PS Problem or is this reading Normal?

[bob332]

i was just looking at motherboard monitor high/low and noticed that the +12V had a low of +10.27V and a high of +12.4V. is the low normal for it to go that low? it is an antec 300W PS running a athlon xp 2000+, 768MB DDR ram, 2x7200rpm ide hdd, 1 scsi cdrom, 1 ide cdrw, 1 ide dvdrom and an old ati radeon ve card. should i look into a 350-400W PS?

 

[Lord Evermore]

Which exact model of Antec PSU? You should probably have at least 16A, preferably 17A or more, on the +12V line; the devices you have are probably pulling 15A or more. The True330 model would probably be about right for your current needs, but it wouldn't hurt to get a True380 or even 430 to allow for upgrade room (another hard drive could add another 2A draw on +12V).

If your PSU already has 17A or more on +12V, then there may be a problem with it. You might want to try and watch MBM closely and see if the power levels drop particularly when you have a lot happening, like burning a CDR copy directly from the CDROM while copying files on the hard drives.

 

[bob332]

Originally posted by: Lord Evermore
Which exact model of Antec PSU? You should probably have at least 16A, preferably 17A or more, on the +12V line; the devices you have are probably pulling 15A or more. The True330 model would probably be about right for your current needs, but it wouldn't hurt to get a True380 or even 430 to allow for upgrade room (another hard drive could add another 2A draw on +12V).

If your PSU already has 17A or more on +12V, then there may be a problem with it. You might want to try and watch MBM closely and see if the power levels drop particularly when you have a lot happening, like burning a CDR copy directly from the CDROM while copying files on the hard drives.

i have the antec pp-303x and the +12V line says it has 10A, according to the info on the side of the PS.

do you think this is enough?

 

[DX2Player]

Iv seen in reviews that a lot of PSUs drop below the V rating dont know how bad it is. The Enermax I have is actually one of the few that seems to actually overvolt everything all the time, dotn know how good or bad that is either.

 

[risen]

The 12 volt line is not supposed to vary by more than 5 percent. So that would mean 11.4 to 12.6. I have the pp303x in my garage (not using it any more) and it does only put out 10 amps on the 12 volt line. My theory is that it is an older power supply that came out before the piv which draws alot more off the 12 volt line. As a comparision I have a generic 300 watt now that has 12 amps on the 12 volt line. Not that I am recommending generic, it was recommended by someone at a local compusa and this version actually runs very stable. Another generic I had actually caught on fire after a year. A 300 watt enlight runs 13 amps on the 1 volt line. You might consider a new power supply. I think I have read that it can damage your components over time, but I am not sure. Also my experience has been it is best to buy it locally where you can return it if it doesnt work. I bought a name brand before and it was running around 11.5 under load. A little too close for my comfort. Hope this helps.

 

[BentValve]

Yeah that is too much of a voltage drop. That PS is pretty weak to with only a 10A max draw on the 12V rail.

At the same time if the computer is working ok you are not having trouble then just leave it alone, if it ever does start giving you trouble then you know where to start.

 

[bob332]

Originally posted by: BentValve
Yeah that is too much of a voltage drop. That PS is pretty weak to with only a 10A max draw on the 12V rail.

At the same time if the computer is working ok you are not having trouble then just leave it alone, if it ever does start giving you trouble then you know where to start.

it was rebooting when i started bf1942, that is why i was skeptical. i took out the dvd rom and now it stays at +12.2V. i will continue to monitor it. this case is about 19mo old. i have 2 other computers, one with the same ps and another with a 250W unit that only shows 8A on the +12V line (it is not under any stress, just a game, ftp, mail and http server). looks like i am in the market for 3 new cases, anybody use those new Antec Lanboy cases? they have 330W ps and the +12V line is rated at 16A. does anybody have a list as to what the different voltages are used for? cpu, drive motors etc?

 

[Lord Evermore]

The PP303X came out long before the current CPUs that need a lot of power on the +12V line (over 2 years ago). You should replace it. One review I found used a "God Box" which consisted of a P3/700 overclocked to 1GHz.