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Ripple Measurements

To learn how we measure ripple, please click here.

The following table includes the ripple levels we measured on the AG-850M’s rails. The limits, according to the ATX specification, are 120mV (+12V) and 50mV (5V, 3.3V, and 5VSB).

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Test	12V	5V	3.3V	5VSB	Pass/Fail
10% Load	8.2mV	11.7mV	13.8mV	26.9mV	Pass
20% Load	14.0mV	14.0mV	15.9mV	35.4mV	Pass
30% Load	17.1mV	14.9mV	17.7mV	35.4mV	Pass
40% Load	18.6mV	16.5mV	18.4mV	38.1mV	Pass
50% Load	21.5mV	17.6mV	20.7mV	51.7mV	Fail
60% Load	23.0mV	19.0mV	22.0mV	51.2mV	Fail
70% Load	25.0mV	20.4mV	23.7mV	60.2mV	Fail
80% Load	26.7mV	22.4mV	25.5mV	68.5mV	Fail
90% Load	30.7mV	24.1mV	26.9mV	66.0mV	Fail
100% Load	37.3mV	28.7mV	31.7mV	70.1mV	Fail
110% Load	38.7mV	28.9mV	31.8mV	74.6mV	Fail
Cross-Load 1	15.0mV	31.4mV	28.7mV	41.6mV	Pass
Cross-Load 2	37.0mV	24.5mV	27.8mV	76.8mV	Fail

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The first sample we tested had a problem with its 5VSB rail, where ripple was clearly out of control. Since we had a second sample at our disposal, we tested its ripple and measured significantly better performance. The following table shows the second AG-850M sample's ripple results.

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Test	12V	5V	3.3V	5VSB	Pass/Fail
10% Load	8.5mV	13.2mV	12.9mV	5.6mV	Pass
20% Load	16.1mV	15.6mV	15.4mV	5.8mV	Pass
30% Load	21.4mV	17.0mV	17.6mV	6.5mV	Pass
40% Load	25.7mV	18.3mV	19.3mV	7.4mV	Pass
50% Load	26.6mV	20.5mV	21.0mV	8.9mV	Pass
60% Load	30.4mV	22.1mV	23.0mV	9.9mV	Pass
70% Load	36.4mV	23.9mV	25.7mV	10.6mV	Pass
80% Load	39.2mV	26.7mV	29.2mV	11.8mV	Pass
90% Load	43.1mV	28.7mV	31.0mV	13.2mV	Pass
100% Load	53.5mV	32.7mV	36.3mV	17.5mV	Pass
110% Load	56.6mV	34.4mV	37.0mV	17.8mV	Pass
Cross-Load 1	16.1mV	30.0mV	30.8mV	12.0mV	Pass
Cross-Load 2	50.4mV	25.7mV	29.1mV	16.2mV	Pass

The second sample fares much better in our 5VSB measurements. But that's not the case for all rails, particularly the always-critical +12V one.

Ripple Oscilloscope Screenshots

The following oscilloscope screenshots illustrate the AC ripple and noise registered on the main rails (+12V, 5V, 3.3V and 5VSB). We usually set 0.01 V/Div (each vertical division/box equals 0.01V), but in some cases we use a smaller setting as well, if the registered ripple is very low.