Antec Smart Power 2.0

[smokeybanana]

Hi, I have a Antec Smartpower 2.0 500 Watt Power Supple.
Link for it is:
http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=26500

There is dual fans, one on the inside and one on the back. But when i turn my computer on, the inside fan is spinning but the one on the back isnt spinning at all. Can u check the site and tell me Maybe y it's not spinning? Does it spin only when it gets very hot or what? Please help me, thx.
SP-500 500 Watt ATX12V v2.0 PSU

 

[JRO]

I recently put one of the SP 2.0 350 watt supplies in a friends rig, it stated in the manual that only one fan would run full time. The second fan is only activated when an internal thermal sensor tells it too.

 

[SkaarjMaster]

Bump!

Since we're talking the SP-500, I have another question. I'm trying to connect an eVGA 6800GT PCI-E card to an Antec SP-500 PSU for someone and it doesn't seem as easy as it sounds. This Antec PSU comes with a new "Advanced Cable Management System" and each cable set connects separately to the PSU. The six-pin PCI-E power connector has one end with six metal clips (one in each plastic slot), but the other end only has four metal clips (two plastic slots are empty). Which one plugs into the PSU and which one the video card? The end labelled "PCI-E" twice has the six clips. I'm guessing this is the end for the video card. Any ideas?

 

[imported_Kensai]

You've got me confused there. Got pictures?

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: JRO
I recently put one of the SP 2.0 350 watt supplies in a friends rig, it stated in the manual that only one fan would run full time. The second fan is only activated when an internal thermal sensor tells it too.

This is the same with the SP 500 which I have. It states very clearly in the manual and on the box that the second fan is only used when it gets to warm. That one fan alone is enough to pull air through the PSU and help cool the case which is why it's perfect for the Antec P180 case.

-spike

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: SkaarjMaster
Bump!

Since we're talking the SP-500, I have another question. I'm trying to connect an eVGA 6800GT PCI-E card to an Antec SP-500 PSU for someone and it doesn't seem as easy as it sounds. This Antec PSU comes with a new "Advanced Cable Management System" and each cable set connects separately to the PSU. The six-pin PCI-E power connector has one end with six metal clips (one in each plastic slot), but the other end only has four metal clips (two plastic slots are empty). Which one plugs into the PSU and which one the video card? The end labelled "PCI-E" twice has the six clips. I'm guessing this is the end for the video card. Any ideas?

If the end is labled PCI-E then that is where it goes. I believe the SATA end is labled as well. I find it funny that the nice modular cable design is causing confusion, I thought it was a miracle for my cluttered case. Plus all the cables are sleeved... go Antec!

Also, it should be pretty obvious, the one that plugs into the PSU will have several cables branching out of it including that one labled "PCI-E". It will also look like all the other modular cable attachements it comes with. Don't overthink what was ment to be a simple and easy system. I have gotten into trouble many times by overthinking...

-spike

 

[SkaarjMaster]

I appreciate the response and I'll plug the 6-metal pin end into the video card, but it's not obvious. If the ends are different, then there should be something in the PSU manual that states this and lets the user know which end goes where. Just labelling the PCI-E end with a PCI-E label just doesn't cut it; the whole cord is a PCI-E connector. Why not just state in the manual "the end labelled PCI-E goes into the video card" or label the other end "PSU", then either one would make it obvious. It seems like the more complicated the world becomes, the less people care about the details when they really should be caring more about the details.

 

[Spike]

I'm not sure if they are caring less or just assuming that those that buy a modular PSU know what they are doing. I did not find anything confusing about the setup so I apologzie if I cam across as rude. Read the manual, look at the lableing, and following the instructions and it should all be easy.

Good luck!

-spike

 

[piasabird]

I dont really like the dual fans. I dont think they help much. It seems like the fan on the bottom would just pull the cooler air in the bottom of the case up. If you are not going to hook it up to a sensor you may as well by a cheaper power supply with no sensor and save your money. The exhaust hole is not getting larger and only so much air can pass through one power supply. For air flown you need as much pressure pushing into the power supply as you have pressure pushing the air out.

You could be better served by getting a case with a fan in the top of the case to push the hot air in the top of the case up and out.

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: piasabird
I dont really like the dual fans. I dont think they help much. It seems like the fan on the bottom would just pull the cooler air in the bottom of the case up. If you are not going to hook it up to a sensor you may as well by a cheaper power supply with no sensor and save your money. The exhaust hole is not getting larger and only so much air can pass through one power supply. For air flown you need as much pressure pushing into the power supply as you have pressure pushing the air out.

Have you ever even seen a Smart Power PSU? The fans i are on the back and front, not the bottom of the case. Thats why it works great in cases where the PSU portion is seperate from the rest of the case as it can pull air through it's chamber (like the P180).

Plus it's abvious you don't have a good setup using a PSU with a bottom fan, in most cases the CPU is near the upper middle or left of the mobo. With a HSF blowing air down on a PSU that warm air has to go somewhere. The PSU can pull that air up and out of the case instead of recirculating it if there was no lower fan.

Also, if that lower fan did in fact pull cooler air from the bottom of the case up that would be a GREAT thing. That cool air would have to pass over the GPU, CPU and RAM thus cooling all those devices while exahusting the resulting warm air. Unfortunalty this does not really work (except for the CPU) but if it did that would be great.

-spike

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: piasabird
I dont really like the dual fans. I dont think they help much. It seems like the fan on the bottom would just pull the cooler air in the bottom of the case up. If you are not going to hook it up to a sensor you may as well by a cheaper power supply with no sensor and save your money. The exhaust hole is not getting larger and only so much air can pass through one power supply. For air flown you need as much pressure pushing into the power supply as you have pressure pushing the air out.

You could be better served by getting a case with a fan in the top of the case to push the hot air in the top of the case up and out.

Even with a revised quote you are still incorrect, at least in my case you are. I have a older Enermax case with a top blowhole. When using that blowhole I got higher temps then when I sealed it and relied and my dual fan enermax.

Plus if you should read SPCR's review on the Antec P180 which has the PSU in the lower section and two fans in the upper, one on the back where the PSU would normally go and one on the top. They found the best performance was covering the top hole and using only the back as exhaust... exactly where a PSU fan would be exhausting.

Don't dismiss the dual fans right out, they do serve their purpose. I believe it's the best when you either have a single 120mm temp controlled fan on the bottom or dual 80's with one temp controlled on either end.

-spike

 

[SkaarjMaster]

"following the instructions and it should all be easy."

Spike, that was the problem. The instructions almost covered it, but not quite. I don't build computers for a living, otherwise I'd know by now and surely would have used this PSU in a system by now with a video card that required the PCI-E connector.

Also, I agree with you on the air cooling issue above. I just have two full-tower cases at home and have two 80-mm fans in the back above the power supply, so that's even better. Peace.