PSU Voltages

Jun 14, 2003
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everything is running fine....but im seeing ppl get rather upset at 12v rails only being 11.7 or 11.8 and i dont no why

my rails are as follows

11.712 on 12v
4.999 on 5v
3.28 on 3.3v

and 1.536v for cpu

cpu is amd athlon 64, 3200

PSU is an Enermax 475watt noisetaker
 

Gumby16

Member
Aug 13, 2001
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The more accurate the PSU is, the more stable your system will be. I've never seen a PSU that was exactly what it should be. Generally, the weakest line is the 12V line. This is a problem, however, since almost all components in the system use 12V. Most importantly, most CPUs now require a heavy load on the 12V rail. Thus, a bad 12V line can have dramatic effects on a system.

The most important thing is to know the amperage on your 12V supply. The higher the amperage, the more stable the system will run, since you won't be pushing the PSU to supply pwer at its absolute limits.

Most PSUs are specd to run within about 5% of their respective voltage levels.

My system runs:
11.85V on 12V (with 20 amps)
4.93V on 5V
3.36V on 3.3V

my CPU is under-volted to 1.575V (from 1.6) just to decrease the temperature a little since it was running warmer than I preferred.

My PSU is an Antec SL450, and it has operated flawlessly. So, the moral of the story is that more accurate rails will net a happier, more stable system, but even high quality PSUs won't always operate at full voltage levels. As long as they are running within a few percent of maximum levels, however, I've never had stability problems.
 
Jun 14, 2003
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ah well this thing has got dual 12v rails not sure if ive connected everything up right.....there was 1 big chunky cablel with all the molex connectors, another with the big 20 odd pin ATX connector and another with the 4 pin connector which also had a extra molex connector on the end. so i connected my geforce 6800gt to that extra connector that came out of the same braiding as the 4 pin......3dmark scores are all ok , and it overclocks to 400/1.1ghz easy

jus didnt wanna have it on the same on with all the molex connecttors which are powering all my drives and fans

the twa rails produce 16amp and 15 amps 31amp all together
 

Gumby16

Member
Aug 13, 2001
51
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0
Sounds like you're hooked up right. And you have plenty of amps. And if it's stable, then you're good to go. Now, if I could just get my CPU temps down a little further I could overclock my 2500+ into a nice 3100+.
 
Jun 14, 2003
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lol my a64 3200 is only at 36dgrees at the mo...never seen it go higher than 45 under full load

either the zalman cnp7000cu (all copper baby) is very good at its job, and i did a good job of applying thermal goop and installing it, or the sensor chip on this asus k8ne is jus crap an giving me dud readings

either way i have 2 temp probes on my antec p160, one dangles mid case and is 29 degrees, and the other is in my leadtek 6800gt HSF, and suprisingly its temp readings are very close to nvidias ambient temp readings in the control panel too

anyway thanks for the help....im gonna stop worrying now an play some games!!!!