How to check your PSU so easy a bunny could do it.

Discuss cases, PSUs, and various cooling techniques in here.
Post Reply
hercules71185
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 847
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2007 2:47 am

How to check your PSU so easy a bunny could do it.

Post by hercules71185 »

As the title says, a guide to make it really easy. DON'T RELY ON ANY SOFTWARE OR BIOS READING!! They are a good idea and sometimes almost 100% accurate. Then again sometimes they are not. If you have had a reading as I did where all your voltages are either low or high then do it yourself.


Image

Here is how to for the people scared of a voltmeter.

Image


Checking your PSU so easy a bunny can do it.

Image

You will need 2 things.

Image


And something like this which I got for $2 at harbor frieght.

Image

First you will have to open your case, usually by 2 screws. Like these.

Image

Image

Now turn on your volt meter on the settings shown below


Image

Hook up the leads into the 2 connectors

Image

Turn it on, and touch the leads together, to make sure it still reads 0.000

Image

Image

Good, if it doesn't return it, and now take the molex connector.

Image

Insert the black lead into the black cable

Image

Now we will measure the 5v rail

Insert the red lead into the red cable in the molex.

Image

Obviously the closer the better. To the 5v rating.

Image

Now move the red connector into the yellow wire, this will test the 12v rail

Image

You should get a reading within 5% of the 12v range.

Image

Now put it under load with a program like 3dmark, and retest, you should not drop much at all if your PSU is good.

Mine dropped to 11.91 now test yours!


Now you should get a reading within 5% of 5v.
User avatar
dicecca112
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 5014
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2004 10:40 am
Contact:

Re: How to check your PSU so easy a bunny could do it.

Post by dicecca112 »

Stuck :)
Image
User avatar
Darkstar
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 1910
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2007 12:24 pm
Location: San Diego
Contact:

Re: How to check your PSU so easy a bunny could do it.

Post by Darkstar »

Good one....lol

btw, isnt it Zeus? :)

:drinkers:
Phenom II 1075T,Phenom II 1090T,Intel i7 870
Gigabyte 890XA-UD3
Evga GTX460
8 GB Corsair
Agility2 120GB SSD
Dual 24" Samsungs LCD's
hercules71185
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 847
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2007 2:47 am

Re: How to check your PSU so easy a bunny could do it.

Post by hercules71185 »

:)
deleted
Legit Fanatic
Legit Fanatic
Posts: 142
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2009 12:52 pm

Re: How to check your PSU so easy a bunny could do it.

Post by deleted »

What is that first picture using? The one program posted in imageshack, it looks like something I'd want to have.
User avatar
geokilla
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1048
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2007 9:46 am
Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: How to check your PSU so easy a bunny could do it.

Post by geokilla »

How come I didn't see this before? Lol anyways never knew it was that easy to test the PSU rails. How bout testing the Vcore and Vdimm?
Intel Core i5-3570K @ 4.2Ghz @ 1.16V (CPU-Z + LinX)
Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H F14 BIOS
ASUS GTX 460 768MB @ 800/1950
Kingston HyperX DDR3 8GB @ DDR-1333
Corsair AX750
Crucial M4 128GB
Western Digital Black 1TB
Cooler Master Hyper 212+ EVO
BenQ E2420HD
---------------------
I AM CANADIAN!
User avatar
bobletman
Legit Aficionado
Legit Aficionado
Posts: 98
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2007 9:40 pm

Re: How to check your PSU so easy a bunny could do it.

Post by bobletman »

thanks for the tip and I want to see pics of the bunny doing it.
Q6600 Core 2 quad @ 3.0Ghz
2gb of patriot ram reduced latency.
500GB 7200 rpm Seagate (baracuda)
BFG nvidia 8800 GTS 512 MB G92 core
Zalman CNPS9700 LED CPU fan
Ultra X-Blaster computer case
P5K-E Wifi edition MOBO
G15 keyboard and G7 mouse
22 inch widescreen samsung
Z5300e speaker system
3Dmark06 score 15K
hercules71185
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 847
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2007 2:47 am

Re: How to check your PSU so easy a bunny could do it.

Post by hercules71185 »

that was him doing it I was taking the pics, he is kinda shy he things his hands are too big.
lizy11
Legit Little One
Legit Little One
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:11 am
Contact:

Re: How to check your PSU so easy a bunny could do it.

Post by lizy11 »

Tell him not to be so shy :oops:
We would be glad to see him on the photoes :) historic Mainstreet Inn
Last edited by lizy11 on Sun Jun 23, 2013 8:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
babolgam
Legit Little One
Legit Little One
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:16 pm

Re: How to check your PSU so easy a bunny could do it.

Post by babolgam »

thanks for the guide. gotta test my PSU , my OCs are failing even with decent voltages. :goodman:
pendaws
Legit User
Legit User
Posts: 24
Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2012 6:43 pm
Location: Sydney Australia
Contact:

Re: How to check your PSU so easy a bunny could do it.

Post by pendaws »

Nice How to Guide there Herc.
My PSU is about to quit on me.. :(
I come from the land Down-under Image

Motherboard Gigabyte Z68 UD3H-B3
CPU: Intel I7 2600K @ 4.0 ghz
CPU Cooler: Xigmatec Dark Knight S1283W
Memory: 32gb G Skill F3-12800CL10Q
Primary HDD: Intel 330 series 120gb SSD
Secondary HDD: WDC 1tb Velociraptor 64mb cache
PSU: Thermaltake 700w Lite
GPU: EVGA GTX 660Ti 2gb
Case: Thermaltake A60 Armor
Post Reply