** note--PCP&C just added a heat sensor to there other units that controls the fan thus making it much more quiet***

Then you have Seasonic.....also very nice PSU`s...
http://www.seasonic.com/co/index.jsp

then I would go with iether of these 2.....
OCZ....
http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/power_management/power_supplies

Zippy---
http://www.zippy.com/

then possibly fortron...

 

[drwngflies]

I agree with the first two choices: PC&P and SeaSonic, but I have so much money tied up in these two, which are only 5 weeks and 2 weeks old, and can't really afford another now, escpecially a PC&P. This is SOoooooo aggrevating. Thanks for the input.

 

[jackschmittusa]

Antec told you wrong. While most of their PSUs are rated for ± 5%, yours is is rated at ±3%.

-5% would be 11.4v, -3% would be 11.64v. 11.6v is out of spec

 

[drwngflies]

Thanks for the heads-up, and the research you put into this, but I found this review for the TrueBlue 480, but the box design is different. It shows:
"Transient Response
+5V,+12V outputs return to within 5% in less than 1ms for 20% load change. "
http://www.gruntville.com/reviews/PSUs/antec_trueblue480/page2.php

Since my box has an updated design, has there been changes to it's inner workings, that makes the different spec for output?
I found these that confirm your statements, but how do I tell which version I have?
The first one is dated 6/05, so if mine was built after, say, May/05 it should be the newer tighter tolerances?
http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/reviews/cases/Antec_TPII-480Blue_2.html
http://www.fanbus.com/reviews/becool/Antrec_TrueBlue_Cliff_Anderson.htm
Thanks again.

 

[Goi]

Before you do anything else, don't trust software readings for accuracy. Get a digital multimeter and measure your voltages directly. Software readings are often off by a lot.

 

[drwngflies]

When I had the Antec PSU, and had these concerns with it, I did check with Multimeter, (all Molex, SATA and main power plugs) and they were within +/- .02v on all three rails (12v,5v,3.3v)(+) as compared to Sandra, although, the fan speeds were off, voltages were close enough.
(I have one fan reported by Sandra @ 6600rpm, when it's 2460 in BIOS, and two fans are reported "switched" with each other by place, (CPU and chassis) although they read same speed as BIOS)
I guess it wouldn't be fair, if I didn't go through that again. This time, I assumed, since I only changed the PSU (from Antec to Enermax) and case, nothing would have changed, since BIOS, other hardware and drivers were all the same.
I'll do that while I wait for Enermax's response to my sent E-Mail.
Thanks again, all.

 

[GamerExpress]

PCP&C is the way to go if you want the best PSU out there right now.

 

[Zepper]

re. the Sandra volt readings. I would highly suspect readings that are that far off. Cross check with a good DMM and watch it over time while running a typical torture test program. If you get readings anywhere near that with a DMM then it's RMA time. Acceptable variation on the +12 is +/-5% and you need to verify that with your DMM too. Software is OK for for precision (repeatability) and relative results, but not for accurate measurements.

IMO, Zippy/Emacs, PCP&C, Seasonic and the high line Deltas (pretty much OEM only) are equal in quality for all practical purposes. With the top Fortron/Sparkle models just below.

.bh.

 

[drwngflies]

Ok, took the time to check all Molex's (with MM) during one instance of P95 running, and got between 5.14-5.17v on all Molex connectors and at 20 pin Power plug.
All 12v were also between 12.15 and 12.21
I haven't a clue why Sandra now reads "off" when it was doing so well before this new PSU.
Guess I panicked. I'll stick with the Enermax and replace it with a PC&P next time, when this one dies.
Thanks for all the help.
peace