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how to test a psu broken?

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techlover

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000000000000000
what do i risk in using an uncertain power supply with new components
hi
lately my mobo broke. im not sure if the psu is linked to that or if that is even possible. feel free to educate me on that.

im looking to installing a new mobo with it i dont know
first if i cant test and certify myself it isn t brokent?

do i risk damaging other components it i plug it and indeed it was broken psu. how can that affect other parts.

tx
 
The PSU is everything. Always start with a good one.
Testing a PSU is not straight forward. So you want a reliable one, Brand and age is important
Testing a motherboard gets a little complicated. But it can be done. Youtube

What PSU are we talking about?
 
buy a psu tester
 
it is antec Antec CP-850 850W Cpx Dual Pcb Power Supply Modular ATX12V V2.3 80PLUS Active PFC SLI 120MM Fan https://www.atxpowersupplies.com/manuals/Antec-CP-850-user-manual.pdf

the manual says SYSTEM PROTECTION A variety of industrial-grade safety circuitry will help protect your computer: OVP (Over Voltage Protection), SCP (Short Circuit Protection), and OCP (Over Current Protection). Sometimes the PSU will “latch” into a protected state. You will need to power off the PSU and clear the fault before it will function again. There are no user-replaceable fuses in your CP-850.

here https://www.cnet.com/products/antec-cp-850-power-supply-850-watt-series/

it says Overcurrent protection, overvoltage protection, SLI ready, cable management, quad 12V rails, shor

here it says Industrial grade protection: OVP (Over Voltage Protection), SCP (Short Circuit Protection), and OCP (Over Current Protection
thinkcomputers.org

Antec CP-850 850W Power Supply Review

Antec has always been known for making very reliable power supplies. They have done something a little interesting with their CP-Series power supplies though. They are designed differently so they are larger than most power supplies, which means they will only fit in certain cases. Those...
thinkcomputers.org thinkcomputers.org

if those features say that the worst that can happen is not working, than i would skip buying a tester .

is it that simple?
 
You can't test PSU without special equipment.

Best you can do is to run a 3D game, or Prime95 large FFT with FurMark running at the background at 720p.
 
and how much is that special equipment ? would you have a link plz and approx price?
 
techlover said:
and how much is that special equipment ? would you have a link plz and approx price?
Click to expand...

You can test weather its operational with a cheap tool. But I think you know it turns on. But that does not test it completely. For that you need expensive equipment
Based on the brand and model just go ahead and assume its good. The odds of it damaging new parts is low, but not completely non existent. At least we know its not a POS
Unless it smells like smoke, or is more than 5 years old. That's what I would do

 
Last edited:
cucker tarlson said:
buy new and see


are you waiting to bar mitzvah it ? get a new one already.
il like it it is silent nice and good cable option. and im on a budget

just get a new one,there's plenty of very good budget options.
Click to expand...
i like your joke bar mitzva

to me you see psu is not something that gets outdated.
the thing i dont know is if they are made to broke after x years.

the other thing i long for someone to tell me is since they say SYSTEM PROTECTION A variety of industrial-grade safety circuitry will help protect your computer: OVP (Over Voltage Protection), SCP (Short Circuit Protection), and OCP (Over Current Protection). Sometimes the PSU will “latch” into a protected state. You will need to power off the PSU and clear the fault before it will function again. There are no user-replaceable fuses in your CP-850. ,

if i keep on using it i cannot break other pieces since it has overprotection voltagre and short circuit protection and ocp.
 
techlover said:
i like your joke bar mitzva

to me you see psu is not something that gets outdated.
the thing i dont know is if they are made to broke after x years.

the other thing i long for someone to tell me is since they say SYSTEM PROTECTION A variety of industrial-grade safety circuitry will help protect your computer: OVP (Over Voltage Protection), SCP (Short Circuit Protection), and OCP (Over Current Protection). Sometimes the PSU will “latch” into a protected state. You will need to power off the PSU and clear the fault before it will function again. There are no user-replaceable fuses in your CP-850. ,

if i keep on using it i cannot break other pieces since it has overprotection voltagre and short circuit protection and ocp.
Click to expand...
yes it doesn't get outdated

but electronics dont live forever,better safe than sorry with with most important component of a pc.
 
