fortron 350watts

[one-silence]

well im havign stability problems with my computer. i havea a fortron 350watts PSU.

my rail..
12v @ 11.55-11.67
5v @ 5.05-5.08
3.3v @ 3.216-3.232

agp 1.5v
ddr 2.7v
vdimm 1.6v

my comp specs are
soltek frn2-rl
2500xp @ 3000xp stock heathink with 80mm fan.
512mb corsair pc3200c2 @ 11-3-2-2 DC
40gig seagate
60gig WD
sony 12x burner
creative 5x dvd
gf 3 ti 500 @ stock
d link NIC card
onboard sound
disabled onboard lan
4 80mm intake fans
2 80mm side exhast fans
1 60mm rear exhast fan
floppy drive
and a blue CC light..

the other rails seems to be fine and within specs.
but the 12v line seems very low.. it makes my vcore fluxuate(sp?). i think i might not have enough power on the 12v rail to run my system stable.. does anyone else agree? thanks in advance.

 

[Lithan]

try unhooking the 12v line to the mobo so it runs off 5v then tell us what readings you get.

 

[Xymurgy]

I bought a Fortron 350 a few weeks ago from Newegg and had the same problem. The 12v was just as you described. I did notice that the low 12v caused instability when I swapped the PSU for my old Dell 250w. I was able to go up 2 more fsb (the 12v read as 11.7 on my Dell) without getting a bluescreen loading WinXP. I took this to mean that the 12v was too low so I RMA'd it.

 

[one-silence]

i just try'ed unhooking the 12v line.. no go.. the board wont even post or beep. blank screen.

 

[dustybyrd]

first, i don't think that just because you disconnect the 12v 4 pin connector----the cpu will not start running off the 5v line...i would think it still runs off the 12v line...it's just that it gets the power from the standard atx connection...

second, these fortron 350 power supplies are known to read about 11.9-12 with a voltmeter....even if the software readings are low are otherwise off...

you must check with a voltmeter to know for sure...

third, i am temporarily running a DUAL 1700+ AMD (see second computer in sig) with a fortron 350 watter and it's 12v is also 11.6 or so...

on this dual board the cpus also derive their power from the 12v line...so my 12v needs are greater than yours (about 12-14A with just the cpus)...and i haven't had a problem...that doesn't your problem isn't your power supply, but you must check the voltages with a voltmeter first...and see if a problem arises by testing a more powerful psu if one is available...but don't believe those software voltages from the different psu either...thoroughly check to see if the stability problem disappears

 

[Celemine1Gig]

On your own risk you could also open up the chassis of your Fortron PSU because most Fortron PSUs have internal potentiometers to regulate the voltage. You could turn up the voltage and then watch what will happen afterwards.
AND be VERY careful, because the voltages inside the PSU could kill you if have bad luck (although it's very unlikely).


BTW, your 3.3V line is quite low, too.

But remember, that's all on your own risk.

 

[one-silence]

On your own risk you could also open up the chassis of your Fortron PSU because most Fortron PSUs have internal potentiometers to regulate the voltage. You could turn up the voltage and then watch what will happen afterwards.
AND be VERY careful, because the voltages inside the PSU could kill you if have bad luck (although it's very unlikely).


BTW, your 3.3V line is quite low, too.

But remember, that's all on your own risk.

if i open it up where would i look for? dont know much abou power supply. and also im thinking im gonna use my old power supply and see what voltage i get.

i dont have a volt meter nor do i intend to buy one. at the moment im living on my own with my 2 cousins and im jobless. i need to conserve as much money as i can till i find another job.
im tryign to make the best of things at the moment..

 

[dustybyrd]

if i open it up where would i look for? dont know much abou power supply. and also im thinking im gonna use my old power supply and see what voltage i get.

i dont have a volt meter nor do i intend to buy one. at the moment im living on my own with my 2 cousins and im jobless. i need to conserve as much money as i can till i find another job.
im tryign to make the best of things at the moment..

the problem is without a voltmeter you can't tell for sure what the voltages really are....and then if you change it then you don't know what you've changed it to....

then you could damage components...

what is your old power supply?

even if the software read voltages look right with the old power supply....that doesn't mean the voltages are actually better...still need a voltmeter...

do a search for voltmeter and fortron and you'll see many people thought they had a problem with low voltage on the 12v rail only to find with a voltmeter that the voltage was right on...


in fact i am using a psu from a user in these forums who thought that the reason they couldn't overclock past 2.4ghz with a 1.8 was because of the low 12v software read rail with the fortron 350....

well i'm using it to power a dual AMD (more 12v consumption than his machine)...and it's fine

and also he got a new 500+ watt psu and he still couldn't overclock past 2.4ghz....the psu wasn't the culprit

 

[one-silence]

i have a 350 raidmax psu(cheap with bad 5v rails). the fortron was intended to power a iwill kk266plus(this setup runs right off the 5v rail), 768 sdr, geforce3 ti500, couple hd's, burner, dvd, couple fans and blah.. then a month later i just went out and upgraded with the frn2-rl, barton 2500xp, and the 512 twinx. if i knew i was goign to upgrade i would of rethought of buying a more powerful PSU. and by that time i couldnt RMA it anymore. i threw away my box, recipet and lost all of the email with newegg.

