Correct voltages?

[computabug]

Hi, I've got a 400cx PSU from Corsair, and these are the voltages I'm getting from it (with ASUS PC probe II) as I type this:

+3.3v = 3.46v
+5v = 5.05v
+12v = 12.68v

Are the voltages supposed to be this far off? (especially the 12v?) Any advice or voltages of your own psu's would be greatly appreciated.

And one last thing: I still don't understand what active PFC does... Does it keep power going in my computer clean, or does it just save power for my electricity company? When I bought this psu, I was kinda hoping for PFC to be some kind of built-in power conditioner...

Thanks

 

[misry]

Your voltages are within engineering tolerances. 12v seems a little high but we don't know the load.

Wiki active PFC.

 

[RetiredChief]

(1). The 3.3V is right at the 5%, the +12 V is 0.08V over the 5% which is not a cause of real concern as opposed to the low end, ie 11.36V

(2). What does bios show, have you tried a third party such as CPUID hdware monitor, and my BEST CHOICE is to use a DVM to verify readings.

(3) PFC (Power factor correction) is primarily to improve effiency. It make a load appear as a resistive load (opposed to reactive load). This results in the Max voltage and max current being inphase. Very little to do with cleaning up noise on the outputs. However a company that invest in good PFC will PROBABLY also invest in good powersupply filtering.

 

[computabug]

Your voltages are within engineering tolerances. 12v seems a little high but we don't know the load.

Wiki active PFC.

I've wiki-ed pfc before posting about it, still confused me. RetiredChief has cleared that up for me
I was getting these voltages at idle while typing the post, using ASUS Probe.

 

[computabug]

(1). The 3.3V is right at the 5%, the +12 V is 0.08V over the 5% which is not a cause of real concern as opposed to the low end, ie 11.36V

(2). What does bios show, have you tried a third party such as CPUID hdware monitor, and my BEST CHOICE is to use a DVM to verify readings.

(3) PFC (Power factor correction) is primarily to improve effiency. It make a load appear as a resistive load (opposed to reactive load). This results in the Max voltage and max current being inphase. Very little to do with cleaning up noise on the outputs. However a company that invest in good PFC will PROBABLY also invest in good powersupply filtering.

1. Do you think I should or could get an RMA from Corsair? I called them a few months ago when the 12v was at like 12.4, and they said the psu would be considered bad if it was at least 5% off...

2. I don't have access to the computer right now, I'm outside I'll check the voltage and get back to you when I get home And I don't have a DVM at home lol

3. Thanks, that explains it. So can I put it this way: PFC helps the power grid, but doesn't help the power coming in my PC at all, so if I wanted to protect my pc, PFC would have nothing to do with it?

 

[computabug]

From BIOS, it seems that my Vcore only goes like 0.02 lower than what I have it as (good ol' ASUS ), 3.3 at just over 3.4v, 5 at 5.05, and 12 at 12.44-12.50. It's within 5%, but would you guys feel satisfied running an enthusiast set-up on this? (I don't have a too expensive set-up, but I still want to protect it ) In other words, would you guys RMA it for one with cleaner voltages? I'd appreciate it if some people could post up voltages from their own PSU's

 

[the daveman]

I've built computers where the software/BIOS voltage readings (such as from PCProbe) are way off, but when I verify using DVM, the numbers are rock solid. So you can't always trust the software voltage readings.

 

[computabug]

Thanks, that's exactly the type of advice I was looking for. Hopefully, it is just an inaccurate reading, and hopefully, my PSU is giving clean voltages. Thanks for all the comments, guys. Do I need to close this thread or mark it as 'answered' or something?