Allied 500W PSU hindering OC?

[jagare]

I think my Allied 500W PSU is hindering my OC with my Winchester. According to my bios and Corecell, my 12v rail is running at 11.63-11.72. My voltages are a little jumpy too. I'm having trouble getting PiFast and Super PI to complete. For instance, I can run through 3dmark 2001 at 2.56ghz but PiFast and Super PI crashes instantly. Sometimes I can complete Super PI 1m at 2.5ghz, sometimes I can't and it crashes instantly. The more I think about it the more I think a better PSU will help. Suggestions? I'm thinking about the Fortron because I've heard that it's a great PSU and it's only $75. I'm not looking to spend more then $80 at this time, which why I can't get the Antec 550W or OCZ 520w right now. I just checked right now and the 12v rail is at 11.56 to 11.60 with Prime95 running.. is that bad?

Hmm, I just checked on my other computer thats running an older 420W PSU, the 12v rail on that is 12.60v! Should I swap that out with this one and see if it's more stable?

Edit: I have my 420W Turbolink in my A64 now and it's also getting 11.60v under load..

Edit: I've read a few other posts and it looks like CoreCenter displays the incorrect 12v rail voltage? I'm running MBM5 now and it looks like its at 11.94-11.98v solid.

[STEvil]

Yes, it does display incorrect voltages.

My +12v using an allied 450w is 12.25 but corecell displays 11.64 with 2.4ghz/1.75v

[jagare]

I have a multimeter, how do I measure the 12V rail?

[craig588]

Red probe to the yellow (12V) line and the black probe to the black (GND) line.

Orange is 3.3 and red is 5V.

[jagare]

Thanks.. so is the Allied 500W known as a solid PSU? Or is it the thing causing the OC instability? Should I give the Fortron a shot? Think it'll help?

[STEvil]

Mine hasnt given me any problems yet and they seem to be very reliable.

I dont know how they are for overclocking really, though ;)

[ccokeman]

Mine would give me 11.90 with nothing attached to it. It would make my computer a bit unstable while under load. with a meter it would read 11.63 under load. Watt is not the answer its the amount of amps on each rail that will tell the tale.

[jagare]

Well, here's what components I have hooked to the PSU.
3 hard drives
1 cdrw
1 video card
1 HDD cooler
2 80mm fans
Think getting the Fortron will help?

[Playful_Buffalo]

a better PSU is always a nice touch ;)

[craig588]

Just mod all the rails. If you keep pushing them up using pots the PSU will be just as good as any of the expensive ones untill it just dies. (From not being capable of delivering enough power, not from the mods)

[STEvil]

modding rails does not increase available amperage

[STEvil]

when you are suffering from droop with a PSU it is due to line resistance or the PSU not being able to provide enough amperage. Either way it is a PSU limit and raising the voltage is not an acceptable means of fixing it seeing as this will create multiple complications from overly high voltages at idle to the psu short circuiting.