Question about my Antec Earthwatts 380

zodaex · Post by **zodaex** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 2:51 pm

I did a fan swap on my antec earthwatts 380W with a 1000rpm undervolted arctic cooling fluid bearing 80mm fan, but i'm a bit worried about if it is enough cooling for it to safely run. The PSU does not seem warm to the touch at all, but I have no idea if it's hot as hell on the inside. Do you think it's safe to assume it's fine? Is there any way of me knowing if the cooling is insufficient? The PSU is less then 6 months old so I want to be careful not to damage it. thanks!!!

netmask254 · Post by **netmask254** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 6:18 pm

I think your fan speed is too slow (note the original fan speed is 3000rpm) and very dangerous when it's in full load.

If you connect that fan to motherboard and make it run@1000rpm or slower (e.g. 800rpm) using a fan controller, it's ok. But if you connect it to the original socket on PSU, its speed may be ~400rpm when idle (since the start voltage is ~4V), which is really aggressive.

BUT, since your system load is really small (60~90W), I think it's pretty safe if you keep current configuration. An easy (reliable perhaps) way to check the temperature is to feel or measure the hot air drain out of PSU, and calculate the temperature rise.

Post by **MikeC** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 8:13 pm

Looks like absolutely no risk to me -- as long as your fan is spinning. The DC output is 20~25% less than your measured AC power. If it was hot as hell on the inside, it'd be hot as purgatory on the outside.