New PC with +5V Standby at 3.629? (Win 7)

Kevinf63

My question is about my power supply, after looking at a reading from AIDA64 (Essentially Everest) my +5V Standby Voltage is at 3.629 Volts. I've been having some fairly funky BSOD's, crashes, and other anomalies such as not turning on when plugged into the wall with the LED fans just flashing for a milisecond (red light on power supply at back) and then suddenly working 15 minutes later and lots of other problems with my Graphics and sound card which I'll mention if needed but at the moment would take WAY WAY WAY too long to explain. (look at my other forum threads made by me for info)

I didn't know if this was normal so I took the liberty of looking it up. I came back with this from Wikipedia on ATX Power Supplies...

Supply [V]: +5 VSB (also known as +5 V standby)
Tolerance: ±5% (±0.25 V)
Range (min. to max.): +4.75 V to +5.25 V
Ripple (p. to p. max.): 50 mV

Now, I don't know whether I'm correct or not but mine seems to be well under the minimum 'range' and how the power supply is even 'tolerating' this low voltage is beyond me. Correct me if I'm wrong but is my power supply faulty? As this just doesn't look healthy at all...:(...

Any help would be greatly appreciated as always!

Unregistered.

Make/Model of your PSU?

Kevinf63

Unregistered. wrote: »

Make/Model of your PSU?

Coolermaster Real Power M620 620 Watt PSU

PogMoThoin

I wouldn't trust any voltage reading given in Windows. Boot to the bios and see what reading is given there

Kevinf63

PogMoThoin wrote: »

I wouldn't trust any voltage reading given in Windows. Boot to the bios and see what reading is given there

I booted into the BIOS but I can't seem to find it, maybe its under another name, but I can find the 12V, 3.3V and the RAM's 1.5V readings. All coming in fine.

Kevinf63

Any suggestions please? I really want to sort this out now rather than later , sorry and thanks.

Unregistered.

What motherboard / bios version?

Kevinf63

Unregistered. wrote: »

What motherboard / bios version?

Thank you for replying I'll give you the whole spec.

CPU type: AMD Phenom II x4 955 Black Edition 3.2Ghz
GPU type: MSI R5850 Twin Frozr II 1Gb (I use a DELL monitor)
RAM type: Corsair XMS3 CM3X2G1333C9 4Gb kit DDR3 1333Mhz CL9
PSU type: Coolermaster Real Power M620 620 Watt
Mobo type: Gigabyte GA-790XT-USB3 (rev 1.0) F5A BIOS latest BETA
Case type: Antec 300 w/ 2 outtake fans(low)and 3 intake fans(med) Inside
DVD drive: Optiarc DVD RW AD-7243S SATA CD ROM

The BIOS may be beta but I've been having problems with this setup for months. You helped me a while ago actually... Yes despite what the thread finishes with.. It's not gone, it stopped BSOD for a week and a half and then came back again...:rolleyes:...

Dublin_Gunner

Never trust a software option. If you wanna know what it really is, its multi meter time.

Most software seems to report that as being way off in my experience.

Everest reports mine at 6 point something. I wouldn't worry about it unless you can verify what the actual reading is.

Unregistered.

Kevinf63 wrote: »

Thank you for replying I'll give you the whole spec.

CPU type: AMD Phenom II x4 955 Black Edition 3.2Ghz
GPU type: MSI R5850 Twin Frozr II 1Gb (I use a DELL monitor)
RAM type: Corsair XMS3 CM3X2G1333C9 4Gb kit DDR3 1333Mhz CL9
PSU type: Coolermaster Real Power M620 620 Watt
Mobo type: Gigabyte GA-790XT-USB3 (rev 1.0) F5A BIOS latest BETA
Case type: Antec 300 w/ 2 outtake fans(low)and 3 intake fans(med) Inside
DVD drive: Optiarc DVD RW AD-7243S SATA CD ROM

The BIOS may be beta but I've been having problems with this setup for months. You helped me a while ago actually... Yes despite what the thread finishes with.. It's not gone, it stopped BSOD for a week and a half and then came back again...:rolleyes:...

Go to BIOS. It should be listed under PC Health Status

Kevinf63

Unregistered. wrote: »

Go to BIOS. It should be listed under PC Health Status

Definitely nothing there that says that under PC Health Status unless it goes under any if these names...

