Help Reading Power Supply Tester Result

kingturtle

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Dec 9, 2011
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I am in a bit of a hurry, so I apologize for not doing some research in this forum section beforehand.

Anyways, I am testing a power supply (OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS 600W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready Active PFC Power Supply) that is 3 years old. However, I have no clue what the results of the test mean after connecting the 24-pin ATX, 4-pin CPU1, 6-pin PCI-E1.


Results:
+5V: 5.2

+12V1: 12.4

+33V: 3.2
-12V: 12.2

+12V2: 12.4

5VSB: 5.2

PG: 990ms (blinking)

Also, a constant beeping from tester which according to the manual, "When detected voltage is higher than table value (B), will alarm".
 
I am in a hurry as well and can not tell you what the beeps mean since I cant RTFM! Your voltages are with in ATX specs though


Supply [V] Tolerance Range (min. to max.) Ripple (p. to p. max.)
+5 VDC ±5% (±0.25 V) +4.75 V to +5.25 V 50 mV
−5 VDC ±10% (±0.50 V) –4.50 V to –5.50 V 50 mV
+12 VDC ±5% (±0.60 V) +11.40 V to +12.60 V 120 mV
−12 VDC ±10% (±1.2 V) –10.8 V to –13.2 V 120 mV
+3.3 VDC ±5% (±0.165 V) +3.135 V to +3.465 V 50 mV
+5 VSB ±5% (±0.25 V) +4.75 V to +5.25 V 50 mV
 
The manual for this power supply tester was reviewed as being unhelpful. It says if it beeps something is wrong, but I am not sure now that you said it's within the requirements.

This thing is driving me crazy since I cannot figure out wtf is wrong with the computer. Doesn't beep with case speaker, powers on 2 different mobos+processors, powers on all fans at high/low settings, working monitor (tested on other PC) doesn't receive any signal. And it all happened when I left the computer on desktop to grab a snack, which makes me think it's not an overheated video card.
 
Grr, so I guess I am back to where I started.

1. Both motherboards boot, but will not beep without Memory and Video Card.

2. Both motherboards will not display anything on the monitor.

I guess the only thing left to check would be the video card, but that doesn't explain why both (new & old) motherboards will not beep? Also, why is the video card fan working normally? And finally, why did it die on idle?
 
The specs for the Power Good signal is 500 msec. (Typical values are 250 - 350 msec.) That's why itt is flashing. It is out of specs, but it is no big deal. It just adds 1/2 sec to the boot time.

My little PSU tester beeps when I do not plug the CPU power cable in.

Polarity of case speaker does not matter.

The following is an expansion of my troubleshooting tips in the breadboarding link in the "Cannot boot" thread.

I have tested the following beep patterns on Gigabyte, eVGA, and ECS motherboards. Other BIOS' may be different, but they all use a single short beep for a successful POST.

Breadboard - that will help isolate any kind of case problem you might have.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/262730-31-breadboarding

Breadboard with just motherboard, CPU & HSF, case speaker, and PSU.

Make sure you plug the CPU power cable in. The system will not boot without it.

I always breadboard a new build. It takes only a few minutes, and you know you are putting good parts in the case once you are finished.

You can turn on the PC by momentarily shorting the two pins that the case power switch goes to. You should hear a series of long, single beeps indicating memory problems. Silence indicates a problem with (in most likely order) the PSU, motherboard, or CPU. Remember, at this time, you do not have a graphics card installed so the load on your PSU will be reduced.

If no beeps:

Check for line power at the PSU input. Extension cords, power strips, and power cords do fail.

If you have power and no beeps, suspect components in likely order are PSU, motherboard, and CPU.

Running fans and drives and motherboard LED's do not necessarily indicate a good PSU. In the absence of a single short beep, they also do not indicate that the system is booting.

At this point, you can sort of check the PSU. Try to borrow a known good PSU of around 550 - 600 watts. That will power just about any system with a single GPU. If you cannot do that, use a DMM to measure the voltages. Measure between the colored wires and either chassis ground or the black wires. Yellow wires should be 12 volts. Red wires: +5 volts, orange wires: +3.3 volts, blue wire : -12 volts, violet wire: 5 volts always on. Tolerances are +/- 5% except for the -12 volts which is +/- 10%.

The gray wire is really important. It should go from 0 to +5 volts when you turn the PSU on with the case switch. CPU needs this signal to boot.

You can turn on the PSU by completely disconnecting the PSU and using a paperclip or jumper wire to short the green wire to one of the neighboring black wires.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FWXgQSokF4&feature=youtube_gdata

A way that might be easier is to use the main power plug. Working from the back of the plug where the wires come out, use a bare paperclip to short between the green wire and one of the neighboring black wires. That will do the same thing with an installed PSU. It is also an easy way to bypass a questionable case power switch.

This checks the PSU under no load conditions, so it is not completely reliable. But if it can not pass this, it is dead. Then repeat the checks with the PSU plugged into the computer to put a load on the PSU.

If the system beeps:
If it looks like the PSU is good, install a memory stick. Boot. Beep pattern should change to one long and several short beeps indicating a missing graphics card.

Silence, long single beeps, or series of short beeps indicate a problem with the memory. If you get short beeps verify that the memory is in the appropriate motherboard slots.

Insert the video card and connect any necessary PCIe power connectors. Boot. At this point, the system should POST successfully (a single short beep). Notice that you do not need keyboard, mouse, monitor, or drives to successfully POST.
At this point, if the system doesn't work, it's either the video card or an inadequate PSU. Or rarely - the motherboard's PCIe interface.

Now start connecting the rest of the devices starting with the monitor, then keyboard and mouse, then the rest of the devices, testing after each step. It's possible that you can pass the POST with a defective video card. The POST routines can only check the video interface. It cannot check the internal parts of the video card.