How to test psu

[marxr87]

I just ordered a bunch of computer parts for my new build and I was putting it all together but cannot get the comp to turn on. Thinking about breadboarding but I'm scared because its my first time building and I don't want to destroy anything. I have an anti static band that I keep clipped to the case while I am working but I was wondering...shouldnt the psu make some sort of noise if its plugged in and turned on, or generate heat or something? Its
Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015


Also, what cord do I need for this? I have the sata cable, but i dont know whether to put it in the sata 2 or sata 3 slot and there is another, larger plug in on the drive and I don't know if I need it, is it just incase you don't have sata and need IDE or does something need to be plugged into this as well? Does it matter which sata port its plugged into?
ASUS Black Blu-ray Drive SATA Model BR-04B2T - OEM59256219
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135205

The mobo has an 8 pin plug in for the 12v power, but one of the build guides had a picture of an 8 pin plug in with only four used...do I need to use the full 8 or should I just plug in a 4 pin?

Lastly, a guy gave me a mobo speaker so I could listen to the bios checks but I don't see a spot labeled for the speaker on the mobo, where does it go?

Sorry for all the questions lol, I'm a noob when it comes to completely building a comp...replaced stuff before but never built from the ground up. I read the thermal paste spreading guide but I am not sure if I did it right? Can I wipe it off and retry or does it dry or something? Any and all help is appreciated, I've been reading some articles but its also always nice to get specific tips since the guides aren't using the same parts I am. Thanks!

 

[debianos]

Thinking about breadboarding but I'm scared because its my first time building and I don't want to destroy anything.[/quotesmg]Yeah, I'm not sure I'd be too keen on that myself... you should be able to do everything with the case at less risk.

but I was wondering...shouldnt the psu make some sort of noise if its plugged in and turned on, or generate heat or something? Its Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W[/quotesmg] I'm thinking it's fan should run. Silly question: did you push the switch above the power cord socket? The straight line should be depressed and the circle sticking up.

Also, what cord do I need for this? I have the sata cable, but i dont know whether to put it in the sata 2 or sata 3 slot and there is another, larger plug in on the drive and I don't know if I need it, is it just incase you don't have sata and need IDE or does something need to be plugged into this as well? Does it matter which sata port its plugged into?[/quotesmg]Sorry, can't help without more description. Refer to your motherboard hard-drive and/or PSU manuals.

The mobo has an 8 pin plug in for the 12v power, but one of the build guides had a picture of an 8 pin plug in with only four used...do I need to use the full 8 or should I just plug in a 4 pin?[/quotesmg]It would be quite useful if you'd say what model motherboard you're using. Pictures in a build guide that don't use your parts of limited help.

Lastly, a guy gave me a mobo speaker so I could listen to the bios checks but I don't see a spot labeled for the speaker on the mobo, where does it go?

On the motherboard somewhere. Where it is depends on your model of motherboard. Possibly your case already has a speaker that you can connect.

Sorry for all the questions lol, I'm a noob when it comes to completely building a comp...replaced stuff before but never built from the ground up. I read the thermal paste spreading guide but I am not sure if I did it right? Can I wipe it off and retry or does it dry or something? Any and all help is appreciated, I've been reading some articles but its also always nice to get specific tips since the guides aren't using the same parts I am. Thanks!

You can wipe it off and start over, no problem. You just need acetone to make sure you get it good and clean. It's usually a good idea to replace the stock thermal paste applied to heatsinks, since they use too much. Using too much is not as good as just enough, because the thermal conductivity of even good thermal paste is way below copper; you only want just enough to make a good connection.

Hope that helps

 

[debianos]

For whatever reason, it won't let me edit the messed up post above. Here's a hopefully more legible format.

Thinking about breadboarding but I'm scared because its my first time building and I don't want to destroy anything.

Yeah, I'm not sure I'd be too keen on that myself... you should be able to do everything with the case at less risk.

but I was wondering...shouldnt the psu make some sort of noise if its plugged in and turned on, or generate heat or something? Its Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W

I'm thinking it's fan should run. Silly question: did you push the switch above the power cord socket? The straight line should be depressed and the circle sticking up.

Also, what cord do I need for this? I have the sata cable, but i dont know whether to put it in the sata 2 or sata 3 slot and there is another, larger plug in on the drive and I don't know if I need it, is it just incase you don't have sata and need IDE or does something need to be plugged into this as well? Does it matter which sata port its plugged into?

Sorry, can't help without more description. Refer to your motherboard hard-drive and/or PSU manuals.

The mobo has an 8 pin plug in for the 12v power, but one of the build guides had a picture of an 8 pin plug in with only four used...do I need to use the full 8 or should I just plug in a 4 pin?

It would be quite useful if you'd say what model motherboard you're using. Pictures in a build guide that don't use your parts of limited help.

Lastly, a guy gave me a mobo speaker so I could listen to the bios checks but I don't see a spot labeled for the speaker on the mobo, where does it go?

On the motherboard somewhere. Where it is depends on your model of motherboard. Possibly your case already has a speaker that you can connect.

