PassMark PM123 User manual
Inline PSU Tester –User’s Guide Page 2
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................3
Warnings –Important –Please read..............................................................................4
Background....................................................................................................................5
ATX and ATX12V standards ....................................................................................5
Major changes in ATX/ATX12V revisions...............................................................5
PSU Cables ................................................................................................................6
DC Regulation range..................................................................................................8
Output Ripple/Noise ..................................................................................................8
Timings......................................................................................................................8
Ramp up.....................................................................................................................9
Power sequencing ....................................................................................................10
Efficiency.................................................................................................................10
Device Operation.........................................................................................................11
Configurations..........................................................................................................11
LCD Display............................................................................................................12
Keypad.....................................................................................................................13
Input and output connectors.....................................................................................14
Cables.......................................................................................................................15
How to Test a power supply unit.............................................................................16
Monitoring Software....................................................................................................17
Main Window ..........................................................................................................17
Configuration Window ............................................................................................19
Driver Installation........................................................................................................20
Windows Installation (Win7 & Win10)...................................................................20
Technical Specification................................................................................................21
Software Compatibility................................................................................................22
Troubleshooting...........................................................................................................22
Some real-world faulty power supply tests..................................................................23
Antec EA-550 GREEN............................................................................................23
Antec NeoECO 520C...............................................................................................24
Seasonic SSR-360GP Active PFC F3......................................................................26
Seasonic SSR-650RM Active PFC F3.....................................................................27
OCZ600MXSP.........................................................................................................29
Disclaimer....................................................................................................................29
Inline PSU Tester –User’s Guide Page 3
Introduction
The PSU Tester can be used to diagnose and troubleshoot your desktop power supply.
With the PSU Tester, you can:
•Check power supply voltages are within the approved limits.
•Record the minimum and maximum of voltage and current for each voltage rail.
•Measure the exact power drawn from each voltage rail.
•Measure the total power drawn from the power supply.
•Test for ripple on main voltage rails (1).
•Measure and check Power-on Time (T1), Rise Time (T2), PWR_OK delay (T3)
and Power-down warning (T6) and check them against the specification.
•Measure the minimum slew rate on main voltage rails (1) during power up.
•Check that the turn-on slope of main voltage rails (1) is positive during power up
(smooth power up).
•Check power sequencing is correct
1. Main voltage rails are +12V1DC, +12V2DC (12V CPU), +5VDC and +3.3VDC
Inline PSU Tester –User’s Guide Page 4
Warnings –Important –Please read.
Do not skip this step. Safety should be your primary concern during a power
supply test with a PSU tester.
•Remove anything conductive from your hands (e.g. metal rings, watches, or
bracelets) before testing a PSU or working inside your computer.
•Only use the original cables that comes with the tester. The PCIe cable that
comes with the tester, is not a standard cable and is custom-made for the
tester. Using other cables could lead to short circuit between the voltage rails.
•Make sure all the cables are fully inserted. A loose connection introduces
more electrical resistance which can lead to melting of the wires under high
load (or even a fire).
•In the case of a dramatic failure of the device under test, you may see smoke
coming from the power supply or inside the case or smell a burning. In this
case unplug the power supply from the wall. Do not touch the PSU or the PSU
Tester in such circumstances.
•Always have someone monitor the testing in case the device under test
suddenly fails. Do not start a test and walk away.
•If the PSU Tester is inline (connected to both power supply and motherboard),
do not power up using the keypad on the tester. Instead, use the PC power
button. This is just a precaution against poor engineered power supplies that
do not meet ATX standards and can prevent a short on the PS_ON line.
•In standalone mode the tester will dissipate 4Watts of power (in order to place
a test load on the PSU). This can result in the base of the tester becoming
warm to touch after a short period of time. The tester will automatically
terminate testing after 1 minute to avoid overheating.
Inline PSU Tester –User’s Guide Page 5
Background
A power supply unit (or PSU) converts mains AC to low-voltage regulated DC power
for the internal components of a computer. The PSU normally supplies +3.3 V, +5 V,
and +12 V and -12V to a PC. Older systems (before Pentium 4 and Athlon XP
platforms) were designed to draw most power from 5 V and 3.3 V rails, while the
newer machines draw most of their power from the 12 V rail. The −12 V supply is
primarily used to provide the negative supply voltage for RS-232 ports and is also
used by one pin on conventional PCI slots to provide a reference voltage for some
models of sound cards.
