Question How accurate is power supply tester?

Aug 24, 2019
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I have a power supply that appears to be fine. It beeps on power but unable to power up the motherboard. After trying a different power supply, a second works and it is obviously that this one is at fault.

Is power supply tester able to determine power reliability? It passed two power supply tester and I suspect the fault unit is unable to provide constant and reliably power.

The only thing I noticed is that -12V (~12.4 - 12.5) and +5V (~5.0 - 5.1)fluctuates. A picture is shown here - Power Supply Tester

PG
 
Aug 24, 2019
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Link has been updated. PSG is 210 ms on the defective unit.

I didn't test the new PSU with the tester as it boots right up after plugging in. :( It is running now in production.

Motherboard is Intel S1200BTS - https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/53558/intel-server-board-s1200bts.html

Defective PSU is Antec Earth Watts 430 80plus (runs perfect for few years) - https://www.newegg.com/antec-earthwatts-green-ea-430d-green-430w-continuous-power/p/N82E16817371034

New PSU is Thermaltake Smart 430W 80plus - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BFJ91TY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
210ms is pretty low. Test the working PSU. I bet it's around 300ms or higher.

Pro tip: That Thermaltake is a dumpster fire. Only use it until you can put a decent PSU in there. The Antec was decent for its time, but my best guess is that it's about ten years old, right?

If you want problem free PC operation, stop using old and/or shitty power supplies.
 
Aug 24, 2019
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210ms is pretty low. Test the working PSU. I bet it's around 300ms or higher.

Pro tip: That Thermaltake is a dumpster fire. Only use it until you can put a decent PSU in there. The Antec was decent for its time, but my best guess is that it's about ten years old, right?

If you want problem free PC operation, stop using old and/or shitty power supplies.

The Antec was the original PSU until it was stopped working. Yes it is around 7 years old, the thermaltake was meant for troubleshooting.

Any recommendations for a 24/7/365 PSU? I have used Cooler Master (years ago), Corsair and Antec.
 
Aug 24, 2019
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Power supply testers can confirm a dead psu, but they can not confirm the proper operation of a psu.
Testing with a known good replacement psu seems to be the only way to do it.

I know:( I used to have spare PSUs but I recently gave them away as they are ancient 20pin.

At my disposal I only have a power tester that have no LED reading. The second tester with LED reading I got this morning may have confirmed that the PSU is indeed dead. Will get the readings of the new one and update here.
 
Power supply testers can confirm a dead psu, but they can not confirm the proper operation of a psu.
Testing with a known good replacement psu seems to be the only way to do it.

It can be used the way it was used so far in this thread too.

The Antec was the original PSU until it was stopped working. Yes it is around 7 years old, the thermaltake was meant for troubleshooting.

Any recommendations for a 24/7/365 PSU? I have used Cooler Master (years ago), Corsair and Antec.

What's your location and budget? Not a lot of PSUs like 24/7/365. Should consider something rated to run full load at 50C if you're going to do that.

The Antec was actually a 50C rated Delta unit. It just lived it's life and gave up. 7 years is a long time for a PSU to last.
 
Aug 24, 2019
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It can be used the way it was used so far in this thread too.



What's your location and budget? Not a lot of PSUs like 24/7/365. Should consider something rated to run full load at 50C if you're going to do that.

The Antec was actually a 50C rated Delta unit. It just lived it's life and gave up. 7 years is a long time for a PSU to last.

I am located in the east coast. The PSU power a NAS server in an average 60-70F office environment.

Budget would be around $80. I can confirm the PSU was installed in 2011 (With 8-10 power outage).

I am researching Antec and Seasonic at the moment as they use pretty good quality Japanese capacitors.
 
I am located in the east coast. The PSU power a NAS server in an average 60-70F office environment.

Budget would be around $80. I can confirm the PSU was installed in 2011 (With 8-10 power outage).

I am researching Antec and Seasonic at the moment as they use pretty good quality Japanese capacitors.

East Coast of China? Oh... wait.. You used Fahrenheit so you must mean U.S. You have to remember that this forum has people from all over and typically not the U.S. ;-)

Antec and Seasonic aren't the only ones that make PSUs with Japanese capacitors. And Japanese capacitors don't make a PSU better. Certainly, PSUs are more than a box of capaciors and the reason your power good signal is only 210ms isn't because of a failed capacitor.

I don't think you can get a PSU that's rated at 50C for only $80. BitFenx Whisper and Corsair TX550M are around a hundred.

I used to think Seasonics were all rated at 50C, then I noticed their website says they can only do up to 80% of their rated capability at temperatures from 40 to 50C.
 
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Aug 24, 2019
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East Coast of China? Oh... wait.. You used Fahrenheit so you must mean U.S. You have to remember that this forum has people from all over and typically not the U.S. ;-)

Antec and Seasonic aren't the only ones that make PSUs with Japanese capacitors. And Japanese capacitors don't make a PSU better. Certainly, PSUs are more than a box of capaciors and the reason your power good signal is only 210ms isn't because of a failed capacitor.

I don't think you can get a PSU that's rated at 50C for only $80. BitFenx Whisper and Corsair TX550M are around a hundred.

I used to think Seasonics were all rated at 50C, then I noticed their website says they can only do up to 80% of their rated capability at temperatures from 40 to 50C.

Yes, I am located in Massachusetts.

After looking at Seasonic gold focus+, Corsair tx/rmx and Antec EAG Pro, I am going to go with Corsair tx550m.

TX is under 7 years coverage and I think it is more than enough.
 
Swapped the Thermaltake (300ms) with Corsair (260ms). The defective one is (210ms)

View: https://imgur.com/a/qh6iyAG


Since it is still within the specs (100 - 500), it remains inclusive and can only tell by swapping it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_good_signal

So here's what's funny.... the "spec" says that the signal can be between 100 and 500ms. But some motherboards are only looking for 200ms to 500ms. 300ms to 400ms.

It's like "spec" says ripple can be as high as 120mV, but do you want 120mV? "Spec" says +12V can be as low as 11.4V, but do you want 11.4V?

This is actually a very common issue for motherboard/PSU compatibility.