mike_eye Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Hi, we're building a new workstation and we will be using a Corsair AX1200i. Since the workstation will contain very expensive components (mobo, GPUs, CPUs) we want to make sure that we test the PSU thoroughly before we connect any components to it. What are your recommendations for properly testing a PSU before integrating in a new system ? Thanks. - Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees jonnyguru Posted May 13, 2014 Corsair Employees Share Posted May 13, 2014 A PSU tester that can "thoroughly" test a PSU costs about $5000. A hand held unit that just starts the PSU and checks the voltages is about $10. It's not very thorough. You can also use a paperclip to start the PSU (as seen in this sticky: http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=63991) and then test the voltages with a DMM (something that could cost as little as $20). Also not very thorough. Fortunately, the AX1200i is a digital PSU with a self test button. When you press the button, it activates a self test mode in the DSP IC that tests the functionality of the PSU. For most intents and purposes, that's all you really need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wytnyt Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 A PSU tester that can "thoroughly" test a PSU costs about $5000. lol,and im sure that'll even test the torque on the psu case screws too:evil: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees jonnyguru Posted May 13, 2014 Corsair Employees Share Posted May 13, 2014 lol,and im sure that'll even test the torque on the psu case screws too:evil: I wish. You'd need a torque wrench for that. ;): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_eye Posted May 13, 2014 Author Share Posted May 13, 2014 A PSU tester that can "thoroughly" test a PSU costs about $5000. A hand held unit that just starts the PSU and checks the voltages is about $10. It's not very thorough. You can also use a paperclip to start the PSU (as seen in this sticky: http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=63991) and then test the voltages with a DMM (something that could cost as little as $20). Also not very thorough. Fortunately, the AX1200i is a digital PSU with a self test button. When you press the button, it activates a self test mode in the DSP IC that tests the functionality of the PSU. For most intents and purposes, that's all you really need. Johnny, thanks man. Our current procedure will include: 1) self test 2) test via power supply tester (w/ LCD screen) to see if voltage on all rails is within 5% deviation limit 3) hook-up to an older, less expensive system and run a live test as u can see, very paranoid about the PSU damaging the expensive components in the new built, but obviously that can still happen down the road even if it works fine in the beginning... Let me know if u have any other suggestions ! Thanks. - Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees jonnyguru Posted May 13, 2014 Corsair Employees Share Posted May 13, 2014 How would we ever know if one of the components happens to have a short that ends up frying the expensive power supply? :bigeyes: ;): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_eye Posted May 13, 2014 Author Share Posted May 13, 2014 the PSU is by far the cheapest piece in the box, so that scenario is much better than the other way around... ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_eye Posted May 29, 2014 Author Share Posted May 29, 2014 alright, so follow up on my AX1200i which came a couple of days ago... ran the self test multiple times: green light is on, fan spins up then tested the PSU with a Coolmax PS-228 PSU tester... here's the result (see also attached image): > +5V: 4.8 > +12V1: 11.7 > +3.3V: 3.2 > -12V: 11.7 > +12V2: 11.8 > 5VSB: 4.9 > PG: HH as u can see all voltages are low but within ATX spec, PG time is too high... so I've read here that these PSU testers are sometimes not very accurate with Corsair PSUs... should I be concerned about the PG time ? I hooked up a 140mm fan (needs ~ 7v) and a HD to create some load on the PSU and numbers stayed the same and PG was still HH... Thanks. - M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees jonnyguru Posted May 29, 2014 Corsair Employees Share Posted May 29, 2014 You're using all very expensive components.... but only an $8 PSU tester? ;): You're going to be fine. If there's no PG signal or it is out of spec, the motherboard simply will not start. If you want to know actual voltages, either get a decent DMM or wait until the system is built and check them in the Link software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_eye Posted May 29, 2014 Author Share Posted May 29, 2014 You're using all very expensive components.... but only an $8 PSU tester? ;): You're going to be fine. If there's no PG signal or it is out of spec, the motherboard simply will not start. If you want to know actual voltages, either get a decent DMM or wait until the system is built and check them in the Link software. Johnny, it was 23 bucks !!!!!!! :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: any recommendations for a decent DMM ? I assume the BIOS will also give me some info ? Thanks !!! - M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees jonnyguru Posted May 29, 2014 Corsair Employees Share Posted May 29, 2014 any recommendations for a decent DMM ? I like Uni-Trend (aka UNI-T) stuff. Not as good as Fluke, but WAY better than other products in their price range. I assume the BIOS will also give me some info ? Noooooooooooooooo. The BIOS, as well as some third party software that gets their information from the BIOS, are just as inaccurate as that handheld tester. They get the information from what a lot of people Generically call a "Winbond chip" (because originally health monitoring was done by a dedicated health monitoring chip made by Winbond) which is located on the motherboard. The location of the chip is several traces away from the motherboard's DC input source as well as having an inherently poor +/- tolerance. Link is more accurate because the information is coming from the PSU itself by ICs that were made to do nothing more than