[RESOLVED] atx power supply test

[kies]

does anyone know a way to test an atx power supply without using a mother board?

[crtlaltdel]

You could check for voltage with a meter
not sure of the specs but some power supplies
have a schematic on them.

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I didn't think Murphy's law applied here in the computer industry

[bdunn]

It probably won't check with a meter. A switching power supply wont measure without a load.

[gizmo1_1]

Two of the leads from the PS to the mother board are the soft switch. I do not have the schematics handy, but you can ground the power-up lead with a resistor and teh supply will power up. From there you may test it with a voltage meter. There is not mech of a load test, but you can get approximate voltages. I good rule of thumb +/- .25v is a good tolerance.


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[AlienDyne]

Does it worth the trouble?
Try a mobo with a HDD on. Lots of power supply testing programs are around. Some of them are very reliable.
You could check it that way. All you need is 5 mins!


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Human created computers.
God got mad and created customers!!!!!

[Grafman]

You can do the resistor bit as suggested and do checks with a meter. If all your voltages check out OK, this will tell you... Absolutely nothing! Many times the voltages are great, but the PS cannot provide the current, and the current is what does the work. The only reliable test is with a known good MB and drives. As the Alien stated, there are many test apps out there, but I don't use any of them, so can't suggest one.

Also, if you're doing this for someone else, I wouldn't tie up a lot of time in it. Power supplies aren't that expensive any more.
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[This message has been edited by Grafman (edited January 23, 2000).]