500 Watt Power Supply(s) : Smell Question

[chris89]

Hello, I had a question about some power supplies I bought. They all emit an odor that is overwhelming if in operation and no ventilation/ door closed.

It's not a really bad smell I mean you have to put your nose right by the exhaust or right inside the PSU. I modded an aftermarket 120mm LED to 12v for all 3 so they would run cooler and look cool. Maybe they just need to be cleaned? I also oiled the bearings on all 3 and used some tape so not all the oil leaks out... not the most appealing tape job but you can't see it when installed.

The PSU's smell slightly like an electronics factory. They are stable and have 12.50v across the 12v and above 5v on the 5v, as well as above 3.3v on the 3.3v. Under load sure can droop that 12.50v to 11.47v though. Still remaining stable. It depends on at what overclock and temperature limit in the GPU is set for the smell to become quite bothersome. So I dial back the temperature limit until smell is not so noticeable. All 3 PSU's smell when at idle and the same at load, with too much load say a 290X it's quite smelly. So not using 290X, using RX 480 Polaris and it's 100x better.

Can you take a look and see if you see something and maybe if the caps are of low quality? Also if I could replace some that are dedicated to the 12v rail to reduce droop to almost none at all? I'm willing to repair these, as well as give them all a good bath! I think a good cleaning could help with the smell as well.

Thanks

[Dan81]

Re: 500 Watt Power Supply(s) : Smell Question

Hate to tell you,but that is a crappy Leadman/Powmax PSU. Nothing about it is quality,not even low-quality. It's below that. The only thing useful out of it? You can reuse the casing. (I did that with a 120mm Leadman just like yours and a really cramped but solid 350W Deer that I recapped.)

[chris89]

Re: 500 Watt Power Supply(s) : Smell Question

Thanks. One question if your 2nd rig is like that, what's your 1st rig? Interesting rig you have there I must say. haha

As for my PSU's... I may consider cleaning them all to reduce/ remove the smell. It's not too too bad... I think maybe it's my vaping all of a sudden haha? =)

I do think they smell though it's a bit of a mix of 3-in-1 oil for the bearings and electronics smell. I think these fans are lacking on CFM as well at 12 volts. If I were to guess, just maybe 35 cfm... They seem to be fine though so anyway. haha

[dmill89]

Re: 500 Watt Power Supply(s) : Smell Question

Hate to tell you,but that is a crappy Leadman/Powmax PSU. Nothing about it is quality,not even low-quality. It's below that. The only thing useful out of it? You can reuse the casing. (I did that with a 120mm Leadman just like yours and a really cramped but solid 350W Deer that I recapped.)

^This, a "real" 500W PSU would have no issues powering an RX480 or even a R9-290X (as long as it is only a single card), but that "500W" PSU is really more like a 300-350W PSU and thus is running near 100% capacity and producing allot of heat (it probably only has 70% or so efficiency) which is likely what is causing the smell.

[PeteS in CA]

Re: 500 Watt Power Supply(s) : Smell Question

Concur with dm89. With those heatsinks, semiconductors (judging by the package type), and output inductors, that's probably a realistic 300W-350W PSU. Those output inductors are too wimpy, and look like they are -26 material, which means the switch frequency is probably under 50KHz. I'm afraid to ask, are the switch devices MOSFETs or bipolar transistors? The PWM is a UC3844, a very good current-mode PWM, but it's not the higher efficiency quasi-resonant phase-modulator controller and synchronous rectifiers that might get 500W with those heatsinks. For 500W you really want to see TO-247 (or TO-3P) package semiconductors.

A PSU in that class would be pretty pricey.

[chris89]

Re: 500 Watt Power Supply(s) : Smell Question

Thanks. The PSU's are actually working quite well. Quite stable and efficient at idle.

