PSU Voltage...

PenguinDPenguinD
edited July 2005 in Hardware
Okay, here's a good one for you to chew on:

Recently I had a serious PC meltdown, requiring that I had to replace the MoBo, and CPU fan (Don't ask...)...

After about 16 hours worth of tinkering with the stupid PC we finnaly got it up and stable... I've installed some monitoring software and I've gotten a serious warning...

My -12V rail is reporting back at -6.35 volts, I'm not much of a hardware guy, I'm a programmmer, but these seems somewhat bad...


The computre SEEMS stable but I'm not sure how stable this thing is... Also, what are the -'ve rails used for and can the exceedingly low, ER high, voltage be damaging?

My box is:
ThermalTake SilentPower 480W PSU
AMD 3200+
DFI UL400s-AL board (NEW)
1GB Cosair TwinX
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 256
SB Audigy 2 ZS
2 Seagate 160GB 7200.7 Sata Barracuda Drives in a Striped Raid.
9 case fans

*Note: 2 monitoring programs have both reported around -6.35, the other was -6.37

Comments

  • MAGICMAGIC Doot Doot Furniture City, Michigan Icrontian
    edited July 2005
    what software are you using to get the readings? its pretty common for some information from them to be off a bit, if your not noticing any problems there shouldnt be a problem.
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited July 2005
    Go into the bios and see what the voltages look like there.
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited July 2005
    the problem is simple. ThermalTake SilentPower 480W PSU. Thermaltake PSUs (INCLUDING mine) have very unreliable rails. I have the same psu series as you, and I've heard theyre all like that. It shouldn't be a big problem unless you have problems with it.

    wow 9 case fans? show us some pix :cool:
  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited July 2005
    The -12V rail is not used by many (if any at all, I can't quite recall) components in your system. The rails of greatest concern should be the +3.3V, +5V, +12V and of course, a steady Vcore.

    As mentioned above, go into your system BIOS, and take a look there. Chances are, it will be consistant with what your monitoring programs report. That could be an indication of other PSU issues. How do your other rails look?

    Also, was this PSU hooked up when your motherboard etc. toasted? If so, I would strongly recommend keeping that power supply disconnected until you can have it thoroughly tested with a voltmeter.
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited July 2005
    what IS the -12v rail used for?
  • GrayFoxGrayFox /dev/urandom Member
    edited July 2005
    My buddy has the same psu his +12V and -5V are freakishly unstable (12V ranges from 9V-13.2V :/)
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited July 2005
    makes me mad :(
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited July 2005
    The negitave rails were only really used for legacy ISA devices. There are a couple devices out there that do still use them, but I can't remember what they are at the moment.

    Anyways, many PSU manufactures leave out the neg. rails all together, since 99.999% of PC users haven't used them in at least 10 years. But if I were you, I'd check the voltages with a multimeter (around $15 or less from Home Depot) to make sure the motherboard sensors aren't at fault. If the multimeter confirms they are really that bad, contact TT about a replacment.
  • MAGICMAGIC Doot Doot Furniture City, Michigan Icrontian
    edited July 2005
    ahh...Thermaltake... tsk tsk
  • PenguinDPenguinD
    edited July 2005
    Thanks, yeah all the other voltages are stable, I ended up going out and purchasing a new PSU, almost no-name-ish but seems pretty good, the voltages are as stable as a rock now :)

    SuperFlower 450W
    12 = 12.01
    5 = 5.05
    3.3 = 3.33
    Vcore = 1.76 (set for 1.75)

    I'll post some pics once I get the rest of my system redone (Formatted and re-installed, this was as good as an excuse as any.)
  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited July 2005
    PenguinD wrote:
    Thanks, yeah all the other voltages are stable, I ended up going out and purchasing a new PSU, almost no-name-ish but seems pretty good, the voltages are as stable as a rock now :)

    SuperFlower 450W
    12 = 12.01
    5 = 5.05
    3.3 = 3.33
    Vcore = 1.76 (set for 1.75)

    I'll post some pics once I get the rest of my system redone (Formatted and re-installed, this was as good as an excuse as any.)

    Actually, those superflower PSUs are supposed to be quite good. I've never used one, but some other members here love them!
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited July 2005
    Yes, you found a real jewel with that Superflower. They are made bu TTGI and are some of the better PSU's built today! Look in the bottom right of my sig. :D
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