PSU Testing Methods

PSU Testing Methods
Rev 1.0

Introduction:

Things here have been changing at a rapid pace at BCCHardware and we've grown from a handful of reviews a year to have a steady stream of products crossing our bench.  Although things are changing and progressing, one thing will not change - our commitment to you the reader.  We have published several articles over the past year that have left some readers wanting more; more information, more data, more objective testing.  We have listened and have recently revamped our test bench here at BCCHardware to give you more of what you want - hard data.

When it comes to Power Supplies, we have long felt that simple multi-meter readings or software readings through programs like OCCT, SpeedFan, or Motherboard Monitor are not accurate enough to separate good Power Supplies from bad ones.  We’ve taken things to heart and have started making changes to provide you with more accurate and reliable results when it comes to power supply testing.

AR-834 Sound Meter:

We have recently added a Sound Pressure Level Meter to our test-bench and while sound levels are very subjective, we are using the SPL meter to show the acoustic effect that PSU has on system noise.

AR-834 SPL Meter

When the situation calls for sound measurement, we use our data logging SPL meter – the AR-834.  To get real results in a real environment, we measure ambient noise in our shop, and then measure the noise of the PSU from ~30cm.  The results can be logged and analyzed later.

SPL in Action

Kill-A-Watt P4400:

Another tool we use to test power supplies is the Kill-A-Watt.  This little device displays the AMP or Watt load that a power supply draws.  We know in a second if we are using 120W or 400W.

To measure input wattage we use the simple, yet effective Kill-A-Watt device from P3International.  With this device we can quickly measure voltage, amps, watts and power factor on the input side of the power supply.

KillAWatt

APC Back-UPS XS 1000:

Although we don’t have a line conditioner at the moment, we do run all of our power supplies through an APC Back-UPS XS1000.  This unit has AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulation) and helps filter the power, providing a cleaner power signal.  In the future we may be adding something better, but for now this takes care of voltage regulation and filtration.

UPS with AVR

More on the next page.