It's all up to my power limits/ temperature limits of the GPU Polaris BIOS to stay within it's sweet spot. Drooping no less than 11.625v. I've been able to stabilize these PSU's with tuning of the GPU BIOS since that's the only component that could pull the 12v down enough.

They stopped smelling since I'm going to dial back the TDP Limits to 96 Watts. Which should be helpful. Though I kinda wanna run the Polaris DeLimited on Power Limit... Suck down more juice from the PSU then it can handle only for the short period of time before my temperature limits are reached and throttles the power/ voltage/ clocks for continuous stability. So it's fun that way... Stretching out the Long-Legged RX 480 Polaris for a short time before Temperature Limits are reached and it dials back on it's own. Quite fun.

[chris89]

Re: 500 Watt Power Supply(s) : Smell Question

*Update* set a bunch of clock states and temperature max at 68C for the Polaris 480 core and max clock of 1438Mhz... Its dialing back clocks and power accordingly... 12v as low as 11.75v which is fine for me.

[dmill89]

Re: 500 Watt Power Supply(s) : Smell Question

Thanks. The PSU's are actually working quite well. Quite stable and efficient at idle.

It's all up to my power limits/ temperature limits of the GPU Polaris BIOS to stay within it's sweet spot. Drooping no less than 11.625v. I've been able to stabilize these PSU's with tuning of the GPU BIOS since that's the only component that could pull the 12v down enough.

They stopped smelling since I'm going to dial back the TDP Limits to 96 Watts. Which should be helpful. Though I kinda wanna run the Polaris DeLimited on Power Limit... Suck down more juice from the PSU then it can handle only for the short period of time before my temperature limits are reached and throttles the power/ voltage/ clocks for continuous stability. So it's fun that way... Stretching out the Long-Legged RX 480 Polaris for a short time before Temperature Limits are reached and it dials back on it's own. Quite fun.

So you're down-clocking a $200 video card to save $40 (or less if on-sale or used) on a decent power supply??? Not to mention that a cheap PSU like that one is likely producing out of spec ripple that may damage you components over time and/or cause stability issues, and it is severely lacking in protections so it is likely to take out other components when (not it with a unit like that) it fails.

Seriously the EVGA 450 B1 and Corsair CX430 are both on sale for $20 after rebate right now, while these might not be the world's best PSUs and still have second teir caps, they will do their full rating in spec and power an RX480 easily. If you want something a even better with all Japanese caps you can pick up a 520W Seasonic S12II for $40 after rebate. There is hardly any reason to use junk like that Leadman/Powmax unit when you can pick up far better PSUs for next to nothing these days (at least in the US).

[chris89]

Re: 500 Watt Power Supply(s) : Smell Question

Down clock??? hahahaha It starts out at 1,438Mhz Core Clock on 2,110Mhz memory clock 270GB/s and 46 GPixel/s from 1,266Mhz core max stock... It'll ride out 1,438Mhz core until temperature limit is reach and could dial back as low as stock 1,266Mhz to maintain extra low temperatures (68C)... Its doing well but I totally understand they are not of epic quality by no means. I do very much appreciate all your advice and tips for sure.

I'd like learn to replace a capacitor to enhance the 12 volt rail stability. Thanks

[Dan81]

Re: 500 Watt Power Supply(s) : Smell Question

Concur with dm89. With those heatsinks, semiconductors (judging by the package type), and output inductors, that's probably a realistic 300W-350W PSU. Those output inductors are too wimpy, and look like they are -26 material, which means the switch frequency is probably under 50KHz. I'm afraid to ask, are the switch devices MOSFETs or bipolar transistors? The PWM is a UC3844, a very good current-mode PWM, but it's not the higher efficiency quasi-resonant phase-modulator controller and synchronous rectifiers that might get 500W with those heatsinks. For 500W you really want to see TO-247 (or TO-3P) package semiconductors.

A PSU in that class would be pretty pricey.

It has only one PI coil (which isn't enough at all) and there's no space for adding the rest of them.