ATX and ATX12V standards
ATX (Advanced Technology eXtended) is a motherboard and power supply
configuration specification developed by Intel in 1995. The specification defines the
key mechanical dimensions, mounting point, I/O panel, power and connector
interfaces between a computer case, a motherboard and a power supply. There is also
another specification called ATX12V which only describes the PSU.
Major changes in ATX/ATX12V revisions
ATX Version
Introduction date
Main changes from previous version
ATX
1995
-Created 20 pin main power cable
-Included 4 pin peripheral power cable
-Included floppy power cable
ATX12V 1.0
2000
-Added 4 pin 12V power cable. Older
computers put most of their load on 3.3
and 5 volts. As time passed, computers
drew more and more of their load from
12V.
-Added 6 pin auxiliary power cable. It was
added to provide extra wattage to
motherboards for 3.3 and 5 volts.
-Increased 12V output power
ATX12V 1.3
2003
-Added SATA power cable
-Made -5V rail optional
-Increased 12V output power
ATX12V 2.0
2003
-Changed to 24 pin main power cable. The
24-pin main power connector was added
in ATX12V 2.0 to provide extra power
needed by PCI Express slots. The older 20
pin main power cable only has one 12V
line.
-Removed 6 pin auxiliary power cable
-Added 20A current limit to rails
-Increased 12V output power
-Reduced 3.3V and 5V output power
Table 1
As of now, the latest version is ATX12V v2.4, published in April 2013.
Inline PSU Tester –User’s Guide Page 6
PSU Cables
Typically, power supplies have the following connectors:
-Motherboard power cable: This is the cable that goes to the motherboard to
provide it with power. The connector has either 20 or 24 pins. The older 20
pin main power cable only has one 12V line. The new 24 pin connector added
one line apiece for ground, 3.3, 5, and 12V. Many power supplies come with a
20+4 pin cable which is compatible with both 20 and 24 pin motherboards.
Figure 1: 24-pin connector
Color
Signal
Pin
Pin
Signal
Color
Orange
+3.3 V
1
13
+3.3 V
Orange
+3.3 V sense
Brown
Orange
+3.3 V
2
14
−12 V
Blue
Black
Ground
3
15
Ground
Black
Red
+5 V
4
16
Power on
Green
Black
Ground
5
17
Ground
Black
Red
+5 V
6
18
Ground
Black
Black
Ground
7
19
Ground
Black
Grey
Power good
8
20
Reserved
None
Purple
+5 V standby
9
21
+5 V
Red
Yellow
+12 V
10
22
+5 V
Red
Yellow
+12 V
11
23
+5 V
Red
Orange
+3.3 V
12
24
Ground
Black
Table 2: 24-pin motherboard power connector pinout
-CPU power cable: This is the cable that goes to the motherboard to provide
power to CPU. The connector has either 4 or 8 pins. The older 4 pin CPU
power cable only has two 12V line. The new 4+4 pin connector added two
more 12V lines. Many power supplies come with a 4+4 cable which is
compatible with both 4 and 8 pin motherboards.
Inline PSU Tester –User’s Guide Page 7
Figure 2: 8-pin CPU power connector
Color
Signal
Pin
Pin
Signal
Color
Black
Ground
1
5
+12 V
Yellow
Black
Ground
2
6
+12 V
Yellow
Black
Ground
3
7
+12 V
Yellow
Black
Ground
4
8
+12 V
Yellow
Table 3: 8-pin CPU power connector pinout
-PCI Express power cable: This is the cable that goes to the PCI Express cards
(e.g. graphic cards). Some graphic cards have 6 pin PCI Express power
connectors and others have 8 pin connectors. Many power supplies come with
a 6+2 PCI Express power cable which is compatible with both kinds of
graphic cards. The 6+2 PCI Express power cable is made up of two pieces: a
6-pin piece, and a 2-pin piece.
Figure 3: 8-pin PCI Express connector
Color
Signal
Pin
Pin
Signal
Color
Yellow
+12 V
1
5
Ground
Black
Yellow
+12 V
2
6
Ground
Black
Yellow
+12 V
3
7
Ground
Black
Black
Ground
4
8
Ground
Black
Table 4: 8-pin PCI Express connector pinout
-SATA power cable: This is the cable that goes to the hard drives.