Sorry for all the questions lol, I'm a noob when it comes to completely building a comp...replaced stuff before but never built from the ground up. I read the thermal paste spreading guide but I am not sure if I did it right? Can I wipe it off and retry or does it dry or something? Any and all help is appreciated, I've been reading some articles but its also always nice to get specific tips since the guides aren't using the same parts I am. Thanks!

You can wipe it off and start over, no problem. You just need acetone to make sure you get it good and clean. It's usually a good idea to replace the stock thermal paste applied to heatsinks, since they use too much. Using too much is not as good as just enough, because the thermal conductivity of even good thermal paste is way below copper; you only want just enough to make a good connection.

Hope that helps

 

[jsc]

This is why we ask for your system specifications. That way we can pull up a picture of the motherboard or download a copy of the motherboard manual.

To clean off old thermal paste, isopropyl alcohol is much less toxic than acetone.

Editing your post: you should see three icons in the lower right corner of your post. The center one (gray sheet of paper with a lightning bolt) is the quick edit button.

 

[marxr87]

Here is my complete build, and yes I checked the power switch not that dumb (hopefully) lol.

LG M2362D-PM Glossy Black 23" 5ms HDMI Widescreen LCD TV Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 50000:1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005144

I-ROCKS KR-6820E-BK Black 104 Key USB/PS2 Wired Back-lit Gaming Keyboard (Orange LED)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823204015

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT25664BA1339
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148262

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015

GIGABYTE GV-R585OC-1GD Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ ATI Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125318

GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4 AM3 AMD 790X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128416

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

Logitech X-540 70 watts 5.1 Speakers
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121006

ASUS Black 4X BD-ROM 8X DVD-ROM 32X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Drive Model BR-04B2T - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135205

steelseries 63004SS QcK Mouse Pad - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826995022

Logitech G500 10 Buttons Dual-mode Scroll Wheel USB Wired Laser 5700 dpi Gaming Mouse
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104318

SmithMicro CheckIt Diagnostics Windows - OEM

And I bought Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit), a cisco wireless n pci card and some silver oxide (i think) thermal paste.

The problem with the drive is that I don't know if it needs the other plug in or not because its OEM, no manual. I looked in the instructions and on the mobo itself for the place to plug the speaker but I didn't see it, and I looked in the PSU and the mobo manuals about the 4 pin 8 pin thing but it doesnt really say.

 

[megamanx00]

You could always just use a PSU tester like this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16899705003&cm_re=PSU_tester-_-99-705-003-_-Product

 

[RetiredChief]

It's like lego - you build on

(1) Install CPU, insert Memory, and insert Video card.
(2) connect PSU to MB, 20/24 pin and 4/8 Pin connector - IF YOU have 8-pin from PSU, Although 4 Pin may work fine, use the 8-Pin
(3) Connect Front panel (normally bottom right on MB). Should be Reset/Power/Power LED/HDD LED/ NOTE- This is also normally where speaker goes.
(4) Connect front panel usb to MB.
(5) Connect DVD drive, Should be two connectors a data cable to MB Sata II and a Power connector from PSU
(6) Connect Monitor to video card
(7) Plug PSU and Monitor Power cords in to AC.

If any of the followinging steps fail - come back for guidance
Power On. (If PSU does not power on, check rocker switch in back of PSU)

If System starts powering on - Hit Delete Key and go into bios. Check Sytem health, is Voltages and temps. Leave on for minimum of 10 Min. then Power off.

Exit bios w/o saving and as system restarts Insert a memtest86 Boot Disk into DVD drive. Run Memtest (minimum 4 hours). if every thing seems normal, then power off and connect up HDD and power on and load operating system.

 

[marxr87]

i took my psu out of the comp and plugged it straight into the wall, nothing happened and i tried many outlets, the fan doesnt turn on, no heat no sound. i assume its dead?

 

[marxr87]

if it is, do you think it could have damaged any other components?

 

[marxr87]

lastly, i just figured out that you have to BUY bluray software to play br. which is fine, ill get it in the future if i need it...but it will still read dvd and cds fine, yes?

 

[wseymour]

Here's a Corsair guide to testing your power supply:

http://www.corsair.com/cinema/movie.aspx?id=1358543

Will

 

[RetiredChief]

The PSU will not Power on when plugged into the wall outlet and NOT connected to the computer.

The PSU requires an "I am OK" signal from the Motherboard before providing output voltages. You can short the two pins on the 20/24 Pin connector and "fool" the PSU and it will power on. But this is not going to help a lot unless you connect it to a PSU tester, or use a digital voltmeter to measure the output voltages.

Switching power supplies (Type used in computer PSUs) do not like NO load conditions. On the "Old" types doing so could lead to damaging the PSU. Current ones have incorporated a Min load in the PSU I believe.

Added: Link provied by wseymour identifies the two pins that should be shorted - Saved me looking up

 

[marxr87]

haha oh, well that makes sense. alright well i guess ill try reassembling again
thanks guys!

