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I bought this PSU, now i'm having regrets...

D

drpootums

Golden Member
here it is

I liked it a lot at first. Fully sleaved cables, 120mm fan, quiet, looked nice, ATX v2.0, the works.

Now my mobo is saying the 12v rail is at 11.71, and i just noticed (i didnt too too much research on this psu) that the 12v rails are at 15a, which sounds pretty low to me.

Should by PSU be getting a higher reading (something wrong with it), is that normal and ok, or did i just make a bad decision?

Thanks!

EDIT: lol, i just noticed i spelled regrets wrong, fixed...
 
The power supply has 2 separate 12 v rails, 15 amps each. So total of 30 amps on 12 rails combined. Keep it
Only true way to test 12v line is with good digital multimeter, many readings in bios is not that accurate.
 
Originally posted by: Matt155
The power supply has 2 separate 12 v rails, 15 amps each. So total of 30 amps on 12 rails combined. Keep it
Only true way to test 12v line is with good digital multimeter, many readings in bios is not that accurate.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:
 
Originally posted by: Operandi
Originally posted by: Matt155
The power supply has 2 separate 12 v rails, 15 amps each. So total of 30 amps on 12 rails combined. Keep it
Only true way to test 12v line is with good digital multimeter, many readings in bios is not that accurate.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

 
Originally posted by: Matt155
The power supply has 2 separate 12 v rails, 15 amps each. So total of 30 amps on 12 rails combined. Keep it
Only true way to test 12v line is with good digital multimeter, many readings in bios is not that accurate.
Click to expand...

This is true. The best you can usually get from the mobo monitor is how much fluctuations you are having. Though the readings may not be right, it does do a good job showing you how stable the voltage is on that rail. It is is stable at 11.71, chances are you are fine, if it is wildy swinging around, then you may have issues.

-spike
 
Originally posted by: drpootums
ok, thanks, it has never moved from 11.71, so i guess i'm good.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Sounds like the readings are just off. You can use a multimeter to be sure, but I am betting your PSU is fine.

-spike
 
Actually the acceptable range for the +12 rail is +/-5% (11.4 to 12.6V) - so you're well within tolerance. If it stays as 11.71 regardless of load, then it's doing great.
.bh.

:moon:
 
Yeah. Remember folks, we're dealing with electrons here, which are inherently unpredictable. Your power readings will vary from millisecond to millisecond because energy transfers in this lovely reality we all exist in are not 100% efficient. As long as you are within the +/-5% range, and you are with a big soft cushion, you'll be fine.

Your power readings fluctuate for the same reason your processor needs cooling - occasionally (and by occasionally I mean trillions of times per second) some poor little electrons will get confused, fly off track, hit some other atom, and produce heat instead of electrical current.

Long story short - you've got a great PSU there that's performing with the best. You've got nothing to worry about.
 
You have a LeadTek nVidia 6800? I am almost 100% sure that those cards require the extra power from a four-pin Molex power-plug. I'm also surprised that nobody asked you if you forgot -- or just overlooked -- hooking it up. Even my (last year's) FX5950 Ultra requires the extra Molex power connection, but this issue about the power connector and what happens if you don't connect it has been in the "enthusiast" news about the 6800 vs X800 Radeon comparisons for around five months now.

 
PS

If you overclock this machine -- once you have the video problem solved -- make sure you run PRIME95 and watch the software monitor's voltage tab. If the voltage reading declines below its current reading because of the extra draw under load, watch the PRIME95 screen to see if the program is registering "rounding" or other errors. If not, then the software monitor is showing a lower voltage than what the Fortron gives you.

Of course, it may never decline below the level you mentioned, because it DOES have a 30 Amp rating on the two 12V rails combined.

Also -- is it possible that if you DID hook up your video card to a Molex plug, that you already have too much power drawn from one of those rails? Just asking, because I have no experience with this "two-12V-rail" type of PSU.
 
Yes, i have the video card plugged into the power. There are accually no other components plugged into the string of connectors that come down.

And even after playing Farcry for 2 hours (before the video started getting messed up) the voltage never moved

 
Well, dredge up your warranty papers on the LeadTek; get their web-site tech-support e-mail and request an RMA #; ask for a replacement under warranty. At this point, it will only cost you postage and inconvenience.

I've actually had video cards go bad on me, and was able to verify it. Your symptoms sound too much like mine.
 
Originally posted by: Matt155
The power supply has 2 separate 12 v rails, 15 amps each. So total of 30 amps on 12 rails combined. Keep it
Only true way to test 12v line is with good digital multimeter, many readings in bios is not that accurate.
Click to expand...
On top of that, 11.71 is well within tolerances if it IS accurate. As long as it doesn't spike and drop all the time, anywhere from about 11.5 to 12.5v should be fine (and I think most equipment is made with something like 10% toelrances).

If you start playing a movie and it goes to 11v, then 12v, then back to 11.7, WORRY (unless you bought a $20 500w PSU 🙂).
If it goes to 11.5v, then back to near 11.7, it's fine.
 
Originally posted by: thegimp03
off-topic, but i'm looking at a similar 754 configuration that you have...how are your benchmarks? thanks. 🙂
Click to expand...

I only got a chance to run 3dmark'03, and i got 10,900. Farcry was super smooth with max details+4xAA and 16xAF with the 1.1 patch (1.3 makes it look better and perform faster because it takes advantage of PS3). Doom3 on ultra with the same 4xAA and 16xAF was perfict.

BTW, i was only running these at 10x7 because of my monitor, but i'm sure it could still handle it at 12x10 or higher at the same settings!
 
I don't trust my motherboard too much for voltage readings because I was getting 4.89 on my Antec True 480 PSU after I upgraded from a generic 350Watt PSU which was also giving me those readings so I took a multimeter and VERY CAREFULLY checked the voltage by connecting each rod to a wire (Ground and positive) on the 5V Rail I was actually getting 5.01volts! So that was a relief and I have been happy with it since. Though I'm still unsure about this though but for some reason when I turn on the computer, the PSU will start to whine really loudly so I turn it off and turn it back on hoping it will go away and most of the time it does (I still have no idea why it does this).
 
From the label, the unit is only rated for 110-120V input. If that is true, the outputs would be lower if the input is slightly off. A good non-auto-115/230V unit should be able to handle 90-130V. Not sure if they just printed 110-120V since that is the standard, or that is the actual hardware specs.
 
whoa, it's been a while since seeing this thread...

Anyways, i RMA'ed it (lost 3x6800gt's and didnt want to take a chance on ol' #4) and bought a OCZ Modstream, which at full load is 11.71 on the 12v rail, and at idle it's at 11.83 (higher than the last one, but this is a software reading...). I'm happy that it never drops below that!
 
Yeah dude, the Blue Storm was the strongest PSU in that shootout that costs under $100 retail. Oh well.
 
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