3.3v rail @ 3.8v

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knob

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 16, 2008
Messages
291
First, this involves the rig in the signature.

The other day, I (Vista hybrid) slept my pc... came back later and tried to unsleep it. It locked up while trying to wake up and never recovered. The reset button wouldn't restart the box, and the power button wouldn't restart it either... had to resort to the switch on the back of the PSU.

Upon restart, my BIOS popped up a message saying my "overclocking had failed", which is odd. At the start of summer, my home cooling bills were too high, so I backed the OC off my chip... and I just left it running linked and sync'ed at 333.

I looked in the hardware monitoring section of my Rampage Formula's BIOS and found the following:

3.3v: 3.696v
5v: 5.064v
12v: 12.04v

I don't know how long it had been that high, only that when I built this box a few months ago, all voltages were normal.

I pulled out the multimeter to test the rail (BIOS reporting is often wrong)...

3.3v reads 3.79v (0.10v delta from bios)
5v reads 5.12v (0.06v delta)
12v reads 12.16v (0.12v delta)

Voltages read at the mobo 24-pin for the 3.3v or on an unused molex for the others.

So, this is an important lesson all by itself: don't trust BIOS voltage reporting functions... Ohm's Law via multimeter is simply more reliable.

Other info: PSU is downstream of an APC NS 1250. PSU is loaded to roughly to 140w at idle. (i.e., UPS reports an idle load that includes a 24" display for a draw total of about 180w)


So... questions:

What does 3.3v rail commonly power? (only the mobo?)
How worried should I be? (I'm worried... you'll really have to convince me that I don't need to worry, especially since the limit on ATX compliance is 3.465v)

I think it may be time for a warrantee RMA. What do you think?
 
3.3V powers the motherboard (mainly I/O ports), some sata hdd's, and memory. I'd RMA the psu asap and put a 100% functional one in its place.
 
Well, now the box doesn't even turn on... so I guess that settles it.

Any chance it killed other things as it gave its last?
 
The motherboard voltage regulators should have prevented any damage to the system. It is most likely only your power supply that went.
 
Well, I've received information on my RMA now. I also dug out a very old temporary PSU that I put in. It is an oem aspire psu that I received with a case about 3 years ago. It's voltages were in-spec on my meter, and in BIOS... but the BIOS was still misreporting the values.

I can't wait to get my replacement 550VX... this old thing has a 20-pin main connector, 1 P4 connector, exactly 4 molexes and a 2 fdd connectors. The main 20-pin cable is maybe 15" long.

Notice what I didn't mention? Yeah, a PCI-E connector. That meant the 9600GT had to come out... and one of my old 6600GTs went back in.

On the bright side, everything came on as hoped. However, my nvidia drivers were NOT pleased by the switch and had to be reinstalled. This, who know how, also borked up my G5 laser mouse drivers... and my box is reporting a phantom 1394b bus. The best part is the few msec long lag streak I get once about every 10 seconds... mouse lags, sound stutters... you get the picture.

Well, data's backed-up across the lan (to my WD 6400AAKS in my htpc) incase I have the pleasure of reinstalling vista because of driver problems and intermittent system lag.

Some intermediate props to Redbeard, though... he seems to have gotten my RMA through the hoops. Now to mail away my psu and wait for a new one.

Anyone think I should spring for another from the Egg? It probably gets here before the RMA'ed one does...

Also, anyone have ideas on fixing this aggravating lag spikiness of the suckage?
 
knob said:
Anyone think I should spring for another from the Egg? It probably gets here before the RMA'ed one does...
Click to expand...

If you would have ordered on the 24th it would have been here by now. I'd rather leave my pc off than use an Assfire psu or other POS "maypop" unit and risk my precious hardware. ;)
 
Good point - wish I had thought of that 5 days ago.

At least since I got my financial docs off, I can turn my box back off... and run my monthly budget via the htpc.

EDIT: And bought. And on $25 MIR.
 
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