CPU PLL voltage control, NB Voltage control, SB/HT Voltage control, NB/PCIe/PLL Voltage control, CPU NB VID control?

EDIT: I'm a idiot... (facepalm) I pretty sure that SB is standby.... Anyway its coming in at 1.240V, just to clarify is that Standby or is that completely something else?

Dublin_Gunner

Kevinf63 wrote: »

Definitely nothing there that says that under PC Health Status unless it goes under any if these names...

CPU PLL voltage control, NB Voltage control, SB/HT Voltage control, NB/PCIe/PLL Voltage control, CPU NB VID control?

EDIT: I'm a idiot... (facepalm) I pretty sure that SB is standby.... Anyway its coming in at 1.240V, just to clarify is that Standby or is that completely something else?

No its not, its 'System Bus' / Hyper Transport.

You're in the wrong section. You're in the advanced / voltage adjustment section of your bios. Go back to the BIOS main page, and one of the links at the top is usually 'monitoring' or 'health' or something like that.

Kevinf63

Dublin_Gunner wrote: »

No its not, its 'System Bus' / Hyper Transport.

You're in the wrong section. You're in the advanced / voltage adjustment section of your bios. Go back to the BIOS main page, and one of the links at the top is usually 'monitoring' or 'health' or something like that.

rite, okay.... I have:
Vcore 1.360V,
DDR3 1.5V at 1.488V,
+3.3V at 3.320V,
+12V at 12.040V
and then system temps and fan speeds. Thats it.

Unregistered.

And in there somewhere you should have +5v and -5v or maybe Standby Voltage. Same menu where you find cpu temp and fan speed.

I am going to suggest that you revert back to the F4 bios after a couple of more tries.

wildefalcon

Buy a multimeter. Try ebay from China - they can be less than 3€! Use it to check the voltages. Push the probe into the back of the multiconnector and then to earth to get the voltage. If wrong then replace PSU.

Also get some memory checking software - google UBCD, memcheck, and memory checker.

Also google CPU checker - prime test.

But if your MoBo isn't getting enough juice then the differences between the "1" and "0" voltages won't be sufficient and you will get all sorts of anomalies.

Fun!

Kevinf63

Unregistered. wrote: »

And in there somewhere you should have +5v and -5v or maybe Standby Voltage. Same menu where you find cpu temp and fan speed.

I am going to suggest that you revert back to the F4 bios after a couple of more tries.

No can't find it, gonna revert back now and see if its there...

Kevinf63

Unregistered. wrote: »

And in there somewhere you should have +5v and -5v or maybe Standby Voltage. Same menu where you find cpu temp and fan speed.

I am going to suggest that you revert back to the F4 bios after a couple of more tries.

I tried reverting back to F4 no luck, still doesn't show up. There's definitely something I'm missing. EDIT: I found a picture a guy on the net took of his BIOS which looks nothing like mine and shows +5V and -5V. Whereas mine doesn't I cant take a pic as my phone is banjaxed.

Unregistered.

Kevinf63 wrote: »

I tried reverting back to F4 no luck, still doesn't show up. There's definitely something I'm missing. EDIT: I found a picture a guy on the net took of his BIOS which looks nothing like mine and shows +5V and -5V. Whereas mine doesn't I cant take a pic as my phone is banjaxed.

Hmmm, I guess then the sensor chip on your mobo just doesn't report 5v. If you really want to check, do get a multimeter - there is no way AIDA64 is correct.

Kevinf63

Unregistered. wrote: »

Hmmm, I guess then the sensor chip on your mobo just doesn't report 5v. If you really want to check, do get a multimeter - there is no way AIDA64 is correct.

Okay, I know someone who has a multimeter by fluke, but he doesn't and I definitely don't know how to use it. Any guides (with pictures) how to use it with a PSU? Do I have to open the PSU up? Please say no...

kippy

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/power-supply-troubleshooting-with-a-multimeter/1056686
That is US based article so just beware the 110 they are talking about should be 220........
http://www.devhardware.com/forums/power-supply-units-98/what-s-a-multimeter-how-to-use-it-to-test-75111.html
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/guides/testingPSU/

Two more articles. Probably better than the first.

Dont open the power supply, its dangerous and not necessary.


What is leading you to believe the issue is PSU related - it is the most difficult one to rule out........
Have you done a memory test, check the proc/proc temps/thermal paste, checked the hard drive for errors?