monitor the PSU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_eye Posted May 29, 2014 Author Share Posted May 29, 2014 I like Uni-Trend (aka UNI-T) stuff. Not as good as Fluke, but WAY better than other products in their price range. Noooooooooooooooo. The BIOS, as well as some third party software that gets their information from the BIOS, are just as inaccurate as that handheld tester. They get the information from what a lot of people Generically call a "Winbond chip" (because originally health monitoring was done by a dedicated health monitoring chip made by Winbond) which is located on the motherboard. The location of the chip is several traces away from the motherboard's DC input source as well as having an inherently poor +/- tolerance. Link is more accurate because the information is coming from the PSU itself by ICs that were made to do nothing more than monitor the PSU. okay, that makes sense. which specific Uni-T model do u use / can u recommend ? Thanks ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees jonnyguru Posted May 29, 2014 Corsair Employees Share Posted May 29, 2014 My "favorite for the money": http://amzn.com/B007THZMWI There's a "D" version as well. Not as accurate, but suits most users and costs about $5 less. Unless you want something with a clamping ammeter, that's as good as it gets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Fitzgerald Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 alright, so follow up on my AX1200i which came a couple of days ago... ran the self test multiple times: green light is on, fan spins up then tested the PSU with a Coolmax PS-228 PSU tester... here's the result (see also attached image): > +5V: 4.8 > +12V1: 11.7 > +3.3V: 3.2 > -12V: 11.7 > +12V2: 11.8 > 5VSB: 4.9 > PG: HH as u can see all voltages are low but within ATX spec, PG time is too high... so I've read here that these PSU testers are sometimes not very accurate with Corsair PSUs... should I be concerned about the PG time ? I hooked up a 140mm fan (needs ~ 7v) and a HD to create some load on the PSU and numbers stayed the same and PG was still HH... Thanks. - M I also have a Coolmax tester that I recently bought ($22) and I feel it's less than impressive. When I turn on the PSU switch. then press the on button on the tester, everything is fine but, when I release the tester's on button and press it again, the HG reading will display HHH and the out of spec alarm sounds. I got the same results running one 140mm fan (0.3A), two fans (0.6A) and no load. While more work to use, a DMM is probably more reliable and accurate. I wouldn't mind spending $100 or a bit more for a reliable tester for making quick checks of a PSU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees jonnyguru Posted May 30, 2014 Corsair Employees Share Posted May 30, 2014 So... FYI: While you paid $22 for the Coolmax, truth be told they're all made by the same supplier (Youngyear). Good tool to have, no doubt. I wouldn't say you shouldn't own one for basic testing, but just not very accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Fitzgerald Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 So... FYI: While you paid $22 for the Coolmax, truth be told they're all made by the same supplier (Youngyear). Good tool to have, no doubt. I wouldn't say you shouldn't own one for basic testing, but just not very accurate. You got that right. It's also a bit of a PITA to use in a PSU that is already installed because it has to be connected to both the 24 pin and CPU power cables just to get it to work at all. I suppose it's ok for a quickie test of a new PSU before installing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_eye Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 Hi guys, alright, my UNI-T UT61E will arrive tomorrow, I will put it to use on the AX1200i immediately... got more noob questions: 1) so I assume the DMM cannot read the PG time, correct ? 2) any detailed tutorials here on Corsair forum (or elsewhere) that u can recommend that guide me through testing a PSU ? I've read the usual: shorten POWR_ON w/ paperclip and then test the different wires / voltages (SATA, ATX24, molex etc).... is this still the way to do it ? Also, any tips / instructions / advice on how to test the PSU under load ? 3) since the ATX1200i comes with cable connections that are all black, it's hard to identify the wires that I need to use with the leads of the DMM... is this the correct chart for the ATX24 cable ? Thanks !!! - Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees jonnyguru Posted May 31, 2014 Corsair Employees Share Posted May 31, 2014 OMG! You're not going to believe this, but about 10 years ago I MADE THAT PICTURE!!!!! That's my thumb. :D Anyhoo.. sounds like you have it. Jumper what would be the green with a ground. Keep the black probe in a ground and test the others. You can't test the PG signal because what you want to look for is a time delay and the DMM can't do that. But don't worry about that because if the PG signal is off, the PSU simply won't turn on when plugged into the motherboard. The only way you can test a PSU under load is to put it under a load. I would say, if you want to make 100% sure without using your other components, build a bench test machine and use the new PSU in it first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_eye Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 OMG! You're not going to believe this, but about 10 years ago I MADE THAT PICTURE!!!!! That's my thumb. :D well it seems you have come full circle ;-) alright, so I connected all cables (ATX 24, CPU, PCIe, Molex) to the PSU yday and tested each cable connection with the UNI-T multi meter... all good, values usually were 12.057V, 3.310V and 5.008V... hooked the PSU up in the system, and system starts up... all good so far ! ;-) Thanks again ! - Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_eye Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 AX1200i already not functioning correctly... in less than 2 weeks... see full post here: http://forum.corsair.com/forums/showpost.php?p=714977&postcount=67 not good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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