450VX +5 V rail low

[murple]

Hello,

 

I purchased the Corsair 450VX some time ago after a recommendation on Silent PC Review.

 

Ever since I replaced my old PSU with the 450VX I've noticed that I had to press the power button twice or trice before it actually powered on. This was nothing that really concerned me. But I also noticed that my computer "stuttered" in not too demanding applications, for example audio playback. I thought until now that this was a software problem. But when I googled a bit it was suggested that perhaps it was a problem with the PSU.

 

I checked the voltage values the diagnostics program EVEREST reported that the +5 V rail was only at 4.62 V.

 

Now I have switched back to my old PSU, a Chieftec 360 W and now the +5 V rail reads 4.84 V according to EVEREST. The computer now also feels more responsive in general.

 

I also noticed that my Chieftec 360 W can supply 30A on the +5 V rail where the Corsair 450VX only supplies 20A.

 

The rest of my computer specification is written in my profile.

 

This is what EVEREST outputs:

 

Corsair 450VX

Voltage Values	
CPU Core	1.63 V
Aux	1.63 V
+3.3 V	3.23 V
+5 V	4.62 V
+12 V	12.48 V
-12 V	-12.40 V
-5 V	-4.70 V

Chieftec 360W

Voltage Values	
CPU Core	1.63 V
Aux	1.63 V
+3.3 V	3.36 V
+5 V	4.84 V
+12 V	12.42 V
-12 V	-12.33 V
-5 V	-4.67 V

 

I have also measured the +5 V voltage on the molex connectors but since I only have a analog multimeter it is hard to give exact readouts but I can anyways conclude that the voltage is higher with my old PSU.

 

Is my PSU defective or just too weak to supply power on the +5 V rail on my system?

 

Sincerely,

Oscar

[RAM GUY]

I would double check your Everest readings with the voltages detected in the BIOS. You may want to check the ATX 12v spec for your board, our PSU is designed for systems that support ATX 12v 2.01 or newer power specifications. Judging by the readings you are getting I am guessing that your board supports ATX 12v 1.3. With that spec the board is designed to get power to the CPU and video card from the 5 volt rail, so older power supplies normally have higher amperage on the 5 volt rail. In a newer system the 12 volt rail powers most of the main components. Because of this you will see that the 12v rail has higher amperage than th 5 volt rail in any system thats been build within the past 4 years or so. Another thing, is that the -5 volt rail was eliminated when the ATX 12v 2.0 spec came out, so our PSUs do not have a -5 volt rail. Your 5v rail should be within 5% (4.75v-5.25v), so if you get consistent readings in the BIOS then we can try replacing the unit for you.