My take:
1) There are very few PSU's that I would even consider using after ten years. Your PSU isn't one of them.
2) If you have to ask how to test, you are in over your head. Replace it.
3) PSU technology in the last 10 years has quantified. There are very good replacements out there without costing you your first born.
Replace it
 
considering the protection devices on the antec, would the sorry you talk about a no more electricity of damage to other components cause protections are there to prevent damage to other components , arent they . what am i missing?

the other thing i long for someone to tell me is since they say SYSTEM PROTECTION A variety of industrial-grade safety circuitry will help protect your computer: OVP (Over Voltage Protection), SCP (Short Circuit Protection), and OCP (Over Current Protection). Sometimes the PSU will “latch” into a protected state. You will need to power off the PSU and clear the fault before it will function again. There are no user-replaceable fuses in your CP-850

yes electronic can cease to fonction but if it just cease and do no damage for me it make sense , if it cease and damage other component than i need to know.
 
Antec in my experience has tended to be crap.. Can nobody remember their dodgy PSU series from back in the day that actually -was- killing things? "EarthWatts" or something? 12 YEARS OLD?! Either you are trolling or want things to last forever.. nevermind all this crap i wrote before i spotted that! Don't risk it! Keep it if you must for sentimental reasons but DO NOT use it to power another machine!! Get a new one, good ones are surprisingly cheap now!

If you have access to a digital multi-meter and know how to turn on your PSU without a board attached, that would be the first step. Check the voltage of all the rails to make sure they're all within spec! (Simple way is, with nothing attached to the DC side output, no drives, nothing.. Short the green wire to a black wire on the ATX connector, connect your negative/black DMM (multi-meter) probe to any black wire or even the metal case of the PSU, then poke the (assuming they colour code or you'll have to check pin-out diagrams) various positive rails and measure the voltages.. It would be nice if you had a spare PSU too. As for load test, that can be difficult with out the "proper equipment" which i do actually have, dummy loads, even an oscilloscope haha.. But a ghetto method i love to use: old lamp type christmas lights on the 5v and 3.3v rails, a car audio amplifier on the 12v output rails wired to a low impedance sub or pair of speakers.. You can use a clamp meter or several DMMs in ammeter mode to see what current you can pull before the PSU shuts off.. Awkward to do, but hilarious! :D Does the PSU even still turn on if you connect the power on wire (usually green) to a ground (black) wire? Unless you have a ground/earthing issue in your home, messing with the DC side won't electrocute you.. Just please, please be careful! If you are in any way unsure, not confident or worried, DO NOT do what i've suggested!

Anyway, most PSUs have that kind of protection if they're not cheap crap. I had a Corsair CX750 fail due to a now known bad supplier of ferrite chokes and electromagnetics.. Over time it would burn up, it actually failed whilst i was running a benchmark after smelling bad for two weeks! (Yes, i literally left it to see what would happen, i was confident.. It didn't damage any hardware, didn't even blow a fuse or trip the socket RCD, it simply shut off! And after a long time leaving it, never getting around to returning it.. I attempted a fix by replacing the coil with another i hand wound, using one turn less and the PSU is now working again! :) Hilariously it was still able to start with a crispy, fried coil..but would overheat and shut off quite quickly and pull an alarming amount of power with no load..yes, i was bored!) But i'm drifting from the point..

Motherboards can just fail for seemingly no reason if they happened to have a bad MosFET or three, an imperfection in a main ASIC or chip, etc.. I've seen the main ITE IO control chip fail on some which means they won't turn on or won't turn off, or won't reset.. Rare though! As i say, all but the shittiest awful PSUs have forms of protection, will turn off if you happen to short an output or pull too much current briefly (i again love car amps for this! xD)

If you need any other help let me know. A series of lamps at the right voltage can go a long way.. 12v car headlight bulb for the 12v rail, stick something you know is 6v on the 5v rail, etc.. Shame i don't live closer to come and tinker!

