A Closer Look
I do not have the specialized equipment for PSU testing (which costs thousands of dollars). So the best way I could do test the PSU is by using what we’ve got. My testing method involves comparing the voltage and power consumption reading during idle and at full load. I know it’s not the most accurate method technically, but I think this simple method should provide some ideas of the performance of the power supply in terms of stability and power consumption.
The main thing to watch out for, is the fluctuation on the +12V line. If the +12V line drops to below 11.5V during full load … then you’ve got trouble. The system may unstable and you might also get random reboots.
We used AIDA64 and simultaneously ran both CPU and GPU stress test which produces 100% load. We then checked the voltage readings on AIDA64 and HWinfo64. A kill-a-watt meter was used to record the peak power consumption of the system.
