How to check how many wats my psu has without opening case?

[Jeffreyg4]

^ question , the reason i say without opening case is because i opened it and theres no indication on the psu whatsoever so i need to figure it out another way, Please help me!

 

[pengwin]

.......did u try to u kno....remove...the psu?...there is a sticker on every PSU which states the stats for it

 

[stoppard]

How to check how many wats my psu has without opening case

Is this some sort of zen; contemplate your navel type deal?

good god man. look at the sticker, they all have one.

 

[pengwin]

lol

 

[rantonrave]

Post everything written on the label. If there's no label, remove the cover and post a picture of the insides.

 

[chuckshissle]

Yeah there's should be a sticker with all the specs posted in it. If not then look at the model number and they usually includes the wattage. For example a model number : PXY450RR notice the 450 that means it's 450 watts. You should be able to see it from the back or by opening the case door. If not also you search it through the manufacturers's specs and confirm it's wattage.

 

[wun911]

is there a way to figure out how many wats your psu is in Windows???

So if some dude jib me and swap the sticker how do you really know how powerful your psu is?

 

[pengwin]

i dont think there is

 

[michaelahess]

I think I will invent (bear with me) a chip that manufacturers can put into their psu's, it will have a usb cable coming out of it. This chip will have voltage leads on each output and each rail and a slick ass little utillity to show what it's doing in windows. And of course tell you the model and serial of the psu.

I could be a millionare!

I don't think it would be easy to pull one of those labels off without scuffing the metal under it, that would take a lot of time.

 

[pengwin]

maybe a thousandaire....million is pushin it buddy

 

[michaelahess]

Yeah, probably right, but I was getting excited!

 

[pengwin]

lol, so yah @ author, look at the sticker

 

[jaguarskx]

is there a way to figure out how many wats your psu is in Windows???

So if some dude jib me and swap the sticker how do you really know how powerful your psu is?

Then the only way to know is to physically remove the PSU and have it tested.

 

[jaguarskx]

^ question , the reason i say without opening case is because i opened it and theres no indication on the psu whatsoever so i need to figure it out another way, Please help me!

Well, if you are unwilling to remove the PSU and check the sticker, perhaps there is one other way.

Place both hands on the PC, close your eyes and concentrate really, really hard. If you are lucky you can perform the Vulcan Mind Meld like Mr. Spock and telepathically find out how many watts the PSU will provide.

 

[pengwin]

^ question , the reason i say without opening case is because i opened it and theres no indication on the psu whatsoever so i need to figure it out another way, Please help me!

Well, if you are unwilling to remove the PSU and check the sticker, perhaps there is one other way.

Place both hands on the PC, close your eyes and concentrate really, really hard. If you are lucky you can perform the Vulcan Mind Meld like Mr. Spock and telepathically find out how many watts the PSU will provide.


ZOMG, i tried it i was off by .5 watts

i tried that on my old HP Vectra. it was 185.5w, danm off by .5

 

[Herr_Fritz]

There are 4 screws on modern ATX PSU's that attach it to the case....
remove them and carefully take a look at the top of the PSU, the sticker is prolly there...

 

[wun911]

So currently anybody could jib us on the PSU just by pumping PSUs without stickers!

Thats kinda bad isnt it? And how do we physically test it anyway? Is it an easy simple process?

 

[pengwin]

u need a multi meter i think

 

[michaelahess]

That would be illegal in America, not sure elsewhere, as the sticker has the various certifications required to sell them here. You could get someone in big trouble for ripping UL listings off products and selling them. Kinda like the mattress labels, pull them off before you sell and it's illegal, after and it's ok.

 

[pengwin]

That would be illegal in America, not sure elsewhere, as the sticker has the various certifications required to sell them here. You could get someone in big trouble for ripping UL listings off products and selling them. Kinda like the mattress labels, pull them off before you sell and it's illegal, after and it's ok.

oh, yah i was gonna say a multimeter is illegal in US.

Yah we have like a whole government dept. that watches that, granted they actually do something...ehh anyways...multimeter will test ur PSU

 

[michaelahess]

Sorry, forgot to quote ya

 

[Pain]

multimeter will test ur PSU

I'm sure anyone with the other equipment and/or test bed required to perform such tests will have a multimeter, but there is no way to test a PSU with a multimeter alone, i.e. there is no max-wattage setting. :?

 

[Tattysnuc]

Power Supplies are rated based on a MAXIMUM current / voltage draw.

Manufacturers can quote a number of theoretical max's so as to be able to quote an inflated current figure, not the exact maximum that the PSU can provide. After all, not every component is identical as they come from manufacturing batches.

As the Power supply does not carry any identifying "component" (ie a chip that says "hi motherboard, I'm a 450 Watt PSU", or something equivalent) then there would be absolutely no way to say what the PSU is capable of.

You can try testing it till it fails, OR read the label OR look up your PC model number and see which series PSU is usually supplied in that chasis. Sorry, but what you are asking is physically impossible to measure as they are simply not designed to be measured, other than measuring what you are drawing.

A quick Analogy would be to look at a car which has had its shell taken off and replaced by a box. You can see how fast the box goes by observing it from outside, but as to what it's maximum speed is, you'd need to know what the car underneath the box is!

 

[rodney_ws]

Perhaps you should call the person who sold it to you or assembled it... or maybe check your previous invoices. Odds are if it came with a case its a pretty basic PSU and won't be adequate for high-end components and overclocking.

 

[pengwin]

...pull the god damn thing out and read the sticker.