Edit: I should have read more before opening my mouth.. The PSU is 12 years old?! That probably IS one of the bad Antec ones.. Even if you think it works, throw that shit away and replace it! Lol.. I have even older PSUs here, but i know what i'm doing. For you, the 'safe' way is to simply replace it.. If you have some junk hardware you don't mind killing, plug your suspect PSU into it and see what goes bang xD I had a 10+ year old PSU here, in the past had been suspected of killing hardware.. After i tested and measured it, i found it was putting out well over 12v on the 12v rail (over 12.4!) had seriously bad ripple, even though all capacitors were fine and the protection no longer worked properly.. I could literally make sparks with the 12v supply, the fan would slow/cut put the PSU kept trying to pulse power! It was quite a nasty, cheap OEM POS from back in the day though, i suspect the kind that used to come with cheap cases..
 
Last edited:
linustechtips.com

How to test PSU with digital multimeter?

Guys,I want to test my PSU with multimeter because issues with GPU. How do I do it? Can I test 6-pin and 8-pin connectors with multimeter and how.
linustechtips.com linustechtips.com
the most basic way to test a psu without specialized equiptment. but, as others suggested after 12 years just buy a new one.
 
techlover said:
000000000000000
what do i risk in using an uncertain power supply with new components
hi
lately my mobo broke. im not sure if the psu is linked to that or if that is even possible. feel free to educate me on that.

im looking to installing a new mobo with it i dont know
first if i cant test and certify myself it isn t brokent?

do i risk damaging other components it i plug it and indeed it was broken psu. how can that affect other parts.

tx
Click to expand...

Firstly make sure to troublshoot from software end and then after that for hardware testing:
  1. Make sure to check if any external switch on the rear of the power supply hasn’t accidentally been turned off.
  2. Check if the power cable is secure in the wall socket as well as in the rear of the computer.
  3. swap with a different power cable and wall socket to confirm about their availability.
  4. After all the internal connections inside your PC is okay, especially power connectors to peripherals then
  5. Remove all peripherals and hardware from your computer except your boot drive and graphics card if you don’t have onboard graphics. If your CPU does have built-in graphics, remove the graphics card also.
 
Since low noise silent pc is important for me what psu would you propose best bang for buck .?

probable rig i ll get for quest link rift vr i5 4590 plus rx580 gpu
 
techlover said:
Since low noise silent pc is important for me what psu would you propose best bang for buck .?

probable rig i ll get for quest link rift vr i5 4590 plus rx580 gpu
Click to expand...
seasonic 650. any model with a 10 year warranty. im suggesting a 650 so you can keep it for a longer period since it will be under utilised.
 
and still not expensive.
anyone know good reviewed models maybe bronze since i dont want to pay to much
 
chaoshusky said:
I had a Corsair CX750 fail due to a now known bad supplier of ferrite chokes and electromagnetics..
Click to expand...

Known bad supplier of ferrite chokes and electromagnetics?

Link? I've used Corsair's PSUs since the original HX520 and have no idea what in the world you are talking about.

chaoshusky said:
Antec in my experience has tended to be crap.. Can nobody remember their dodgy PSU series from back in the day that actually -was- killing things? "EarthWatts" or something?
Click to expand...

It was True Power. It had "known bad" OST caps that would leak, which changes the filtering capacitors values and cause them to output voltages and ripple that is dangerous to your components down stream.

MOST of Antec offerings are actually quite good. Neo Eco, from CWT and Seasonic, Earth Watts, from Delta and Seasonic, High Current Gamer, also from Delta and Seasonic, True Power Quattro, from Enhance, The Delta made True Power Gold, High Current Platinum, Signature Series..... All ROCK SOLID PSUs.

And so was OP's PSU.... 12 years ago. It's served its purpose. It's lived its life. I agree with everyone that it needs to be retired.

Problem is, CP was Antec's bizarre own "CPX" form factor. It was a good idea, having a 120mm exhaust fan that sucked air ACROSS the PCB instead of pushing air down into it. That meant it could be quieter and run cooler than any other PSU made. But you HAD TO HAVE a P183 case. They discontinued the whole idea within 2 years because nobody (except for OP) bought into it!
 
techlover said:
and still not expensive.
anyone know good reviewed models maybe bronze since i dont want to pay to much
Click to expand...

