Voltage question

neokenzo

I'se seen here that a lot of ppl keep an eye on thier voltages. Why?
Also what would be ideal range for 3.3V, 5.00V and 12.00V?

Explosive_Cornflake

More voltage menas more heat, the trick is to balance out heat and voltage. For an atlon stock is 1.65, but i don't think you should go above 1.8 really. You use a higher voltage to get a bit more stable, but it makes more heat.
As for the 3.3, 5, and 12. I think you shoud be fairly close to them, about 5-10%. Somebody will probably give a better answer than this though .

Col_Loki

I'se seen here that a lot of ppl keep an eye on thier voltages. Why?

Its a way to see how your Power supply is performing. The closer to the mark the better. Cheaper PSU's will have pretty bad voltage rails and they will vary alot between idle and load. The best PSU's keep a stable static voltage rail with little fluctuation ......... and stay pretty much the same from idle to load.

Irregular power rails can cause memory errors (very easy to do this) , cause reboots, damage components.

The rails are also an indication of the stress level of the PSU and how it is handling your system.......... thats basically why people pay attention to them!!

neokenzo

So the rails should be near its mark then? 5%-10%. Can it go over by that mark?

Explosive_Cornflake

I picked those precentages out of my head, i remember reading it some where, put i dont know where, but i don't think you shoud go outside the 10% range.
That'd be 3.3 - 2.97 to 3.63, which I wouldn't be happy with.

neokenzo

Mine seems to be around the mark either over or under by 0.05V off but mainly under.

Col_Loki

Mine seems to be around the mark either over or under by 0.05V off but mainly under.

Thats a sign of a good PSU, especially if its the same under load. Mainly under is also slightly better as over is more lightly to cause errors!!

neokenzo

Well the 3.3V and the 5.00V are out by about 0.05 over and under. The 12.00V seems to be between 11.33V to 11.52V. Are the 12.00V okay?

Col_Loki

The 12.00V seems to be between 11.33V to 11.52V. Are the 12.00V okay?

Wow that seems very low , does it resarts at all? Id be hoping that was a false reading TBH, especially from a 480w PSU which has been getting good reviews.
Is this under load?
Whats it idle?
Bios reading simular?

feedorf

i wouldnt really worry too much. my PSU reads 5.3-6.9v on the 12v rail.

and funnily enough the system tends to fall over often. new PSU required me thinks.

any suggestions?

Sir Random

To accurately test your PSU's rails, you need to use a multimeter on the ATX connector (while the mobo is powered up).

http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/articles/guides/Power_Supply_Guide_1.html


feedorf,
Are you really using BH5 (rated as PC3500) at 400Mhz? :eek:
Wanna swap it for some Crucial/Samsung?

feedorf

yeah found the ram off some dude on ebay. nearly fell off my chair when i saw it.
i'm not sure the guy if the guy who was selling it knew what it was, he just thought it was a couple of sticks of ram.

rumour has it this stuff is really hard to come by.

talk figures....

neokenzo

Originally posted by COL_LOKI
Wow that seems very low , does it resarts at all? Id be hoping that was a false reading TBH, especially from a 480w PSU which has been getting good reviews.
Is this under load?
Whats it idle?
Bios reading simular?

What do you mean but restarts at all? Do you mean that does the pc restarts on its own? The only time that happened when I got BSOD on the IRQ_ bla bla bla
Well according to MBM5:
High (I presume this is under load): 11.52V
Idle (I presume this is when idle): 11.33V
Currently at about 11.46V
I use MBM5 and Asus Probe and both are showing the same results. Havent check the bios readings yet.

Woden

Originally posted by feedorf


rumour has it this stuff is really hard to come by.

aye apparently it is, my BH-5 runs at 200mhz also

neokenzo

I know BH5 are good but how about BH6? Are they good or just average?

Woden

yeah BH6 is still good just not as good, CH-5 is fairly decent as well, just there is no chips like BH5 apparently, the trademark BH5 timings where 2-2-2-5, while BH6 might be 2-2-2-6.

thats why i think the current mushkin special thats knocking about, they say its 2-2-2-X but they don't state X, but i think X is 6 as its BH6.

i think the CH-5 on the other had does something like 2-3-2-5

Col_Loki

i wouldnt really worry too much. my PSU reads 5.3-6.9v on the 12v rail.

Yea you lookin at the +12v rail? or -12v Rail? The - voltage rails mean feck all on newer systems, the 12v ones are important. If your gettin that voltage readin on the +12v then its a mistake.

To accurately test your PSU's rails, you need to use a multimeter on the ATX connector (while the mobo is powered up).

Yea thats very true, but the motherboard should give you a rough guideline.

High (I presume this is under load): 11.52V

The voltage is supposed to be 12v or as close to it as it can be, the amps will increase and decrease according to the ammount of power required but the voltage should remain pretty much static.

The load value is prob the lower one and would indicate your PSU is struggling with your system as its quite low. Since your not getting any restarts etc your prob fine, its overvolting thats worse. The motherboard may be reading it wrong, like Sir Random said the only really accurate way to measure is with a multimeter.