Inline PSU Tester –User’s Guide Page 8
Figure 4: 15-pin SATA connector
Pin
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Signal
+3.3 V
Ground
+5 V
Ground
+12 V
Table 5: 15-pin SATA connector pinout
DC Regulation range
The DC output voltages shall remain within the regulation ranges shown in Table 1.
PSU Output line
Range
Min.
Nom.
Max.
Unit
+12V1DC
±5%
+11.40
+12.00
+12.60
Volts
+12V2DC (12V CPU)
±5%
+11.40
+12.00
+12.60
Volts
+5V
±5%
+4.75
+5.00
+5.25
Volts
+3.3VDC
±5%
+3.14
+3.30
+3.47
Volts
-12VDC
±10%
-10.80
-12.00
-13.20
Volts
+5VSB
±5%
+4.75
+5.00
+5.25
Volts
Table 6
Output Ripple/Noise
The output ripple/noise requirements listed in Table 2.
Output
Max. Ripple & Noise (mVpp)
+12V1DC
120
+12V2DC (12V CPU)
120
+5VDC
50
+3.3VDC
50
-12VDC
120
+5VSB
50
Table 7
mVpp = Millivolts peak to peak
Timings
Below you can see the timing diagram for the power good signal as available on the
ATX12V specification. “VAC” is the input alternating voltage, i.e., the voltage from
the wall. PS_ON# is the “power on” signal (i.e., you pushed the “standby” button
from the computer case). “O/P’s” stand for “operating points.” And PWR_OK is the
power good signal.
Inline PSU Tester –User’s Guide Page 9
Figure 5
Power-on Time (T1): The power-on time is defined as the time from when PS_ON# is
pulled low to when the +12VDC, +5VDC, and +3.3VDC outputs are within the
regulation ranges. The power-on time shall be less than 500 ms (T1 < 500 ms).
Rise Time (T2): The output voltages shall rise from ≤10% of nominal to within the
regulation ranges within 0.1 ms to 20 ms (0.1 ms ≤ T2 ≤ 20 ms).
PWR_OK delay (T3): PWR_OK is a “power good” signal. It should be asserted high
by the power supply to indicate that the +12VDC, +5VDC, and +3.3VDC outputs are
above the under-voltage thresholds. The PWR_OK time shall be asserted high within
300ms to 500ms after outputs are above the under-voltage thresholds (300 ms < T3 <
500 ms).
Power-down warning (T6): During power-down, the PWR_OK signal should be
asserted low at least 1ms before the +12VDC, +5VDC, and +3.3VDC outputs reach
their under-voltage thresholds (T6 ≥ 1ms).
Ramp up
There must be a smooth and continuous ramp of each DC output voltage from 10% to
90% of its final set-point within the regulation band. The smooth turn-on requires
that, during the 10% to 90% portion of the rise time, the slope of the turn-on
waveform must be positive. The tester monitors the slope and report it as “Positive
Slope”. Also, for any 5ms segment of the 10% to 90% risetime waveform, a straight
line drawn between the end points of the waveform segment must have a slope ≥
[Vout, nominal / 20] V/ms. The tester measures the minimum slope across all 5ms
segments during power-up and displays it as “T2 Min Slew Rate”.
Output
T2 Min Slew Rate (V/ms)
+12V1
0.6
+5V
0.25
+3.3V
0.165
+12V2 (12V CPU)
0.6
Table 8
Inline PSU Tester –User’s Guide Page 10
Power sequencing
The +12 VDC and +5 VDC output levels must always be equal to or greater than the
+3.3 output during power-up and normal operation. The time between the +12VDC or
+5VDC output reaching its minimum in-regulation level and +3.3VDC reaching its
minimum in-regulation level must be ≤ 20 ms. The PSU Tester checks the timing
sequencing and report it as “T SEQ”.
Efficiency
80 Plus (trademarked 80 PLUS) is a voluntary certification program intended to
promote efficient energy use in computer power supply units (PSUs). It certifies
products that have more than 80% energy efficiency at 20%, 50% and 100% of rated
load, and a power factor of 0.9 or greater at 100% load. Such PSUs waste 20% or less
electric energy as heat at the specified load levels, reducing electricity use and bills
compared to less efficient PSUs.
