Hot Power Supply

[Adam1280]

I've had this system about 8 months now, I noticed tonight that the top of my case is extremely warm, probably hot enough to warm a cup of coffee while the system is under load. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=17-371-016& is the PSU I'm using right now. (550w Antec Modular)

CPU - AMD x3 Rana 440

Video Nvidia 450 GTS

Just one HDD and no other internal drives currently in the system.

Fans and system are all clean of dust and working.

One thing I have noticed is the PSU doesn't seem to be expelling much heat out of the back of it as it I feel like it should be, considering how hot it is.

Design flaw? I'm really at a loss, I'm using an 8 year old raidmax midtower case with one intake and one exhaust fan at the moment.

At this point I don't know where to spend the money to remedy this.

I should add, CPU temps are fine, around 38c under load

 

[rolli59]

My guess is that the Fan in the PSU is not operating as it should! Check it out and if so contact Antec for RMA.

 

[hunter315]

^+1

Check the fan, the BP550 is always actively cooled so if its not spinning its broken and needs to be replaced, it should start up as soon as you hit the power button.

If the fan is going it may just be a temperature perception issue, 40C is really hot for a person to touch but is in the standard temperature range for a PSU to be exhausting air at so that is another thing to keep in mind.

 

[spillz1123]

This maybe a stupid question, but does the fan on top blow up or suck in?

Could it be that if the fan is blowing up, and you don't have any holes or anything above it, meaning that there is nothing between that top fan and the case, it is warming up the case and you haven't noticed it until now?

 

[jaguarskx]

Typically the top fan should blow hot air out of the case since hot air rises.

Unless of course the fan was installed backwards.

 

[spillz1123]

But wouldn't the air just hit the top of the case and go back into the PSU if there is no where for the Air to exit from?

Interestingly enough I just ordered this fan with my build, I think I might drill some whole pattern on top of the case near the PSU fan to allow the air to exit.

 

[hunter315]

Look at the back of the PSU, note that the screw holes are not all on the corner, they are arranged such that the orientation of a top mounted PSU is almost always with the fan pointing down into the case, bottom mounted cases will sometimes give you a choice of which way to mount it, cases with the PSU up top tend not to.

 

[Adam1280]

Thanks for all the replys guys. Just a quick update, I switched this one out for another PSU (450 watt) I had around here that i know was fine and it got just as hot, it was actually so hot when I took it back out, it was almost too hot to handle.

Now I know some people will say I'm drawing too much power but that can't be the case, if anything this system is on the lower side of the power spectrum.

Is it possible that a failing component could cause this? GPU and CPU temps are stable and fine under load, getting no driver crashes or artifacting while playing games.

I'm tempted to buy a new case with more airflow and 120mm fans. Maybe something with more breathing room around the PSU.

Just a reminder, I'm running a AMD x3 440 Rana, 450GTS Nvida and 1 7200 RPM seagate terabyte drive. (and two 80mm fans) Gigabyte MA785GM-US2H mainboard with 3 gigs of ddr2 800 if anyone was wondering.

When I feel waves of heat radiating out from under my desk it puts me into worry mode. It's got plenty of breathing room where it is currently but I also tried moving it out into the open with the side off and still got just as hot, only time I could get it down to a comfortable temp was running an 18 inch box fan against the side of it. At idle it's totally fine or surfing the net, only when I stress it in games does it heat up to unreasonable temps.

 

[Farmer Paul]

Give your case positive air pressure. It should increase airflow through the PSU, cooling it.

 

[Adam1280]

Well I went and order a new Antec case and problem solved, PSU stays ice cold, gpu runs 15 degrees cooler and much quieter! I guess my old raidmax case was an oven. Seems to trap heat in the top of the case in a pocket and the 80mm fans just can't make enough airflow with the case design.