ATX PC Power Supply Test

As we only had two days at the test facility in Germany, we had to limit the amount of tests run. Each PSU was tested at 25, 50, 75 and 100 per cent load on the 12V rail(s), with the 5V and 3.3V rails making up for the additional drain. Those who know something about power supplies, might wonder why we did it this way but the explanation is quite simple. All modern computers put a much heavier load on the 12V rail than the 5 or 3.3V, so this is the most important part to test. However, if you have an older (Pentium III or an early Athlon system) these test results are not going to be quite accurate. This is because older computers relies more on the 5V rail, but as they have much lower power requirements than current machines, all of the power supplies on test should in reality work just fine.