Are my PSU voltages ok?

[Mr.Nicklebe]

Hi guys,

I've been having major PC problems over the last week or so. My PC at first was getting BSODS, then moved on to just freezing up entirely when under full load, or close to full load. Games will freeze are around 5 minutes. 3D rendering will freeze after around 5 minutes too.

Anyway I've run several tests on my components. My RAM turned up 0 errors on Memtest86, my HDD's despite being years old having come back with 0 errors on multiple programs. I also reformatted both my HDD's which didn't fix the problems. I ran Prime95's torture test in "Small FFT" mdde to stress my CPU and Mobo and it crashed after about a minute. Now I'm fairly sure it's either my PSU, CPU or Motherboard at fault.

Anyway in terms of my PSU I'm wondering if these voltages are ok? My PSU is a 600w Solytech SL-8600EPS PSU.

I'm slightly concerned about these voltages as the shown voltages don't seem to match up with their corresponding readings.

My PC Specs are:

Windows 7 Professional 64Bit
AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2Ghz
Asus M4A79XTD EVO 790X Motherboard
Corsair 8GB DDR3 1333MHz RAM
Gigabyte Nvidia GTX470 1280MB GDDR5 Graphics Card
600w Solytech SL-8600EPS PSU

I really need to work out what needs replacing PSU, Mobo or CPU asap.

Thanks GREATLY for any help.

EDIT:

Oh and I'm from the UK, if that helps for the voltages.

 

[SparkyJJO]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=257485

In short, don't ever trust software voltage readings. Use a DMM to test the voltages directly.

 

[coffeejunkee]

What Sparky said.

But I am suspicious of your psu. It seems to be an older model with not that much juice on the 12V rails. Since the GTX470 is a massive power hog I think the psu just can't deliver enough anymore. Then again, I would expect shutdowns instead of bsod's/freezing. So could still be another issue. Swapping with a second pc seems like the only way to find out for sure.

Btw, you can configure Speedfan to only show meaningfull numbers. By default it reads out every possible value from the io chip on your mobo, even if that value isn't used. Also, reading out hdd temps in real time means that they will never spin down.

 

[BoomerD]

Solytech is Deer. Some of the worst quality power supplies on the market today. Throw that thing away and buy a quality power supply.

 

[Mr.Nicklebe]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Yeah I've been suspicious of my PSU for a while now. Especially after I got the GTX 470. I suppose I'll replace it then. If it doesn't fix the freezing then I think it's going to have to be a mobo/CPU problem. Unless all the diagnostics I ran missed something

Is Corsair a good brand of PSU? Over the years I've cheaped out on PSU's so I could get better CPU's/GPU's etc Not this time though, I want to buy a 700-800 watt quality branded model.

 

[BoomerD]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Yeah I've been suspicious of my PSU for a while now. Especially after I got the GTX 470. I suppose I'll replace it then. If it doesn't fix the freezing then I think it's going to have to be a mobo/CPU problem. Unless all the diagnostics I ran missed something

Is Corsair a good brand of PSU? Over the years I've cheaped out on PSU's so I could get better CPU's/GPU's etc Not this time though, I want to buy a 700-800 watt quality branded model.

Corsair
XFX
SeaSonic
Antec

All are good, reliable power supplies.

 

[BrianTho2010]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Yeah I've been suspicious of my PSU for a while now. Especially after I got the GTX 470. I suppose I'll replace it then. If it doesn't fix the freezing then I think it's going to have to be a mobo/CPU problem. Unless all the diagnostics I ran missed something

Is Corsair a good brand of PSU? Over the years I've cheaped out on PSU's so I could get better CPU's/GPU's etc Not this time though, I want to buy a 700-800 watt quality branded model.

Get the SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151087

that said, before you get a new PSU, I would check your voltages with a DMM under load before jumping to a new PSU.

 

[BoomerD]

Get the SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151087

that said, before you get a new PSU, I would check your voltages with a DMM under load before jumping to a new PSU.

Normally, I'd agree about verifying voltages properly. Software usually does a very poor job of that...HOWEVER, his PSU is made by one of the worst manufacturers around...He should change that PSU before it goes to hell...and takes some of his other components along for the fiery ride...

 

[Mr.Nicklebe]

Thanks for the debate guys . I've pretty much decided on a Corsair 750 watt AX750 from ebuyer.co.uk. I know my PSU isn't necessarily the cause of the BSOD/freezing problems but I'm replacing it anyway.

Anyways, I had no BSOD's or crashes yesterday at all and I was doing all the normal things like playing games and rendering out 3D projects. However today I've had one BSOD already and all I was doing at the time was internet browsing.

I posted a new thread in the Computer Help section regarding the BSOD. So if any of you guys have expertise with BSOD diag then that would be great . It's something to do with the system file ntoskrnl.exe.

 

[theAnimal]

750W is way more than you need. 550W is plenty.

 

[Mr.Nicklebe]

750W is way more than you need. 550W is plenty.

I'd feel much more comfortable with more than 550W. I run a lot of peripherals, case mods, and occasionally use 2 monitors for video editing. I don't know how much more power gets drawn with all these extras though, if any at all.

I'd be looking to future proof my PSU as well in terms of power hogging video cards that are likely to come out in the next few years. So what would you recommend? 600W, 700W?

Thanks again for the advice.

 

[fffblackmage]

^Well, first of all, it doesn't matter if you have one or three monitors. Monitors don't run off your computer's PSU - they each have their own.

Case modding... you'd have to be adding a lot of LED lighting or something to increase power consumption significantly.

Each USB 2.0 port is limited to only half a watt. USB 3.0 can use up to almost a watt. Even if you have a lot of USB devices, you would need to have a powered USB hub. I can't really think of any other peripheral that would use a significant amount of power.

And newer video cards... once you're at the high-end, you won't be looking at increasing power consumption very much, unless you're going from single GPU to dual GPU. 500-600W should be plenty for any single GPU configuration.


I have a 500W PSU. I went from an X1950XT, to HD4830, to HD4890, and finally to my current HD5870. The only time I can see myself encounter a power issue is moving to SLI/CFX configurations.
I've even tried to max out my PSU's power output with some insane overvolting and overclocking (Phenom II X4, DDR2 ram, and 5870). My Kill-A-Watt meter read about 500W or so when I ran Prime95 and Furmark. Assuming my PSU was 85% efficient, that means my PC was consuming 425W or so - I still had 75W of headroom. This isn't realistic, however. I wouldn't use those overvolt and overclock settings for 24/7 use. I imagine my cpu/ram/gpu/mobo would have failed first before the PSU.

 

[Rvenger]

You should be surprised to know that Solytech actually made a good unit and it is the SL-8600EPS.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/558
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/MSI-Turbostream-600-W-Power-Supply-Review/666
http://www.guru3d.com/article/solytech-sl8600eps-600-watt-psu-review/6

 

[john3850]

Software read 11.90v, next week 11.70v ,next week 11.50 now 5 weeks later 10.89v.
Now 2 months from the first voltage drop I smell wires melted the 24 pin mb plugs.
Point is if you always read the sotware it works.
The last time looked at software also.