I ask that because generally, in my experience, issues with the power supply unit are generally all or nothing, ie it works or it doesn't. I have seen issues with the power supply to the power unit - from the mains, however this is again rare.
I do realise that there can bee issues with the PSU that cause the problems you outline but in my experience, very very very very rare (I've never had that issue, working with all manner of PC's for 10 + years.+

Kevinf63

kippy wrote: »

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/power-supply-troubleshooting-with-a-multimeter/1056686
That is US based article so just beware the 110 they are talking about should be 220........
http://www.devhardware.com/forums/power-supply-units-98/what-s-a-multimeter-how-to-use-it-to-test-75111.html
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/guides/testingPSU/

Two more articles. Probably better than the first.

Dont open the power supply, its dangerous and not necessary.


What is leading you to believe the issue is PSU related - it is the most difficult one to rule out........
Have you done a memory test, check the proc/proc temps/thermal paste, checked the hard drive for errors?

I ask that because generally, in my experience, issues with the power supply unit are generally all or nothing, ie it works or it doesn't. I have seen issues with the power supply to the power unit - from the mains, however this is again rare.
I do realise that there can bee issues with the PSU that cause the problems you outline but in my experience, very very very very rare (I've never had that issue, working with all manner of PC's for 10 + years.+

Nah, this is definitely a PSU prob or my plugs. When I tell my PC to restart after a windows update for example. It will say windows restarting.... black screen.. and the whole thing just turns off. You press the power button and nothing happens. I have to switch the PSU off, plug the kettle lead out of the PSU, plug it back in and switch it back on and then it will boot up.

I brought it off to Marx Computers a while ago near Marino College in Dublin, and he couldn't find a problem with it. I brought it home and it wouldn't turn on (I wonder can he see this). The LEDS on the fans would flash for a millisecond then just power off. I plugged it out and tried it on a different wall and it worked. Then I plugged it back into that wall again and it worked...

kippy

Kevinf63 wrote: »

Nah, this is definitely a PSU prob or my plugs. When I tell my PC to restart after a windows update for example. It will say windows restarting.... black screen.. and the whole thing just turns off. You press the power button and nothing happens. I have to switch the PSU off, plug the kettle lead out of the PSU, plug it back in and switch it back on and then it will boot up.

I brought it off to Marx Computers a while ago near Marino College in Dublin, and he couldn't find a problem with it. I brought it home and it wouldn't turn on (I wonder can he see this). The LEDS on the fans would flash for a millisecond then just power off. I plugged it out and tried it on a different wall and it worked. Then I plugged it back into that wall again and it worked...

If it is definitely a PSU issue as you say and you are so confident about it, why do this troubleshooting in the first place, why not just get a new PSU?
No of those symptoms would 100% point to PSU.
A good techie (ie one who had access to a few parts) would swap out the power supply to rule it out.

And again, what have you done to rule out RAM/PROC/HARDDRIVE/MOTHERBOARD.......

Kevinf63

kippy wrote: »

If it is definitely a PSU issue as you say and you are so confident about it, why do this troubleshooting in the first place, why not just get a new PSU?
No of those symptoms would 100% point to PSU.
A good techie (ie one who had access to a few parts) would swap out the power supply to rule it out.

And again, what have you done to rule out RAM/PROC/HARDDRIVE/MOTHERBOARD.......

I've checked my drivers by reinstalling, driver sweeping and did memtest on RAM with no success and no bad results in memtest. I tried reseating the CPU fan but to no success. I have another CPU fan on backup if you want me to try that (Hyper 212 plus). It's a windows 7 64 bit system. My Microsoft Security Essentials.

Yeah, I had Windows 32 bit before this 64 bit on the system..... Same probs. i thought it was originally the 32 bit OS screwing up the mainly 64 bit components (AMD CPU and RAM built for 64 bit in mind) . Had loads of errors in my RAM (memtest) and I had to RMA it and so I reformatted and switched to 64 bit. So far no errors this time with memtest but still the same problems with BSODs.

GFX card temps gets to 60-70 max on load with 50% fan speed. CPU gets to around 50-60 max on load but I think it might be worse than that. It might read as that temp, but believe me when I say I feel air after a BSOD coming out of the (top) exhaust fan that are nearly as hot as the steam rising from a dish washer when you open it, I ain't lying and I'm not taking those temps for granted.

