ATX Power Supply Tester
By Lex Dodson
Fixing computers can be a puzzling business, especially when faced with odd startup behavior and intermittent power issues. One of the most common causes of computer hardware problems is failure of the power supply, yet many technicians and do-it-yourselfers aren’t aware of the possibility, pointing instead to a dying motherboard or faulty RAM as the cause.
Manhattan manufactures a slick little tester which can take some guesswork out of computer diagnosis. It’s designed for testing every type of connector you’ll find on a modern power supply, from the 24-pin Molex motherboard connection to three-pin fan leads. Both types of graphics card power connections (6-pin and 8-pin Molex) are covered, plus motherboard auxiliary power connections, and finally SATA power connectors and normal 4-pin bodies. Not bad for $28 from Frozen CPU.
ATX 2.0 Ultimate Power Supply Tester [Frozen CPU]
August 10th, 2009 at 11:12 am
I have one of these and it works well.
At least on mine it took a bit of wiggling and pin-straightening to get the main 24 pin power plug in. But after getting that fixed, it was great to be able to confirm my power supply was working correctly.
I especially like the fact it gives you actual voltages, rather than just a green light.
And yes, you can do the same thing with a voltmeter - but only if you know how to short out the proper pins on the 24-pin connector. Without that signal, ATX power supplies won’t provide power to any of the other connectors.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
This looks identical to the CoolMax one Paul posted about four months ago. It looks like the only differences are the absence of an on/off button, different color plastic plug receptacles, and different rebranding for more $$.
http://toolmonger.com/2009/04/13/coolmax-lcd-power-supply-tester/
August 10th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Am I odd for just keeping a spare power supply around?
August 10th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
So, sir, Dennis. I have one myself, but even the old replace-with-known-good method falls flat sometimes.
Good catch, ToolGuyd. Several differently-branded versions of the tester are available, and I must have missed that one when I checked the database.
August 10th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
The simple ones are not reliable enough.
I have several known good power supplies in the cabinet.
Several times, however, the problem isn’t that the power supply is defective, it is that it is underpowered. Quality power supplies are worth the money. A $39 PS with only two rails will not provide reliable results to a decent system. Fans, extra drives, and especially video cards suck up a lot of juice.
And when the PS is just barely passing when it is new, as the dust collects, you start getting random reboots and freezes.
This is a nice looking tool, but the best one is between the ears.
August 10th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Lex, don’t worry, it happens. Besides, it was interesting to see the similarities.
Jon, I absolutely agree with you. Another reason to go with a quality PSU is because they are typically underrated whereas junky PSUs are sometimes overrated at room temperaturesand not their elevated operating temperature.
October 12th, 2009 at 2:37 am
The failure of power supplies can possibly damage internal components.