Testing to see if a power suply is bad?

AnimalAnimal
edited October 2004 in Hardware
Having some system stability issues, i think it is the memory faultering but i want to check to see if my power supply is bad... How exactly do i do this and what am i looking for in terms of voltage readings in the bios?

Comments

  • ShortyShorty Manchester, UK Icrontian
    edited September 2004
    System Health is generally the BIOS option you are looking for :)

    See what the voltages look like.. it's easy to figure out.. if the +12v is more like 11.45 (or something near that).. you can guess you got a problem.

    Post 'em here if you are unsure :)
  • AnimalAnimal
    edited September 2004
    ok, i think i got this the right way round will check in a sec, my -12V was 11.89 and my +12v was 12.04 and my 5V was 5.04... going to double check...
  • ShortyShorty Manchester, UK Icrontian
    edited September 2004
    -animal- wrote:
    ok, i think i got this the right way round will check in a sec, my -12V was 11.89 and my +12v was 12.04 and my 5V was 5.04... going to double check...
    They aren't bad voltages at all mate. All within in spec.
  • AnimalAnimal
    edited September 2004
    they might not be bad... if i got them the right way round. right i will try again...

    results are:

    +5V 4.94
    +12V 11.49
    -12V 12.04
    -5V 5.04

    something has been totally screwing up my graphics cards... causing corruptions... i guess that it is either this or my memory...
  • ShortyShorty Manchester, UK Icrontian
    edited September 2004
    11.49 is a problem child for sure mate. Ouch that's a too low.
  • AnimalAnimal
    edited September 2004
    bollocks... this thing was quite expensive... £47.00! i guess i am going to have to try and rma it but dabs are well terrible + plus it might be a year old +... what would you suggest as a replacement?
  • ShortyShorty Manchester, UK Icrontian
    edited September 2004
    I got one of these...

    http://www.short-media.com/review.php?r=128

    They are solid as a brick!
  • AnimalAnimal
    edited September 2004
    £60 :eek3: need to start a tagan fund... any others that i slight less expensive?
  • AnimalAnimal
    edited September 2004
    found it for £58 looks like if no other are recomended this bad boy is mine... Great name "Tagan... a mans's choice"
  • ShortyShorty Manchester, UK Icrontian
    edited September 2004
    -animal- wrote:
    £60 :eek3: need to start a tagan fund... any others that i slight less expensive?
    Not sure what else to recommend as good PSU's cost a few beer tokens. But then.. they tend to last longer than a year :(
  • AnimalAnimal
    edited September 2004
    i thought mine was good, FSP Sparkle thingy... guess not.
  • ShortyShorty Manchester, UK Icrontian
    edited September 2004
    -animal- wrote:
    i thought mine was good, FSP Sparkle thingy... guess not.
    hmm.. not necessarily so.

    Best brands tend to be enermax, antec & tagan. Look for a 380w minimum to be sure you are gonna get enough power to your system and not overwork the system :)

    Stay well away from those evil q-tec supplies. They promise 550w+ but are absolute drivel.
  • AnimalAnimal
    edited September 2004
    i found it here: this is the right one i guess? http://www.planetmicro.co.uk/product_info.asp?stockcode=M003715&source=kelkoo

    had a look on ebay and if it is the same power suply on both links... the person who just bid £63.00 is a retard: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3670&item=6710547137&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
  • ShortyShorty Manchester, UK Icrontian
    edited September 2004
    -animal- wrote:
    i found it here: this is the right one i guess? http://www.planetmicro.co.uk/product_info.asp?stockcode=M003715&source=kelkoo

    had a look on ebay and if it is the same power suply on both links... the person who just bid £63.00 is a retard: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3670&item=6710547137&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
    Thats ebay users for you. Don't they actually check the web ?? :wtf:

    Yes.. that's the PSU. Three year warranty as well. Mines stable as a rock powering..

    K8T NEO
    A64 3200+
    6800 GT (overclocked)
    1gb Ram
    2 raptors SATA
    2 standard IDE drives
    CDRW & a DVD

    Ton of USB kit..

    Not a flicker EVER.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited September 2004
    Before you buy anything, how about picking up a multimeter and actually testing the PSU with that? A lot of motherboards read voltages much lower than they actually are, and FSP/Sparkle PSUs are very good... if this is a decent size PSU (350-400w+), the only reason why the +12v rail would be that low is if it was defective (unless you have a hell of a lot of hardware in that system)...
  • AnimalAnimal
    edited September 2004
    the power supply is a 350W one and in the system i have:

    DVD-RW
    CD-RW
    120gb hard drive
    9800 pro
    abit nf7'-s
    and a lot of fans...

    i have just stuck my hand behind the power supply and the air feels quite hot.... the tagan deal is also quite good... which is why i just placed an order....
  • AnimalAnimal
    edited October 2004
    right, slight problem possibly, i just put in the tagan and my readings are as follows:

    +5 = 5.02
    +12 = 11.86
    -12 = -12.60
    -5 = -5.20

    is that ok or do i have a point point issue?
  • AnimalAnimal
    edited October 2004
    right i have got hold of a multimeter how do i go about testing this bad boy? want to test to see if the psu is ok and if the motherboard is ok... how do i go about doing this? complete n00b when it comes to electronics so if anyone knows how and doesn't mind explaining it like they would to a baby then that would be great.
  • edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
    edited October 2004
    Use the pin tipped probes and check in un-used connectors. I don't trust bios readings much anymore. If you want to check some lines that only run to the mobo stick a straight pin into the back of the socket and then check it.
    Good luck
  • AnimalAnimal
    edited October 2004
    just going to send the mobo back its the last thing that could be causing this problem... if anyone has any other suggestions do pipe up....
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited October 2004
    -animal- wrote:
    right, slight problem possibly, i just put in the tagan and my readings are as follows:

    +5 = 5.02
    +12 = 11.86
    -12 = -12.60
    -5 = -5.20

    is that ok or do i have a point point issue?

    If your multimeter confirms those voltages you posted (as quoted above) before talking about getting hands on a multimeter, or within .1 V either way on any voltage value, you should be fine. Test it when the system has been running a while, you want the fans active for max load to see what voltages sag to (drop to), as PSU is loaded up with things wanting power.
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