S12-430: 12v rail @ 11.84v. Should I get a replacement?

DrCR · Post by **DrCR** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 7:29 pm

My S12-430 12v rail is at 11.84v and has been since I purchased it a month ago. Should I get a replacement while I can? I only have a few more days before my returnability expires.

FYI A solid 12v rail is really importantly to me since I'll be OCing my rig while headphone gaming.

Thanks,
DrCR

________
Usually on the Fans&Control forum
A8N5X, 3500+ Venice, 2x512MB Corsair XMS, MSI 7600GTVIVO, S12-430, Scythe Mine.

DrCR · Post by **DrCR** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 7:45 pm

Well, after probe testing the psu while running two sessions of CPUBurn, the 12v rail test to 11.92v. Not nearly as bad. Should have done this to begin with as we all know how inaccurate software tools can be.

Think .08v is worth sweating over?

JazzJackRabbit · Post by **JazzJackRabbit** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 8:01 pm

DrCR wrote:Think .08v is worth sweating over?

ROFL, absolutely not. 12V lines can vary a lot, from PSU to PSU from manufacturer to manufacturer. Seasonics tend to stay around 12, maybe slightly lower. Enermax'es tend to have higher 12V line voltage of around 12.2. Both of those are well within 5% so you shouldn't have to worry. I also suggest you test the voltage with real voltmeter and not rely on motherboard readings as those are often off by ~0.1V or more.

DrCR · Post by **DrCR** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:12 pm

JazzJackRabbit wrote:I also suggest you test the voltage with real voltmeter and not rely on motherboard readings as those are often off by ~0.1V or more.

Yeah, that's what I did. Probably should have specified that was a _hardware_ probe. My error.

Yeah, 11.9 is OK. Thought about deleting the thread instead of making the second post, but since I had already posted I decided to just leave it. I guess I would have been a lot more happy with something like ~12.2/3v, but as you pointed out that's still well within tolerances. Just used to SPI/Fortons.

Anway, glad to give you such a good laugh.

HammerSandwich · Post by **HammerSandwich** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 5:46 am

As hinted above, the ATX spec is +/- 5%, so 11.4-12.6V.

DrCR · Post by **DrCR** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 8:05 am

HammerSandwich wrote:As hinted above, the ATX spec is +/- 5%, so 11.4-12.6V.

Yup, right with you on this. Glad you posted it for the thread lurkers though.

HammerSandwich · Post by **HammerSandwich** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 6:43 am

Exactly my reason!

dhanson865 · Post by **dhanson865** » Sun Jul 23, 2006 12:22 pm

HammerSandwich wrote:As hinted above, the ATX spec is +/- 5%, so 11.4-12.6V.

I think it's worth the peace of mind to be sure you are going to stay in spec as your configuration changes.

I had a Seasonic Tornado 400W drop from 12.06 in bios on a MSI socket A system to 11.98 on a bare ASUS SLI Deluxe, to 11.86 with some more parts in, to 11.64 after the system was fully configured (on that day). All of that was BIOS readings at idle so it isn't as reliable as an external tester but it did show a trend and I was going to do further upgrades on that PC.

I could do somehting as simple as unplug a few 80mm case fans, check voltage, then replug them, and check again to see the voltage drop and rise with this minor change.

So I bought a S12-430 and put it in the socket 939 system and let the Tornado 400w go with the hand me down socket A setup.

Was I pushing the total wattage, just the 12v rail, or was it going to stabilize before getting out of spec? I may never know.

I guess the good news was Seasonic got another sale and I pushed another stock non PFC power supply out of use.