What's the best way to test a power supply?

[rdefino]

I need to test my power supply. I've been noticing some bad recordings on my PCI HD tuner. Over the past year I've added many internal hard drives (8 total hard drives).

I have a 430watt seasonic PS in there, but I think that could be my problem. I'm thinking of replacing it with a 600wattPS. Is there a good way to check the PS to see if it's sufficient?

Thanks

[sainswor99]

They sell PSU testers at Fry's, or probably another electronic store. Run around $20; probably the most reliable way.

You could also download a tool like PC Wizard, which will tell you if your voltage levels are low; may not necessarily be an indicator of a bad power supply, but it's free.

[rdefino]

I would imagine that the PS is fine. I wondering if it's under powered and whats the best way to know.

I'll try the PC wizard.

Thanks

[MeInMaui]

Originally Posted by rdefino

I would imagine that the PS is fine. I wondering if it's under powered and whats the best way to know.

I'll try the PC wizard.

Thanks

You could get a Kill-a-watt and see what the total power consumption is for your PC. I would be surprised if you are pulling more than 200-250W total. I have been using the same PS as you (Seasonic 430W S12) on all of my PC's for a few years now with no issues. Note that if you put a larger supply in, it will probably operate at a lower efficiency at the same power output. I highly recommend checking out Silent PC Review for lots of great info on power supplies. HTH

Aloha,
Mike

[stanger89]

The only problem with the Kill-a-watt is that it won't tell you if you've got too much load on one rail, or combination of rails.

That said, 430W is plenty to run a system of that size (my 12-drive server only pulls 200W), where I ran into problems is that I was having trouble reliably starting the system.

[mayamaniac]

I had a cheap 600W PSU, and it didn't have enough power to handle my 11 drive load. I replaced it with a more expensive 520W PSU and it works great.

With 8 drives, your 430W should be able to handle it unless its a cheap brand like the one I had.

[rdefino]

Th PS is a seasonic. I put a kill a watt on it and i was pulling about 230.