News Thermaltake's power supply tester lets you know if your power supply is working properly — Dr. Power III updated with support for ATX 3.0 power sup...

[Admin]

Thermaltake unveils the Dr. Power III, a universal ATX power supply tester that supports the latest ATX 3.0 standard.

Thermaltake's power supply tester lets you know if your power supply is working properly — Dr. Power III updated with support for ATX 3.0 power sup... : Read more

 

[ThomasKinsley]

One of the best diagnostic tools I ever purchased was a power supply tester. I used it only about 4x in 14 years, but it comes in so handy and saved me so much wasted time. You never think you need one until you do.

 

[JTWrenn]

I automatically assume if they don't release pricing it's ridiculous. I just use a jumper and a voltage meter but could see why people would like this.

 

[plateLunch]

Curious how thoroughly it tests. Is there a way to specify the load that should be applied to each voltage line? Can it measure ripple or switching noise?

Don't have enough experience with power supply failures to know what common failure modes are. The only power supply that failed on me had a delayed sag on the 5V line. It was just a little bit and most of the PC ran fine except for one disk drive. The drive had a 5% voltage tolerance which isn't much so it was easy to overlook.

 

[vanadiel007]

I automatically assume if they don't release pricing it's ridiculous. I just use a jumper and a voltage meter but could see why people would like this.

Dr Power II can be had for $100 Canadian at Amazon. I am assuming Dr Power III will be in the same ballpark. But even a Dr power II would be more than sufficient to test a PSU, considering it's not a tool you will use often.

 

[TJ Hooker]

Curious how thoroughly it tests. Is there a way to specify the load that should be applied to each voltage line? Can it measure ripple or switching noise?

Based on the information provided for thr previous version, I'm going to assume "no" for both questions. It looks like it just tests the DC voltage value at no/low load. As this article says, it's nothing you couldn't do with a simple multimeter. This new version just adds support for the new 12VHPWR/12V-2x6 connector.

To do the kind of testing you see in PSU reviews you'd need something like a DC load tester and an oscilloscope, which are going to be a lot more expensive (and larger) than the sort of basic tester shown here.

 

[Rakanyshu]

What about this kind of tester:
https://www.amazon.com/Computer-PC-...refix=thermaltake+doctor+power,aps,120&sr=8-5
its like 15 usd and has a lcd screen, might be similar or the thermaltake is way better?

 

[HexiumVII]

What about this kind of tester:
https://www.amazon.com/Computer-PC-Tester-Connectors-Enclosure/dp/B076CLNPPK/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3BAHY0EWUJEOI&keywords=thermaltake+Doctor+Power&qid=1705009785&sprefix=thermaltake+doctor+power,aps,120&sr=8-5
its like 15 usd and has a lcd screen, might be similar or the thermaltake is way better?

I've been using Rosewill ones like that for decades. Most power supplies are really just work or totally fail. Cheap PSes fail a lot. Pretty rare for a single line to drop or anything, which these will test. These will not be able to test full load though. You need some very expensive equipment for that. EVGAs use to include a simple jumper power supply tester in all their units, its prob all you need to test if a power supply is good or not.

 

[Alvar "Miles" Udell]

According to CamelCamelCamel, the TT Dr. Power II, which this model replaces, sold from $27-$50, which most time spent around the $35 mark, so I can't see this one selling for much more.

 

[mdd1963]

Testing a PSU under no-load conditions, i.e, calling it 'good' merely if assorted voltages are present under zero load, is of dubious diagnostic value at best.

 

[Amdlova]

The best way to test the power supply.

Time of use, What grade is and open to see your bad caps.

low tier psus if work two years just replace it.