Some quick psu voltage questions

[Spike]

I recently replaced my Enermax 350watt whisper with a Thermaltake purepower 480. Using the software that came with my Abit NF7-S to monitor voltages I see my 12v line drop to 11.72 at times. This was the exact same thing my old Enermax did. I had only minor stability problems before (UT 2K4 sometimes crashed) and do not have any now. My questions are these:

1. When watching voltage, do I look at the lowest the voltage drops or do I watch the median?

2. Is - or + more important on the 12v lines? ie, do I look at the +12 or -12 line when watching voltage? Or both?

3. If these swings are the same I was getting with my Enermax does that mean my monitoring tool is not accurate or both my psu's had the same issues

4. Going from the above question, is a 11.72 drop an issue? What drop would I need to watch out for? Is the occasional 11.6 drop ok or is it bad? Is there a tool to monitor average voltage over time?

Ok ok, so thats like 10 questions instead of 4, but these should be pretty easy to answer for those who know their stuff. If these swings are unusual/bad I can still exchange/return the Thermaltake (just got it last week), if they are normal then no biggie, I will go gung ho and install my new 6800GT.

-spike

 

[Sentinel]

11.72v is no biggie i have the same thing with mine, i thought it was because of that i was having problems but it is within spec and it turned out to be soemthing different.

 

[WobbleWobble]

1. *idealy* It should be a constant voltage
2. Only the + lines matter, - lines aren't used anymore
3. Use a multimeter for the most accurate readings
4. My rule of thumb is +/- 5%

 

[Spike]

Thanks for the replies, it looks like this is not that unusual so I think I am going to keep it (besides, I like the orange fans )

One last question... 18a on the 12v line, is that going to hurt me in the long run? I don't plan on ever running water cooling but I do want to get an A64 and always have 4 IDE/SATA devices running...

-spike


EDIT** +/- 5%, so within .6 volts or 11.4?

 

[beatle]

I ran the P4C in my sig with a 330w Antec Truepower. You'll be fine.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Man you just downgraded. TT powersupplies are noisy and underpowered. (Im running one ) I would switch back.

-Kevin

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Man you just downgraded. TT powersupplies are noisy and underpowered. (Im running one ) I would switch back.

-Kevin

Well, I don't claim to have much experience but with the TT I now have a more stable system and it is WAY quieter than my enermax. The only time I get more volume is when I crank the fan to max, but it also cools much better. Plus it is 120 watts of more headroom...

-spike