If you have that PSU, don't you also have an Antec CPX case? Your problem seems to be bigger than just needing a new PSU.
 
chaoshusky said:
Antec in my experience has tended to be crap.. Can nobody remember their dodgy PSU series from back in the day that actually -was- killing things? "EarthWatts" or something? 12 YEARS OLD?! Either you are trolling or want things to last forever.. nevermind all this crap i wrote before i spotted that! Don't risk it! Keep it if you must for sentimental reasons but DO NOT use it to power another machine!! Get a new one, good ones are surprisingly cheap now!

If you have access to a digital multi-meter and know how to turn on your PSU without a board attached, that would be the first step. Check the voltage of all the rails to make sure they're all within spec! (Simple way is, with nothing attached to the DC side output, no drives, nothing.. Short the green wire to a black wire on the ATX connector, connect your negative/black DMM (multi-meter) probe to any black wire or even the metal case of the PSU, then poke the (assuming they colour code or you'll have to check pin-out diagrams) various positive rails and measure the voltages.. It would be nice if you had a spare PSU too. As for load test, that can be difficult with out the "proper equipment" which i do actually have, dummy loads, even an oscilloscope haha.. But a ghetto method i love to use: old lamp type christmas lights on the 5v and 3.3v rails, a car audio amplifier on the 12v output rails wired to a low impedance sub or pair of speakers.. You can use a clamp meter or several DMMs in ammeter mode to see what current you can pull before the PSU shuts off.. Awkward to do, but hilarious! :D Does the PSU even still turn on if you connect the power on wire (usually green) to a ground (black) wire? Unless you have a ground/earthing issue in your home, messing with the DC side won't electrocute you.. Just please, please be careful! If you are in any way unsure, not confident or worried, DO NOT do what i've suggested!

Anyway, most PSUs have that kind of protection if they're not cheap crap. I had a Corsair CX750 fail due to a now known bad supplier of ferrite chokes and electromagnetics.. Over time it would burn up, it actually failed whilst i was running a benchmark after smelling bad for two weeks! (Yes, i literally left it to see what would happen, i was confident.. It didn't damage any hardware, didn't even blow a fuse or trip the socket RCD, it simply shut off! And after a long time leaving it, never getting around to returning it.. I attempted a fix by replacing the coil with another i hand wound, using one turn less and the PSU is now working again! :) Hilariously it was still able to start with a crispy, fried coil..but would overheat and shut off quite quickly and pull an alarming amount of power with no load..yes, i was bored!) But i'm drifting from the point..

Motherboards can just fail for seemingly no reason if they happened to have a bad MosFET or three, an imperfection in a main ASIC or chip, etc.. I've seen the main ITE IO control chip fail on some which means they won't turn on or won't turn off, or won't reset.. Rare though! As i say, all but the shittiest awful PSUs have forms of protection, will turn off if you happen to short an output or pull too much current briefly (i again love car amps for this! xD)

If you need any other help let me know. A series of lamps at the right voltage can go a long way.. 12v car headlight bulb for the 12v rail, stick something you know is 6v on the 5v rail, etc.. Shame i don't live closer to come and tinker!

Edit: I should have read more before opening my mouth.. The PSU is 12 years old?! That probably IS one of the bad Antec ones.. Even if you think it works, throw that shit away and replace it! Lol.. I have even older PSUs here, but i know what i'm doing. For you, the 'safe' way is to simply replace it.. If you have some junk hardware you don't mind killing, plug your suspect PSU into it and see what goes bang xD I had a 10+ year old PSU here, in the past had been suspected of killing hardware.. After i tested and measured it, i found it was putting out well over 12v on the 12v rail (over 12.4!) had seriously bad ripple, even though all capacitors were fine and the protection no longer worked properly.. I could literally make sparks with the 12v supply, the fan would slow/cut put the PSU kept trying to pulse power! It was quite a nasty, cheap OEM POS from back in the day though, i suspect the kind that used to come with cheap cases..
Click to expand...

Just a quick note: multimeters don't catch the real hardware killer: ripple.
 
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