Testing PSU

[fredrich64]

Mga bro, ask lang ko ha, how to know if okey ra ang power delievery sa akung power supply using speedfan. (i read speedfan manual but i can find anything about this--> - kani ba ang tan-awon--> +3.3V: xxx , +5.11V: xxx and +12V: xxx. and if yes, by looking at this numbers, how wil i know if stable sya or not? at idle and load. sa akung nasabtan lang kay if example, my +12V: should be above 12.000 at idle? and should not go down to much sa 11.000s? sensya na, sakto ba, can't get it man gud. and please tell me what are the normal numbers ani with stable power delivery.CPU: dual core E5200, PSU: HEC Raptor 500w. thanks

[fredrich64]

hi again. to make my question simple. dapat ba nga dili mu down ug ayu ang akung 12V, 5V, and 3V
example, if my 12V went down to 11.700 no overclocking, stock, does it mean nga unstable akung 12v delivery? everest, hardware monitor shows our 12,5,3v . i just want to know how to read it. somebody pls?

[poldopunk]

give or take 3% ang standards. in other words, +/- 3%, IIRC.

[fredrich64]

ah...... thanks sir, thats direct and informative. thnks again

[poldopunk]

Hi, I would like to correct myself by quoting someone from the internet (who may not be correct, too ) but his explanations seemed to make sense.

Hi Dick,

The acceptable variation from a stated power supply flow is + or - 5% for each rail. That would mean that anything between 11.4 and 12.6 is acceptable for the 12 volt rail, although the 11.4 in my opinion is a little low, but acceptable. Another example would be the 5 volt rail with a variation of between 4.75 and 5.25 being acceptable.

You do need to watch the 12 volt rail closely for a few days to make sure it puts out what you are seeing now. If you see that it is lagging below the accepted standard, then replace that power supply before it causes enough problems that will make you replace something else. Low power can kill components.

Hope that information helps you and do keep components clean because that can cause componets to draw more power and lag your power supply. IMO, I would highly recommend that you consider using a can of AIR rather than a vacuum to clean your fans and computer case in general.

Post back if you have any other questions and see you around the forum.

Addendum: Antec is a great power supply as is an enermax. If you replace it, I would spill for a 550 Antec or Enermax and it will last you for years and allow you to expand.

taken from: Is This 12 V Power Supply Fluctuation OK - Tech Support Forum

[fredrich64]

thanks sir, you're the best. gusto man gud ko maka sure nga maayu ning hec raptor nga akung napalit here in manila before ko mu larga, kay lisod na, layu akung warantee if ever magka problem sa future...

[poldopunk]

^ my tip, don't be cheapskate on the PSU, its the heart of the computer.

[fredrich64]

yep, that's why i bought raptor, mao man gud ni ang sikat karon nga kaya ra sa budget i hope wa ko nasayop ani nga brand

[fredrich64]

Sir, what else ang tan-awon to check psu's stability in power delivery maliban sa 12,5,and 3v... thanks

[poldopunk]

mao raman na commonly used voltages in your psu. ang pinaka bun-og jud kay ang 12-volt rail because your peripherals (fans, hard drive, optical drives, even the motherboard) are on it. mas favored gani ron ang single rail with a huge amperage than multiple 12-volt rails with low amperage because the single rail is inefficient when a device connected to it consumes almost all of its total capacity and the remaining ones are left unused.