what is too high a voltage?

[Darfur]

I've only ever heard of low voltage, power supplies dipping below 5v at load means it's a weak power supply. Mine doesn't (PowMax 400watt, however the 3.3v stays around 3.15 or 3.2) but the 12 volt stays around 12.2-12.3 sometimes 12.4 volts. Is that too much?

 

[HammerBot]

No. +/- 5% is fine. Usually I accept +/-10% on the 12V rail.

<i><b>Engineering is the fine art of making what you want from things you can get</b></i>

 

[upec]

Industry consider anything within 10% acceptable. High quality manufacturers consider 5% as acceptable.

 

[Crashman]

3.3v is a fussy line, I've seen systems crash whenever that line drops below 3.2v (especially older PC133 systems, since those boards usually got their memory power directly from the 3.3v line). Some newer parts are even less tolerant of low voltages, but that's usually on the 12v line.

Anyway, 12.3-12.4v is nearly perfect for stability. The problem with PowMax supplies isn't necessarily the voltage setting, but fluctuation due to inadequate filtering. Check the power supply article at Sysopt, the cheap power supply is a PowMax. They are of very low quality and usually blow out in a fairly short period of time (anywhere from 1 month to 2 years of use). Also be aware that even if your voltages seem OK, if they fluctuate a lot it can cause system crashes.

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