Low 12 volt rail

[skikarl]

a computer of mine keeps randomly shutting off, then turning back on and loading back in. it does not tell me that windows has not shut down correctly or anything.

i suspected 2 things

overheating
psu

checked the temps, all good

checked the psu with my psu checker, all good. looked in bios, and the 12v rail was at like 11.1-11.3.

is that voltage acceptable, and it was jumping around there ALOT.

 

[GhislainG]

You should use a DVM to check it, but 11.1-11.3V is out of specs. It should be 11.4-12.6V and relatively stable.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Brand / Model ?

 

[cjl]

That voltage would be out of range, but I would check it with a digital multimeter first. Software and BIOS readings are somewhat notoriously unreliable.

 

[jsc]

Like the other posters above said, "11. - 11.2 volts is out of tolerance." But is is probably worse than you think. Remember, a PSU tester puts a minimal load on a PSU.

Borrow a meter and check between the yellow and black wire on a drive molex power connector while the PSU is running.

With a little over 11 volts, a good PSU would not have let you boot.

 

[ronss]

tolerance on a psu is 5%, so you should have 11.4 v +.....also, check you heatsink and fan...do you have thermal paste under the heatsink or pad...is the fan running properly

 

[Onus]

Full system specs might help to see if you're overloading your PSU, and also its brand and model to help determine overall quality.

 

[skikarl]

ok...so, the first post answered my quest. and as far as overheating, its not. and i own a DMM, 3 actually, im not a tech noob. and the voltage i posted was already checked with my multi meter.

 

[cjl]

If it's reading <11.4V with a digital multimeter, it's out of spec and should be replaced.

 

[skikarl]

Best answer selected by skikarl.