Hard drive I haven't tested yet, but I can't see how it can stop it from turning on at all. I'll give it a try if you link me to something I just don't know what program to use. I'm in no way a good tech guy and to be honest, I don't know if the guy in Marx swapped out PSU to test if thats the problem. I'm making the assumption that because he had it for a week with absolutely no problems that its got to be something with the power and from here on in I wanted to check if it was PSU and/or the wall its plugged into. But seeings how you said it might not be a 100% a PSU/plug prob, I'll try the hard drive.

By the way, thank you for your help.

kippy

Kevinf63 wrote: »

I've checked my drivers by reinstalling, driver sweeping and did memtest on RAM with no success and no bad results in memtest. I tried reseating the CPU fan but to no success. I have another CPU fan on backup if you want me to try that (Hyper 212 plus). It's a windows 7 64 bit system. My Microsoft Security Essentials.

Yeah, I had Windows 32 bit before this 64 bit on the system..... Same probs. i thought it was originally the 32 bit OS screwing up the mainly 64 bit components (AMD CPU and RAM built for 64 bit in mind) . Had loads of errors in my RAM (memtest) and I had to RMA it and so I reformatted and switched to 64 bit. So far no errors this time with memtest but still the same problems with BSODs.

GFX card temps gets to 60-70 max on load with 50% fan speed. CPU gets to around 50-60 max on load but I think it might be worse than that. It might read as that temp, but believe me when I say I feel air after a BSOD coming out of the (top) exhaust fan that are nearly as hot as the steam rising from a dish washer when you open it, I ain't lying and I'm not taking those temps for granted.

Hard drive I haven't tested yet, but I can't see how it can stop it from turning on at all. I give it a try if you link me to something I just don't know what program to use.

That 64/32 bit thing should make no difference.
How many sticks of RAM have you in the machine? Have you tried removing one, running the machine for a while, seeing what happens? If no change, replace the one you removed, remove another one and see what happens after some time running (and so on and so forth)

Also, it does appear that its getting really hot inside the case...........have you considered this to be the issue?
Unlikely to be the hard drive in this instance.

Kevinf63

kippy wrote: »

That 64/32 bit thing should make no difference.
How many sticks of RAM have you in the machine? Have you tried removing one, running the machine for a while, seeing what happens? If no change, replace the one you removed, remove another one and see what happens after some time running (and so on and so forth)

Also, it does appear that its getting really hot inside the case...........have you considered this to be the issue?
Unlikely to be the hard drive in this instance.

Corsair XMS3 2x2 GB kit 1333MHZ that comes in at 1339MHZ apparently, whether that's true or not I don't know. I'm pretty sure this is my RAM.

is it okay to use 2GB RAM on a 64-bit machine, won't it struggle a lot?

kippy

Kevinf63 wrote: »

Corsair XMS3 2x2 GB kit 1333MHZ that comes in at 1339MHZ apparently, whether that's true or not I don't know. I'm pretty sure this is my RAM.

is it okay to use 2GB RAM on a 64-bit machine, won't it struggle a lot?

The point is to rule out each stick of RAM as causing the problem - you wont be using 2 gig of ram with the machine all the time, just to rule out an issue with one stick.

Its perfectly okay to use a 2GB stick of RAM on a 64 bit machine btw
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-IE/windows7/products/system-requirements

Kevinf63

kippy wrote: »

The point is to rule out each stick of RAM as causing the problem - you wont be using 2 gig of ram with the machine all the time, just to rule out an issue with one stick.

Its perfectly okay to use a 2GB stick of RAM on a 64 bit machine btw
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-IE/windows7/products/system-requirements

K, Ill give it a try but it might take a week or so to if it gives a BSOD. EDIT: I forgot, the temp is worrying and I've been looking into which component is making it, but I can't tell. Thanks for the help.

@kippy will I send a PM to you with the result or post on this?

Kevinf63

kippy wrote: »

The point is to rule out each stick of RAM as causing the problem - you wont be using 2 gig of ram with the machine all the time, just to rule out an issue with one stick.

Its perfectly okay to use a 2GB stick of RAM on a 64 bit machine btw
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-IE/windows7/products/system-requirements

I tried removing one stick of RAM, nothing, tried the other and nothing. Still happens (BSOD). But I noticed that it happens mainly after I restart the PC from the button on the case or through the OS for instance after a driver update or just restarting to look through the BIOS. So any more things I could try?