 

[Susquehannock]

Which 350w Fortron do you have?
The model with the 120mm fan on the bottom or
an 80mm in the back?

Believe it or not, the 350w Fortron FSP300-60PN
(120mm fan) actually outperformed the Enermax EG465AX-VE in the following review.

http://www.systemcooling.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=574

here's an excerpt:
Conclusion:

Fortron/Source Technology and their PSU have done nothing but impress me. The PSU are made with extremely high quality and perform very well. Comparing them to what I consider a top of the line Enermax EG465X-VE PSU they do nothing but shine. And what is even better then their performance is the price at a MSRP for FSP530-60GNA at around $85 to $100, and for FSP300-60PN at around $30 to $45 they are a steel when I think that I paid $110 for my Enermax. I would not hesitate to recommend either one of these Fortron/Source power supplies.

 

[one-silence]

its just an 80mm fan behind the PS where the switch is..

 

[dustybyrd]

its just an 80mm fan behind the PS where the switch is..

i am using the 80mm fan 350 watt fortron psu right now with a DUAL AMD 1700xp's that heavily use the 12v line...

and i am having no problem...

so i think the only difference between the 350watt 120mm fan version and the 80mm fan version is the 12v line is 1A greater on the 120mm fan version...the 3.3+5v is 220 watts for both...and max power is the same for both...

i have used both and the 120mm fan version is much, much quieter....so i had to switch out the fan in the 80mm fan version..then it was fine

 

[one-silence]

well sometime this week my friend is going to lend me his voltmeter.. .. how would i check this when i get it? do i test it while the computer is running? of do i need to unplug everything?.. let me get some hints..

edit...
well i just tested my 350watts raid max PSU and the 12v rail were alot better then the fortron. i was steady at 11.9 while the 5v rail was at 4.98v and the 3.3v was at 3.2v. so im thinking that it might be the 12v rail thats not enough but tomorrow ill have voltmeter and will test it. im in still need of directions to test teh 12v rail with a volt meter. can anyoen explain or link me a site to wher ei can test it? tahnks in advance.

 

[Clutch_Head]

the way i test my PSUs is to stick the - end of the volt meter in an unused
molex (black wire).
then i put the + lead from the volt meter into the back of the ATX connector
(where the wires goes into the connector).

yellow is +12v, red is +5v, and orange is +3.3. i also check the +12v line
going to the CPU in the same manor.

all of this is while the computer is running. readings are checked at
idle, and then running Prime 95 stress test.

sorry, don't have a digi-cam yet.

BTW i thought i got a bum sparkle at first. turns out it was fine after all, and
i'm very happy with my PSU.

bottom line, never ever trust bios/software readings for temps or voltages.

hope this helps, and good luck.

c_h

 

[larrymoencurly]

Wouldn't it be best to first NOT overclock the thing? And if I suspected a PSU problem, the first thing I'd try is unplugging anything not absolutely necessary (slave HD, DVD), and if the computer ran better that way, I could be pretty sure that the PSU was weak.

If an XP 2500+ takes about 9 amps @ +12V (why the square power connector should never be unplugged), one overclocked to 3000+ may take almost 11A, leaving little to run the HDs, CD, and DVD. HDs are rated for about 0.75A @ +12V but seem to draw about half that normally, although I measured 2A (accuracy doubtful) during the first second or two during spin-up.

 

[Lithan]

That review doesn't look too impressive to me. I've got a fort 530, and I cant imagine what could ever drive my 12v down to 11.6, I've yet to see it dip below 11.8, and one clip from mbm hardly seems the appropriate barrage of tests to base a PSU purchase on.

 

[one-silence]

well im back here to say my findings..

under full loud 2500xp @3200xp

12v @ 11.6-7 spikes to 11.5 coupel times in a min
5v @ 5.1 stable at 5.05-5.1o
3.3 @ 3.2x stable at 3.2-3.25

at the p4 connector it jumps from 11.6-11.65 and spikes down to 11.4 couple times within a mintue..

so im guessing its the PSU thats holding me back, would anyone else agree? i also heard that i can ajust the 12v line inside the PSU but it will void the warrenty. can anyone link me to the thread/sites to where i can find this information..