PSU's Voltage fluctuates

[midoubleraj]

I have a EC 200X (EuroCase 200W) power supply. For 3.3, 5 and 12 Volt
leads I have these values: 3.40, 5.05-5.15 and 12.07-12.37
(measurements taken using MBM 5)

As you can see, Voltage fluctuates in less than 3% range. How does it
affect hardware, particularly hard disk mechanics (CPU fan changes it
speed as voltage changes)?

Also, I searched for some better and more powerful PSU, but I only
found horizontal ones; I assume that those can be mounted vertically;
right?

 

[paparazi]

I would be interested to know what your systems specs are?
Must be a Pentium 1?, Cirix or AMD K5 or 6 processor?
200watt is pretty low by todays standards.
The fact that you can hear a deviation in fan speed indicates a PSU struggling to cope with the demands you are putting on it and poor voltage regulation.
Time to change to something with a bit more reserve power. Go branded if you can afford it and double the wattage for future proofing. Martin Please let members know if there advice has helped any.

 

[Accessdabbler]

Your power supply is fine. Voltages will vary and your variances are perfectly normal. However, a 200W power supply is very low for today's computers. I recommend you upgrade to at least 250W since newer components tend to be more power-hungry.

 

[midoubleraj]

PSU came with the case. It is puny and I was looking at Enermax
EG365AX. Only thing I don't know is if I can mount it vertically (my
case is that way), since I found information that it is a horizontal
unit.

Thanks for putting my mind at peace, cause I thought that there
shouldn't be any Voltage fluctuations.

BTW, my CPU is Duron 700MHz, 256MB SDRAM, 32MB AGP, 20GB HDD, FDD and CD drive. It's working on this 200W, but new PSU is first on my list for upgrades (I can't install CD-RW anyway cause there isn't enough power in my case anyway).

 

[ceh4702]

A lot depends on the placement of the mounting screws and where the fan openings are. It also depends on what type of PROCESSOR (CPU) you are using. Any P4 or AMD usually requires a 300 Watt Power supply to meet the motherboard/CPU's specifications. I would measure the dimensions of your power supply and look for one the same or almost the same size. There are some smaller cases that ship with a proprietary size of a power supply that can not be replaced. If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[paparazi]

This type of dual fan PSU works very well indeed with your configuration. If I have understood you correctly your PSU mounts infront of your motherboard vertically? which puts the exhaust fan of a dual PSU unit over the top of the CPU fan. I had a case with this configuration and can tell you that the additional fan in this position drops the CPU temperatures quite dramatically.
You are lucky that your PC has run for so long with this rating of PSU. Even though yours isn't a particularly demanding setup it requires a minimum 250watt power and you are going to be spot on buying the excellent Enermax
EG365AX.
Note+ it is because your existing unit is so close to it's power supplying limit that you can hear the fan changing tone as the voltages change with demand put on it, with the Enermax I can asure you you will never hear this variation in Tone. Martin Please let members know if there advice has helped any.

 

[garebo]

I hear this all the time and I dont agree. The guy doesnt even run a burner. I bet his power supply is fine for the stuff he is running. A duron 700 with a cdrom, 20 gig hd, 32 mb agp vid card is fine with a 200 watt power supply. Other person a few up from this suggested that the fan is changing speed because it is supposed to do that. Right on.
If your system is running fine why mess with success.

Sure, if you want to run a burner or upgrade the other stuff you have, or add to what you have, you may have to get a larger ps but not with what you are running. I run more than that with 200 watts!! Dont let people scare you.
Specially since you didnt mention that you have a problem and the measurements taken from mbm bear this out as well, dont they?