SPCR Power Supply Test Rig, v.4
Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2006 5:24 pm
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Thanks for the vote ofconfidence.Ackelind wrote:But I still have to say it. The results from SPCRs test bench are with few exceptions the only results that I trust, both regarding efficiency and noise, and now performance (ripple) too.
see devon's post below.I was wondering one thing though. Is it possible that you could maximize the 12V outputs to see whether they will cut of at their rated outputs (i.e. "separate" 12V rails) or if they will go even further to their combined maximum?
Uh, reducing the voltage via a DC-DC converter isn't done by simple subtraction of 10.5 volts (which is what the quoted sentence implies), but rather by something resembling a switching power supply, involving an additional layer of voltage regulation. Thus the accuracy of the 12V supply is probably less critical than the accuracy of the other supplies, which are fed directly to chips, with only some capacitors to smooth out their voltage levels.However, DC-to-DC conversion on motherboards to drop the voltage from 12V down to the <1.5V level required by current processors means that the same 120mV of ripple can become proportionately quite high, nearly 10%.
Thanks for the clarification.Norman Yarvin wrote:Uh, reducing the voltage via a DC-DC converter isn't done by simple subtraction of 10.5 volts (which is what the quoted sentence implies), but rather by something resembling a switching power supply, involving an additional layer of voltage regulation. Thus the accuracy of the 12V supply is probably less critical than the accuracy of the other supplies, which are fed directly to chips, with only some capacitors to smooth out their voltage levels.However, DC-to-DC conversion on motherboards to drop the voltage from 12V down to the <1.5V level required by current processors means that the same 120mV of ripple can become proportionately quite high, nearly 10%.
We want the full story!We happened to have a NeoHE that Devon inadvertently killed some time ago.
Well, he was taking a hammer to a motherboard he hated and in his frenzy, managed to nail a Neo in the head.... RIP.qviri wrote:We want the full story!We happened to have a NeoHE that Devon inadvertently killed some time ago.
With the hammer?MikeC wrote:IRRC, he somehow managed to hit the power switch on the PSU (in a system) multiple times in a few seconds
I love it.MikeC wrote:We happened to have a NeoHE that Devon inadvertently killed some time ago.
IRRC, he somehow managed to hit the power switch on the PSU (in a system) multiple times in a few seconds -- on/off/on/off/on/off....... -- and it stopped working after that. I had a look at the underside of the PCB: No obvious scorch marks. It could even be just a fuse; there's a self-resetting one in there. Maybe it burned out and replacing it could bring the PSU back to life. Dunno, don't really care any more.
I wonder if SPCR should be testing such high-capacity PSUs at all? After all, if you are pumping almost a kilowatt into an average ATX case (or even a P180) getting <30dBA @1m is going to be almost impossible without exotic cooling. And even with AMD 4x4 + SLI 8800GTX + lots of hard drives 850W is the realistic maximum.And that's our PSU tester, Bonefish edition. The end result is load capability of nearly 1.1 kilowatt. Hopefully, we won't be testing such loads often.
Yeah, I had such thoughts too. Certainly it's not about noise. It's about promotional value, mostly. If/when we test a kilowatt psu, we'll have new readers come check us out, and then some of them might stick around for the rest of our quality site.jaganath wrote:I wonder if SPCR should be testing such high-capacity PSUs at all? After all, if you are pumping almost a kilowatt into an average ATX case (or even a P180) getting <30dBA @1m is going to be almost impossible without exotic cooling. And even with AMD 4x4 + SLI 8800GTX + lots of hard drives 850W is the realistic maximum.
Actually, it wasn't the switch on the PSU, it was the switch on my power bar, which was rapidly cycled when I plugged in a Power Angel on top of it. For the record, we tried replacing the internal fuse, and the new one blew as soon as we plugged it in. I definitely damaged something.MikeC wrote:IRRC, he somehow managed to hit the power switch on the PSU (in a system) multiple times in a few seconds -- on/off/on/off/on/off....... -- and it stopped working after that. I had a look at the underside of the PCB: No obvious scorch marks. It could even be just a fuse; there's a self-resetting one in there. Maybe it burned out and replacing it could bring the PSU back to life. Dunno, don't really care any more.
Yes, and even for the more or less regulars, a high-power-system might stoved away some place in the house as a server or something else. SPCR has very high quality tests on the remaining aspects of a PSU also. And even if you have it in another room, a "more quiet" PUS might just be enough to kepp it inaudible in the neighbouring room.MikeC wrote:Yeah, I had such thoughts too. Certainly it's not about noise. It's about promotional value, mostly. If/when we test a kilowatt psu, we'll have new readers come check us out, and then some of them might stick around for the rest of our quality site.jaganath wrote:I wonder if SPCR should be testing such high-capacity PSUs at all? After all, if you are pumping almost a kilowatt into an average ATX case (or even a P180) getting <30dBA @1m is going to be almost impossible without exotic cooling. And even with AMD 4x4 + SLI 8800GTX + lots of hard drives 850W is the realistic maximum.