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how do i test 5v rail/wtf is a 5v rail?

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Spanko

Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2002
Location
Bay Area
i was reading a thread in amd cpus and it talked about having problems upping voltage and ocing if your power supply sux. i have a 420 watt turbolink that came with ym chieftec and a a7n8x deluxe xp2100 tbred b and slk800 +50cfm sunon i wanna know if my 5v rail is what makes me not get stable even at high voltages... and when i set my voltage in bios its always higher... i have it set to 1.65 and its 1.71... no matter what i set its always that much higher.. btw i havent tried to mod anything...
 
more thorough explanation please... i think i know what a multimeter is...

but how do i use ti to test 5v rail?
 
Just stick the red probe in the molex corresponding to the red wire and the black probe in a hole where the black wire is. Or you can just put the black probe on the case for ground. Should check your 12v which is yellow while you are there. Also you can check your 3.3 on the motherboard plug. It's an orange wire and you can just stick the probe in the back way while it's plugged into your motherboard. You have to have the voltmeter set to DC and a low voltage like 20 to get a reading. Hope this helps.
 
Doesn't Turbolink = Channel Well, the company that makes Antecs? If so, then "CWT" should be in the model no. or stamped on some of the internal parts (visible through the grilles).

Does your Turbolink have any remote voltage sense wires on the mobo connector? My Antec Smartpower had one only for the +3.3V, but the circuit board was made to accommodate another for the +5V and had an empty spot labelled "+5VS". After I ran a wire from it to one of the red mobo connector terminals, the +5V rail increased 0.2V.
 
ummm i havent tried a multimeter yet but at 1.65 vcore on my xp2100 tbred b on a7n8x deluxe in asus probe it says my 5v is at 4.913.... is that good or bad? all the volts that asus probe says are lower then the corresponding thing by a little bit
 
4.9v is ok:

5.0 or a bit more is best

4.84volts is the DANGER ZONE! ;)

Near 4.84 or less is when almost everyone has trouble with 5v lines and AMD cpus.

4.91 leaves some room for overclocking, but not a lot- as you oc higher and increase voltage, that reading WILL go down!

Checking at a molex is good because it tells you if the psu is kicking out the right amount of juice or if the ATX connector or mobo are causing low voltages.
 
As for the voltages being higher like you mentioned ( set at 1.65 reads at 1.71) that is just a hiccup in the mobo/bios. Get a multimeter and check at the molex to know for sure what your rails are doing.
 
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