-12 at -14, is that a problem

[icemochalatte]

Hello all,

I have a question. My -12 (neg 12) sits at about -14, all other voltages on my PSU are fine. Could that be a big problem? What really uses the -12?

THX

 

[xonik]

No, it's not a problem. The -12 volt line is used almost exclusively by the serial port for signalling purposes. The RS-232 spec that the serial port uses can handle +/- 25 volts, so you should be just fine. The reason why the reading is off in the first place is because the average ATX power supply is of the switch-mode variety, which means that the voltage line needs a significant load in order to operate at the rated voltage. The load just isn't high enough to bring that -12 volt line up to perfect accuracy.

 

[icemochalatte]

Thanks. I was just curious. It doesn't really matter, I just bought the awesome modular PSU that was listed in HotDeals. I put it in this morning...AWESOME!