PSU 3.3v meter reading...

[ugh]

Hi all,

My 3.3v meter reading is always constant at around 1.5v. Yes, it's darn scary. But my system is stable and my 5v meter is at 4.8v constantly.

Should I be worried and get a new power supply?

My rig:

Athlon XP 1600+
Epox 8KHA+
Sony CRX 140E CD writer
SB Audio PCI
20GB Maxtor 7200rpm hard disk
GF2MX

 

[Kipper]

Um...that's the first I've ever heard of a rail dropping THAT low. Are you sure you're not reading the power settings wrong and reading out the core voltage or something else? It's hard to believe you're losing that much power and not experiencing stability issues. What is your current PS?

 

[ugh]

<< Um...that's the first I've ever heard of a rail dropping THAT low. Are you sure you're not reading the power settings wrong and reading out the core voltage or something else? It's hard to believe you're losing that much power and not experiencing stability issues. What is your current PS? >>


I believe I'm not. I saw it on the mobo's BIOS read out and MBM as well. I'm not using a branded PSU; but it's 300W nonetheless.

Should I go out and get a certified PSU?

BTW, any other readings that I should pay attention to besides the 3 and 5v lines?

 

[Jerboy]

<<

<< Um...that's the first I've ever heard of a rail dropping THAT low. Are you sure you're not reading the power settings wrong and reading out the core voltage or something else? It's hard to believe you're losing that much power and not experiencing stability issues. What is your current PS? >>


I believe I'm not. I saw it on the mobo's BIOS read out and MBM as well. I'm not using a branded PSU; but it's 300W nonetheless.

Should I go out and get a certified PSU?

BTW, any other readings that I should pay attention to besides the 3 and 5v lines? >>



Have you got a second opinion from a digital multimeter directly connected to PSU connector?

 

[ugh]

<< Have you got a second opinion from a digital multimeter directly connected to PSU connector? >>


I can get a multimeter, but where do I do the connections to take the readings?

 

[Jerboy]

<<

<< Have you got a second opinion from a digital multimeter directly connected to PSU connector? >>


I can get a multimeter, but where do I do the connections to take the readings? >>



Set the meter to appropriate DCV range(4V for 3.3V, 40V for 5V and 12V etc. it depends on your meter). Black goes to chasis. Poke red probe into top of ATX connector where orange wire comes out to get 3.3V reading, do the same for 5V and 12V. 5V is red, 12V is yellow.

 

[ugh]

<< Set the meter to appropriate DCV range(4V for 3.3V, 40V for 5V and 12V etc. it depends on your meter). Black goes to chasis. Poke red probe into top of ATX connector where orange wire comes out to get 3.3V reading, do the same for 5V and 12V. 5V is red, 12V is yellow. >>


IC. Thanks for the info Will be trying it soon... Umm... What if the readings I get from the meter are the same as reported on the mobo?

 

[JayH]

Hmm, thought I'd poke my head in hear for a bit. I have the same MB with an Enermax 365VE 350W PSU and I'm also getting 1.52v for the +3.3v line as read by both SiSoft's Sandra and MBprobe. I'm going to check my BIOS tonight cause I didn't feel like rebooting but the system has been running stable for 4 days, nothing too heavy of a load though and I'm not overclocking yet. My other values are almost dead on though.

+5v is at 4.94v, etc.

I have a voltmeter I can check but I haven't yet tried.

Jay

 

[Jerboy]

<<

<< Set the meter to appropriate DCV range(4V for 3.3V, 40V for 5V and 12V etc. it depends on your meter). Black goes to chasis. Poke red probe into top of ATX connector where orange wire comes out to get 3.3V reading, do the same for 5V and 12V. 5V is red, 12V is yellow. >>


IC. Thanks for the info Will be trying it soon... Umm... What if the readings I get from the meter are the same as reported on the mobo? >>



Then you must immediately replace the power supply.

 

[Smbu]

On my Enermax EG651P-VE, I'm getting 3.33v(3.30v average) on my +3.3v rail.

 

[redhatlinux]

Your readings are obviously incorrect. With VIO at 1.5v the system wouldn't run !!. If it ain't broke don't fix it !!

 

[JayH]

I believe you, I'm just curious really. I think both SiSoft and MBprobe must be reading a different value in the memory and thinking it's the +3.3v reading. But it is odd that both Sisoft and MBprobe read the same value, perhaps EPoX did something proprietary??? I have MBM5, I should try to run that and see what that gives me.. Smbu, what program are you using to read the +3.3v?

I just found out that +3.3v is not in my PC Health section in my bios anyway

jay

 

[ColdFlare]

all software that reads volts, and temps all read off the bios, so therefore they will both read the same, check the bios power rails for an reading if the 3.3 is reading 1.5 in bios, there is something wrong, eithe rwith the psu, the mobo, or your VR chip is just going crazy.

 

[ugh]

Thanks for the input. I'll let the system run for a while b4 doing anything coz it's stable hasn't crashed yet.

 

[Jerboy]

<< all software that reads volts, and temps all read off the bios, so therefore they will both read the same, check the bios power rails for an reading if the 3.3 is reading 1.5 in bios, there is something wrong, eithe rwith the psu, the mobo, or your VR chip is just going crazy. >>



Wrong. The software that came with my mobo reads at least a few degrees higher than MBM5.