 

[aaron686]

To test a psu, take it out of the case with the hard drive or a fan plugged in, just to provide some sort of load (no need to connect the sata cables), then plug it in the outlet with the switch at the back of the psu off, and then get a wire or a paperclip and on the 24-pin connector, insert one end of the paperclip into the green pin and the other in a black one (there should be 1 green and multiple blacks, any black will wire will work). With this simple test we can have 2 possible results:

1)It will come on when you flick the power switch at the back of the psu.
2)It wont, then you have a dead psu.

...and yes this is perfectly safe,insulate the part of the paperclip your touching if you want, not necessary.

Hope this helps

 

[marxr87]

ill try that if after rebuilding it doesnt boot. im almost done rebuilding. quick question. i found where the mobo speaker goes, ty...but there are two single pin receivers from the case: pwr led - and pwr led+ on the mobo there is a power led 4 pin...does it matter what pins i plug the pwr led to? I mean I know the pwr led 4 pin part...but since they are just 1 pin receivers and there are only two and one is - and one is + i didnt know if it would matter. thanks! Also, I think I had waaay to much thermal grease. I didnt take the thermal grease it came with off before I added my own, so I took it all off and redid it.

 

[marxr87]

IT LIVES!!! Woo, thanks so much guys. All the fans are working and the speaker made one short beep when it came on...thats good right?

 

[debianos]

Congratulations! Yes, one short beep is usually an indication during the motherboard's power-on self test (POST) that everything is working normally. (The beep codes don't follow a standard and vary between manufacturers.)

Most of your questions are easily answered by reading the manuals carefully, and you'd get them quicker, too.

Motherboard
You should have a printed copy, but I easily found it on the Newegg product page by clicking "Manufacturer Info" and then "Manufacturer Product Page," where the link for the manual was equally easy to find. The description for connecting front-panel LEDs and the case speaker is on page 24 of your manual under F_PANEL (front panel header), whose location is shown on page 7 (GA-790XTA-UD4 Motherboard Layout). According to the diagram, your Power LED is a three-pin connection, not four. The single-pin connectors you describe aren't making sense, since such electrical connections need at least two (pos and neg, or hot and ground). Possibly they have a common ground lead? Is it possible to post a picture? Newegg links the CM 690 mid-tower, whose online manual doesn't describe these connectors.

SATA
SATA 3 is the next revision of the SATA standard, following SATA 2. SATA 2 transfers up to 3 Gb/s, whereas SATA 3 transfers up to 6 Gb/s. Mechancial hard-drives like your Samsung drive cannot saturate the SATA 2 speed—it works on SATA 2, so use that. To my understanding, SATA 3 is mostly for solid-state drives, which can saturate SATA 2.

Samsung has a manual for your exact drive model. Go to their site and search HD103SJ, then select the page it turns up, and it's under Downloads. If that 1-page manual doesn't answer your question, post back here.

Blu-ray
I've never used Blu-ray, but Wikipedia says: "Though not compulsory, the Blu-ray Disc Association recommends that Blu-ray Disc drives be capable of reading standard DVDs and CDs, for backward compatibility."


Cool, I learned something else about testing PSUs in this thread.

To clean off old thermal paste, isopropyl alcohol is much less toxic than acetone.

Quite right, and when I mentioned acetone, I meant actual acetone and not nail polish, which often has additives that don't evaporate. Acetone is not highly toxic, but the alcohol does work fine and is readily available—70% or better concentration is good. The higher the alcohol concentration, the faster it evaporates. Definitely let it dry thoroughly before putting paste back on, to allow as much water to evaporate as possible. Water has a horrible thermal conductivity.

You're getting closer!

 

[debianos]

Editing your post: you should see three icons in the lower right corner of your post. The center one (gray sheet of paper with a lightning bolt) is the quick edit button.

Yeah, that's how it normally works. Once I've edited my post and click submit, it informs me that I'm not authorized to changed the post, although I posted it. It's worked for me before though.

 

[debianos]

I tried to edit the previous post and it again took me to a page saying:

You are not allowed to edit this message!

Back to previous page

 

[marxr87]

The computer is running like a champ. I didnt run memtest because I don't have it...do you think I need to? Its reading all my ram and Smith Micro Checkit said the ram was fine...The blu ray drive thing was firmware...Stupid you have to download firmware to get the drive to work at all lol. If I find my camera ill post pics...they are definetely one pin connectors. And my power led is on. So IDK...

 

[debianos]

If everything's working fine then don't bother.

If you want to run memtest86+, you can do it with a live CD, such as UBCD.

 

[marxr87]

ok cool thanks!

 

[LewisCBR]

Wonder what the heck the original problem was then? After you disassembled and rebuilt it worked and you didnt change a thing... Must have not seated something correctly.

 

[marxr87]

thats what im thinking it was...probably the power to the case...I checked the other two power connections to the mobo a dozen times. Im glad I did though because there was waaay to much thermal paste on the cpu. Now if I could only figure out my logitech 5.1 x540 speaker problem id be set haha

 

[bobalazs]

Take a fan (system or cpu, whatever) , remove the wires from the connector of the fan, (easy, just need a small screwdriver to press on the little metal piece) connect the black wire to the black, the red to the red wire of the molex cable.
Better than killing a pc component, believe it or not.