80 Plus test type[4]
115 V internal non-
redundant
230 V internal redundant
230 V EU internal non-
redundant
Percentage of rated
load
10%
20%
50%
100%
10%
20%
50%
100%
10%
20%
50%
100%
80 Plus
80%
80%
80%
82%
85%
82%
80 Plus Bronze
82%
85%
82%
81%
85%
81%
85%
88%
85%
80 Plus Silver
85%
88%
85%
85%
89%
85%
87%
90%
87%
80 Plus Gold
87%
90%
87%
88%
92%
88%
90%
92%
89%
80 Plus Platinum
90%
92%
89%
90%
94%
91%
92%
94%
90%
80 Plus Titanium
90%
92%
94%
90%
90%
94%
96%
91%
90%
94%
96%
94%
Table 9: Efficiency level certifications
Inline PSU Tester –User’s Guide Page 11
Device Operation
A failing power supply can often be at the root of problems you might not expect, like
random lockups, spontaneous reboots, and even some serious error messages. The
PassMark PSU Tester is designed to quickly test a PC power supply.
Configurations
The tester can be used in two different configurations. Standalone and Inline
configurations are explained below.
Standalone
In this configuration, the PSU Tester is only connected to a PSU (i.e. it is not
connected to a motherboard). This configuration is recommended for the production
line testing or when the PC doesn’t boot.
Figure 6
Inline
The PSU Tester is connected to a power supply and a motherboard. The inline mode
is more likely to reveal the root cause of more complicated issues such as random
lockups, spontaneous reboots and peripheral failure. Using Inline mode will also
result in the PSU being placed under much higher load. In addition to voltage and
timing measurement, the current drawn from each voltage rail is also measured in this
configuration.
Figure 7
The PSU Tester can be connected to a computer via a USB port. Using the monitoring
software, you can see all the voltages, currents and timings in one window and you
Inline PSU Tester –User’s Guide Page 12
can control the tester from the software. Moreover, the software allows you to save all
the measurements in a .txt file.
Figure 8
LCD Display
The PassMark PSU Tester features a built-in 1.8” TFT LCD display to show voltage,
current, ripple and power for each voltage rail. The default screen when a device is
connected to a PSU is shown below.
Figure 9
Total Power: Total power drawn by the tester or motherboard.
Voltages: Shows “PASS” when all voltages within the regulation ranges.
Timings: Shows “PASS” when all timings are met. “N/A” means some of the timings
are not yet measured. Timings are calculated during power-up and power-down
process, so if it shows “N/A”, that means one or two power cycles are required to
calculate the timings.
The background colour of PASS/FAIL messages can be green, red, light red and
yellow. Each colour has a different meaning which are explained below:
PASS means voltage is currently within the approved limits and never been outside
the specifications.
PASS means voltage is currently within the approved limits, but an over-voltage was
detected previously.
Inline PSU Tester –User’s Guide Page 13
PASS means voltage is currently within the approved limits, but an under-voltage was
detected previously.
FAIL means voltage is outside the approved limits.
Keypad
The Tester has a membrane keypad with four keys.
Power On/Off button: This button forces a power-up by asserting the PS_ON pin to
logic low (PS_ON is active low). Please note that this button shouldn’t be used when
the PSU Tester is inline configuration. Instead, the PC should be turned on/off using
the “standby” button from the computer case.
Up (Page Up) and Down (Page Down) buttons: These two buttons are used to
navigate between different pages. The pages are listed below:
•Default Page: Displays the total power as well as the voltages and currents
status.
•Voltage 24-Pin: This page displays the voltage for each rail on the 24-Pin
connector (i.e. +12V1DC, +5VDC, +3.3VDC, +5 VDCSB and -12VDC).
•Voltage CPU and PCIe: This page displays the +12V2DC (+12V CPU)
voltage on the 8-Pin CPU and the +12V PCIe on the 6-Pin PCIe connectors.
•Voltage SATA: This page shows the voltage for each rail on the 15-Pin SATA
connector (i.e. +12VDC, +5VDC, +3.3VDC). Please note that the tester
doesn’t measure the actual voltages on the SATA connector, instead it
displays the voltage on +12V1DC, +5VDC, +3.3VDC as these rails are almost
always connected to SATA voltage rails.
