Low -12 on PSU

FooFighter · 05-28-2006, 07:14 PM

I get reading of 1.30V on my -12 when i run SensorsView.

What does that -12V really do and how may it effect the general performance of my PC?

In the settings of SensorsView it has -15V as Max and -9V as Min so its safe to say I´m way off on that scale.

I have a Hiper 480W PSU

EDIT: while I was looking through the other settings i found that my +VBAT was at 0.29V, the spec was set at 2V as Min and 4V as max.
The +VBAT, is that the BIOS battery or what??
Fell kinda clueless here, gotta read up on this some :)

**Ralck** · 05-28-2006, 07:48 PM

I actually had some power problems a short while back, and read a bit up on how power supplies work.

As far as a -12 and -5 volt line, these voltages actually don't matter all that much. Both of these rails were used in old, now legacy, computer parts. I don't know of any modern computer parts that still use them. However, power supplies still have these rails on them (and Sensor's View still checks them) because a new power supply might be put in an older computer. If I'm not mistaken, it only tries to draw -5 or -12 volts if something is actually needing that power.

As far as the VBat, that does sound very low, though I don't know enough about what that is used for to give you an answer.

**Terrister** · 05-28-2006, 08:29 PM

Vbat is your bios battery. Sounds like time for a new one.

FooFighter · 05-28-2006, 09:26 PM

Thanks for the info.

So the -12 is useless then?
Coz i see it fluctates from time to time so it had to be connected to something now.

The low volt on VBAT is only endanger a motherboard that wont boot when it runs out of juice then?

~~whodat~~ · 05-31-2006, 11:28 AM

well, you will lose your custom bios settings if you lose the battery.

what kind of power supply is installed?

05-28-2006, 07:14 PM	#1 (permalink)
FooFighter Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 8 OS: Windows XP SP2 My System	Low -12 on PSU I get reading of 1.30V on my -12 when i run SensorsView. What does that -12V really do and how may it effect the general performance of my PC? In the settings of SensorsView it has -15V as Max and -9V as Min so its safe to say I´m way off on that scale. I have a Hiper 480W PSU EDIT: while I was looking through the other settings i found that my +VBAT was at 0.29V, the spec was set at 2V as Min and 4V as max. The +VBAT, is that the BIOS battery or what?? Fell kinda clueless here, gotta read up on this some :) __________________ ASUS P4C800-E DeLuxe Intel 3.2Ghz Corsair TWINX2048-3200C2 2Gb Gainward 6800GT 256MB, HIPER 450W PSU Last edited by FooFighter; 05-28-2006 at 07:19 PM.

05-28-2006, 08:29 PM	#3 (permalink)
Terrister Moderator Hardware Forum Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: West Georgia, USA Posts: 7,098 OS: Xp	Vbat is your bios battery. Sounds like time for a new one. __________________

05-28-2006, 09:26 PM	#4 (permalink)
FooFighter Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 8 OS: Windows XP SP2 My System	Thanks for the info. So the -12 is useless then? Coz i see it fluctates from time to time so it had to be connected to something now. The low volt on VBAT is only endanger a motherboard that wont boot when it runs out of juice then? __________________ ASUS P4C800-E DeLuxe Intel 3.2Ghz Corsair TWINX2048-3200C2 2Gb Gainward 6800GT 256MB, HIPER 450W PSU

05-28-2006, 07:48 PM	#2 (permalink)
Ralck TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,454 OS: 98SE/XP PRO/FC4 My System	I actually had some power problems a short while back, and read a bit up on how power supplies work. As far as a -12 and -5 volt line, these voltages actually don't matter all that much. Both of these rails were used in old, now legacy, computer parts. I don't know of any modern computer parts that still use them. However, power supplies still have these rails on them (and Sensor's View still checks them) because a new power supply might be put in an older computer. If I'm not mistaken, it only tries to draw -5 or -12 volts if something is actually needing that power. As far as the VBat, that does sound very low, though I don't know enough about what that is used for to give you an answer.

05-31-2006, 11:28 AM	#5 (permalink)
~~whodat~~ Register user Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 5,931 OS: XP	well, you will lose your custom bios settings if you lose the battery. what kind of power supply is installed?