Easy ways to know what your computer’s power supply

How to check what your computer's power supply is

Users often ask if it is possible to find out what power source your computer has without removing the cover of the system unit. Unfortunately, this is not possible. The power supply only supplies power to the motherboard and other components of the computer. The software does not detect it in any way. This article will explain in detail what you need to do to find the power supply installed on your computer should such a need arise.

See the power supply information on the label

The only way to know which power supply you have in your computer is to remove the side cover of the system unit and look at the power supply label. To do this, you must first turn off the computer and disconnect all cables from it. Otherwise, there is a risk of electric shock or damage to computer components.

After the cables are disconnected, you can continue to remove the side cover of the system unit. In most computer cases, the side covers are secured with four screws (two per cover). You don’t need to remove the four screws and remove both covers to get the power supply information, simply remove the left cover (as viewed from the front of the chassis).

After removing the left side cover, you need to find the power source. In cheap computers, it is usually located at the top of the system unit.

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Processor overheating: why and what to do?

In mid-range and high-end computer cases, the power supply is usually located at the bottom of the computer case.

After you find the power supply, you should examine the label on it. This label usually contains information about the power supply’s capacity and other characteristics, as well as its name.

Sometimes, however, only the name of the power supply is found on the label. In this case, the rest of the information should be available on the Internet.

How to check the quality of computer power supply! do you know?

Method one:

One day the computer suddenly turned on and there was no response. Perhaps the first thing you thought of was whether the power supply was broken. So is it really a power failure? How to know whether it is broken without removing the power supply of the computer and installing it on another computer for testing? Here is a simple share for everyone

First of all, pull out the pins on the motherboard, the pins of the motherboard, the hard disk, and the optical drive. It doesn’t matter whether the power supply is unplugged or not. Then find the pin that lights up the 20-pin, and some are 24-pin.

Then find a green line and a random black line in the 20-pin (here take 20-pin as an example), connect the power line, and then connect the pin of the black line with the pin of the green line with an iron wire, If the fan of the power supply rotates, it proves that the power supply is good. If the fan of the power supply does not rotate, it proves that the power supply is broken.

Method Two:

The specific method is: use a metal wire to connect the fourth socket on the motherboard power cable and the seventh socket below (provided that the bayonet on the power supply is facing upward); or use a multimeter to connect the socket connected to the hard disk or optical drive. 1, 3 or 2, 4 ports of the power cord, this is the multimeter will display the size of the power supply voltage. These data are marked on the power supply, if they are the same or differ by 10%, it is normal.

Method three:

There is another way of saying, but this way of saying should be considered correct, right? I’m not an expert, but if you match it with the following way of saying, you won’t get it wrong when testing.

How to test the quality of the power supply: remove the power supply from the host, connect the power cord, find the green line (PS-ON) on the 20P (24P) plug on the main board, and then find a black line (GND), use Insert a wire into these two jacks to turn on the power supply. If the power supply fan does not move, or does not move after turning it once, it means that the power supply is broken. Also, if the fan speed is normal, check whether the 20P (24P) plug is in good contact with the motherboard.

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How to check the power information of the computer on the computer?

The method of setting the power supply is very simple, just follow the following 3 steps.

In the Start menu, select Control Panel.

After entering, find the hardware and sound.

After clicking to enter, you can see that there is a power option, click it and you can see and set the power information.

How to check the computer power supply?

There is no need to look at too many miscellaneous things about the power supply. Generally speaking, the rated power exceeds the power consumption by about 20~30% is the best.

And the power consumption can be summarized by more than one graphics card. It is recommended that you search for the previous graphics card model, go to the official website to check the power consumption of that graphics card, and then search for the power consumption of the graphics card you are about to replace. For comparison, if the power consumption difference is large, then search for all the hardware of your computer. For the information, add and subtract by yourself to see the approximate power consumption. If the power consumption is too high, then the power supply should be replaced.

Finally, a wordy word, the power supply is usually a relatively inconspicuous thing in the computer case, but if it is overloaded, the power supply will explode if it is light, and it will not only explode the power supply if it is heavy, and the loss will be even greater. That’s why it is best to say that the rated power exceeds the power consumption by at least 20~30%. For example, if the power consumption of the whole machine is 280W, it is no problem to buy a 350W power supply. If your whole machine consumes 350W, then change to a 500W power supply. Of course, the quality of the power supply must pass the test. Don’t try to buy a low-quality power supply for cheap. It says that the rated power is 350W, but the actual power may only be 250W.

Related Article: How to Connect Power Supply Cables: Guide To Wiring A PSU To The Motherboard

How to detect the failure of the computer power supply

If the computer keeps restarting for no reason, it is likely that there is a problem with the power supply, so how to check the health status of your power supply?

If the cause of the virus is ruled out, you should focus on whether it is caused by poor heat dissipation of the CPU, graphics card, etc., and the CPU overheating protection will automatically restart. It is easy to check the power supply. First disconnect the host power supply, unplug the power plug connected to the motherboard (the old 20-pin, the new 24-pin), use a thinner wire, insert one end into the hole of the green wire, and the other end Insert it into any hole of the black wire, and then turn on the power supply. If the fan rotates and there is no other abnormality, it proves that the power supply is basically powered on.

Power on, so does the power supply work?

There are three places to check to see if the power supply is working :

1. Whether the cooling fan on the back of the power supply does not turn. Note: If the power supply is broken, its cooling fan will not turn, but it is also possible that the fan itself is broken, so other places should be checked to determine whether the power supply is broken.

2. Whether the POWER indicator light on the panel of the host computer is off. Explanation: The LED indicators on the host computer indicate the working status of the power supply, hard disk, and floppy disk. If these LED indicators are not on, it is likely that the power supply is not supplying power.

3. Whether the sound of the floppy drive, hard disk or CD-ROM drive cannot be heard when starting up. Note: The computer will check these hardware devices when starting up, if you cannot hear these sounds, it means that the power supply is not supplied to them at all.

If it is determined that the power supply is not working, how to solve it?

If you are sure that the power supply is not working, don’t think that the power supply is broken, you can check the following places:

1. Whether the main switch has tripped and whether the plug is loose. If an extension cord is used, check whether the fuse of the extension cord is blown.

2. Whether the power supply stops power supply due to short circuit: Since the power supply itself is designed with the function of detecting short circuit, it will automatically cut off all power supply when it detects that the output circuit has a short circuit, so the power supply does not work. This situation can be seen from the operation of the cooling fan. If the power supply is good and there is a short circuit somewhere inside the host, when the power is turned on, the fan will stop after spinning and make a buzzing sound. , If you turn off the switch for a while, the fan turns a few times by itself.

This symptom is a typical short circuit phenomenon. To find out the component that caused the short circuit, you can unplug all the DC output connectors from the power supply. If the short circuit disappears after all the connectors are unplugged, it means that the circuit of a certain component is short circuited. Plug the connectors back one by one until the short circuit occurs again, it can be confirmed that the component is broken, and the component can be replaced. It should be noted that the power must be turned off before pulling out the connector and plugging in the connector, so as not to burn the parts of the computer.

3. Whether the DC output of the power supply is normal: If the conditions mentioned in the above three points have been checked, and the power supply still does not work, you can use a three-purpose voltmeter to measure the DC output of the power supply. If there is no output at all, it means that the power supply If it’s broken, replace the power supply and it should fix the problem.


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Huzaif Enan
By Huzaif Enan

I discuss about technological problem solutions, the most reviewed product details, gadget buying and using tips, and solutions to various common software and hardware issues. I am very passionate about technology and willing to help you with all the knowledge I have acquired.

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