•Ripple 24-Pin: This page displays the ripple in millivolts on +12V1DC,
+5VDC, +3.3VDC and +12V2DC (+12V CPU).
•Timings (T1, T2, T3 and T6): This page shows the timings for +12V1DC,
+5VDC, +3.3VDC and +12V2DC (+12V CPU).
•T2 Min Slew Rate: This page displays the minimum slew rates across all 5 ms
segments during power-up for +12V1DC, +5 VDC, +3.3VDC and 12V2DC
(+12V CPU).
•Turn-on slope: If there was a negative slope during power-up on +12V1DC,
+5VDC, +3.3VDC and +12V2DC (+12V CPU) rails, this page will show a
Fail.
•Power Sequencing: The +12VDC and +5VDC output levels must always be
equal to or greater than the +3.3VDC output during power-up and normal
operation. If this criterion fails, the ‘V’ column shows a red circle. Also, the
time between the +12 VDC or +5VDC output reaching its minimum in-
regulation level and +3.3VDC reaching its minimum in-regulation level must
be ≤ 20 ms. If this criterion fails, the ‘T’ column shows a red circle.
Mode: This button allows to change the mode of details on each page. Pressing this
button on a page, allows you to see more details. Using this button, you can change
the mode from Voltage to Current or Power while in a Voltage page or you can see
the timing values while in Timing page.
Inline PSU Tester –User’s Guide Page 14
Page
Mode 1
Mode 2
Mode 3
Mode 4
Table 10
Input and output connectors
The tester has four inputs and four outputs terminals. The input terminals marked with
“In” suffix should be connected to PSU. The output terminals which are only used in
inline configuration are marked with “Out”suffix and should be connected to
motherboard. The “SATA In” input is a bit tricky as the orientation of the SATA
cable is important. Make sure the pins inside the SATA connector make electrical
contact with the pads on the PCB, otherwise the hard drive won’t work.
Inline PSU Tester –User’s Guide Page 15
Figure 10
Cables
Each tester comes with 5 cables:
-A USB 2.0 A to B cable for connecting the tester to PC.
Figure 11
-A 24Pin female to 20+4Pin male for connecting the “24-Pin Out” terminal to
motherboard.
Figure 12
-An EPS 8Pin female to 4+4Pin for connecting the “CPU Out” terminal to
motherboard.
Inline PSU Tester –User’s Guide Page 16
Figure 13
-An EPS 8Pin female to 6+2Pin Male for connecting the “PCIe Out” terminal to
motherboard.
Figure 14
-A 5Pin to dual SATA 15Pin female for connecting the “SATA Out” terminal to
external hard drives.
Figure 15
How to Test a power supply unit
Standalone mode
1. For your safety, first turn off the power supply by setting the I/O switch on the
back panel to the “O” stand.
2. Disconnect all peripherals and devices from the power supply.
3. Connect the 24-pin, 8-pin connector and 6-pin cables of the PSU to the
corresponding ‘In’ terminals of the PSU Tester. Note that some power
supplies have 8-pin (6+2Pin detachable) PCIe cable. In this case detach the
extra 2 pins and connect the 6-pin side.
4. Plug the AC power cord into the main.
5. Turn on the power supply by setting the I/O switch on the back panel to the
“I” stand.
6. Press and hold the power button on the PSU tester for 3 seconds until the
display shows “Power ON”.
7. Using the Up/Down buttons you can navigate between pages to check the
voltages and timings. By pressing the mode button, you can switch between
voltage, current and power modes or you can see the timing values.
8. If the monitoring port is connected, you can run the monitoring software and
check the PSU parameters from the software as well.
Inline PSU Tester –User’s Guide Page 17
Inline Mode
1. First turn off the power supply by setting the I/O switch on the back panel to
the “O” stand.
2. Disconnect all peripherals and devices from the power supply and connect the
24-pin, 8-pin connector and 6-pin cables of the PSU to the corresponding ‘In’
terminals of the PSU Tester. Note that some power supplies have 8-pin
(6+2Pin detachable) PCIe cable. In this case detach the extra 2 pins and
connect the 6-pin side.
3. Now use the PSU Tester cables to connect “Out” terminals to the motherboard
and PC peripherals (e.g. hard drive and graphic card).
