PC Peripherals Do I need a new powersupply -Help pls

S

Spidey

Disciple
Hi friends,
I need ur help. i did search google, but nothing seems to explain the details I needed. Ok, here it goes:

My present psu specs :S are:
OUTPUT: 400 W
+3.3V 28A
+5V 40A
+12V 17A
+5VSB 2A
-5V 0.3A
-12V 0.8A
+5V AND +3.3V COMBINED LOAD 220W
+5V & +3.3V & +12V COMBINED LOAD 380 W.
Click to expand...
Now Bios shows the actual values as
Actual Range
cpu: 1.65v as 1.70 - 1.74V
+3.3 v as 3.28 -3.30v
+5v as 4.95- 4.97v
+12v as 13.06 -13.12v
-12v as -12.97 - -13.03v
-5v as -4.91 - -4.94 v
Click to expand...
My system consists of 2 HDD's, 2 DVD writers, 2 x 512 ddr rams, AMD xp 2500+, asus A7N8XE-DEL mobo, agp fx 5200 graphics, one internal dialup modem & an extra firewire card in pci slots, and a floppy drive.
External USB slots are connected to an all in one printer & webcam.

I need help in these areas:
1. What does these specs of a power supply mean and how do u calculate the actual requirement. I know u hve to take the individual amperes and just not the total watts, but how?? What does all these volts and amperes mean??
2. My actual 12 volt readings are ~13 Volts. Is it normal??
3. I would like to add a SATA HDD and a hard drive cooler (2 small fans under HDD, coonected to the same power supply to HDD) and one or two extra fans too, as my cpu temp is 56 degs, even with both cases open. Will I need a new PSU??

My dealer says no need to change PSU every time I upgrade it, but I'm confused. I don't wan't to damage my pc.

Thanks guys.
 
the advice i give to anyone.
Check your system for stability. If its stable then you dont need new PSU. Always check exsisting PSU before you go out to buy new one.
Ok about the bios reporting.
The values reported by Bios or programs like motherboard monitor or ASUS probe or Sandra are known to be inaccurate, hell sandra shows my 12V line as 15V ;) The only sure way to measure the voltages is to use multimeter and actiually measure voltages from molex connector.
If the system is stable and there are not many problems you are ok to go.
But if you are buying new system from scratch, invest in a quality power supply.
 
umm...i have the same system as urs......

when i plugged it in the first time, (2500+ always oced to 3200+ ) 12v showed up as 13.9V :O

i threw tht crap PSU and got myself a Powersafe 500W in a week :p
 
Sunny, can u pls gimme a detailed answer for my qns?
Is there any website which can give u a detailed info regarding the specs of PSU?
Or somebody here can post a good tutorial on PSU too. It will be helpful for a lot of ppl.
 
I'm guessing thats a 400W powersafe from the specs. I have 4 hard drives, 3 optical drives, A64, 9800 + two cards, 6 fans running from the same psu. Also the CPU is 300MHz oc'ed. It handles it without a sweat. So i guess that little bit of load shouldn't be a problem.

edit: that 12V is normal for an AXP. They generally have high 12V rails cos the CPU doesn't draw any power off it unlike A64 and P4 chips.
 
High 12V rail is pretty common on amd xp series platform. The best solution for you will be to attach as many fans as you can. infact any devices that use 12V. this will lower the 12V rail to anything between 12V ~ 13V. (+/_5% are the volgate tolerance levels. and yours is very near to that. 13.+V)

high 12V rail can damage Hdd's and optical drives over a period of time due to excess heat produced by their onboard voltage regulator circuits.

and never depend upon the onboard sensors for voltage measurements. as suggested above by funkymonkey use a DMM to measure voltages.
 
deejay said:
high 12V rail can damage Hdd's and optical drives over a period of time due to excess heat produced by their onboard voltage regulator circuits
Click to expand...

high 12V ( 13.6V on old PSU made my CCFL Inverters bust :death: ) the first signs was tht the CCFL was getting way toooo hot.....

on my powersafe 500W, i get arnd 12.41V on 12V line, whn 2500+ oced to 3200+, 12.25V on stock.

EDIT : About the DMM, the DMM always shows more voltage value than the onboard sensors :p so i strongly suggest the use of a DMM...

@darky : :mad:
 
Deejay Thnxs for the G8 and very useful info.
Can u b more specific.
Like which devices uses the 12v, 5v and 3.3volts.
U said about fitting more fans, do i plug them to the sockets provided by my mobo or direct to PSU??
I hve an extra fan and HDD cooler (fan fitted under HDD) lying around.
 
well....IIRC, RAMs use 3.3V, the onboard ICs use 5V and processors use 12V or 5V depending on the type of CPU, i.e., A64 on AXP....

HDDs and ODDs use both 5V and 12V, 12V for motors and 5V for electronics......

all the fans use 12V

if you plug in directly to the mob, it will run slower because it wont directly feed the fans 12V, IIRC only 10V are available for the mobo fan sockets
 
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