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Figured I'd check here for help
Quote:
Here's a problem. I got a slight funny smell from my case tonight. I checked the voltage on my power supply and the +5V line is running at 4.81 in idle. The 5VSB is running at 4.80 to 4.82. Under stress, those numbers drop to 4.63 and 4.68. Not good, and I just bought this thing a couple of months ago. Should I cash in on the warranty or just ignore it?
My brother had a power supply that did the same. In his case, the 3.3V and 5V rails were a bit low. As a result, his computer would often hang, especially if the video card started drawing a lot of extra power (using the external molex connection).
After replacing the power supply, his computer hasn't hung since.
If your friend is having strange computer problems, or forsees using hardware with high power requirements, I would suggest returning the power supply and getting something more stable if possible.
You have to check the amperage too. If it's too low you'll get stability issues. Last summer I went from BSOD on a 18A PSU, to a stable 30A with another PSU I purchased off newegg. I've only crashed a few times since.
Aight, his manufacturer guarantees like ~30% power range stability or something, so I'll just tell him to return it. It's under warranty anyway.