4. Plug the AC power cord into the main
5. Turn on the power supply by setting the I/O switch on the back panel to the
“I” stand.
6. Turn on the machine using the “standby” button from the computer case.
7. Using the Up/Down buttons you can navigate between pages to check the
voltages and timings. By pressing the mode button, you can switch between
voltage, current and power modes or you can see the timing values.
8. If the monitoring port is connected, you can run the monitoring software and
check the PSU parameters from the software as well.
9. You can run BurnInTest during inline testing to ramp up power usage by the
motherboard and place more load on PSU.
Monitoring Software
The main PSUTest application window is divided into 4 sections: Select COM Port,
PSU Statistics, Overall Status, and control buttons.
Main Window
Figure 16
Inline PSU Tester –User’s Guide Page 18
The main screen contains the following features and options:
Device
COM Port: The PSU Tester appears as a Virtual COM port when connected to PC.
You can determine the Virtual COM Port by opening the Device Manager and
looking for USB Serial Device (COM #) or STMicroelectronics Virtual COM Port
(COM #).
PSU Statistics
This section displays voltage, current, power, ripple and timing for each voltage rail.
A green background for a field means the value is within the acceptable range and a
red background means the value is outside the valid range. A grey background
indicates that the measurement is not yet completed, and one or two power cycles are
required for the value to be calculated. 'N/A' means that the measurement is not
available.
Overall Status
This section shows Power Status, Total Power and the status of Voltages and
Currents.
Control Buttons
Power ON/OFF: This button forces a PSU to power up/down. Do not use this button
when the tester is in inline configuration. Instead, use the “standby” button from the
computer case.
Clear Log: The monitoring software records all voltages in the system memory at
intervals set in the configuration window. This button can be used to erase all the
previous records.
Save Log: Using this button, you can save the log into comma-separated values
format (CSV) file.
Reset Min/Max: This button resets the minimum and maximum values for voltages
and currents.
Save Report: Using this button, you can save all the PSU statistics in a .txt file.
Inline PSU Tester –User’s Guide Page 19
Configuration Window
The following options appear in the configuration window:
Connected Cables: This allows you to specify which cables are connected so that the
unavailable voltages will be excluded from the PASS/FAIL criteria.
Compliance Mode: This option allows the user to select the compliance mode. In the
“Strict” mode, all voltages and timings are checked against the specification and any
out of range value will result in a FAIL message. In the “Loose” mode the criterial for
PASS will be loosened to allow an easier PASS when important values are within the
range. Table below summarizes the differences between the “Strict” and “Loose”
modes.
Strict
Loose
DC Regulation range for 12V1, 12V2,
5V and 3.3V rails
10%
10%
DC Regulation range for -12V rail
10%
15%
T2 Min Slew Rate
According to the
specification
Not Checked
Power Sequencing
According to the
specification
Only when 12V
and 5V are above
500mV
Table 11
Buzzer Mode: This option allows the user to specify the conditions at which the
buzzer should alarm the user. Table below summarizes the different modes.
Mode
Description
Fatal Errors
Buzzer makes sound when voltages are
outside specification or PWR_OK signal is
not asserted by the PSU.
Compliance
Buzzer makes sound when any of voltages
or timings are outside their approved limits.
Off
Buzzer is always off.
Table 12
Log Intervals: This allows to specify the time intervals for samples in the log file.
Figure 17
Inline PSU Tester –User’s Guide Page 20
Driver Installation
Starting from Windows 10, the STSW-STM32102 driver is no more adequate and the
usage of the native inbox driver (Microsoft driver) is recommended. For other
operating systems please follow the below procedure.
Windows Installation (Win7 & Win10)
Step1 –connect the device
With the computer turned on and running, connect the PSU Tester to the USB port on
the computer to be tested. The device LCD should turn on and display the default
screen.
Step 2 –Install the device driver
Download the latest driver from the following address and extract the package.
https://www.passmark.com/products/psu-tester/download.php
The STSW-STM32102 software package contains four installation files based on the
various versions of the Microsoft® operating system. Run the setup file according to
the version of your operating system. E.g. run
‘CP_V1.5.0_Setup_W7_x64_64bits.exe’ if you have a 64-bit version of Windows 7
installed on your computer.
Table of contents
