Science Project

midget · 29th March 2005, 3:48 PM

mmmk heres th lo-down.

I landed a HUGE research task (year 10) in science today and i wanna do it on something to do with computers (simply because the computer wil do the work for me i.e. benchmark results and stress testing).

the only resource that i really have that is readyily availablie is PSUs as i have 4. i was gonna do ram but i just dont have enough lying around.

i was thinking of testing the 4 PSUs in 3 machines (a below ave maching [700mhz, 128ram], an average machine [2.0ghz, 768ram], and an above ave machine [will borrow a friends... prolly AMD].

then it occured to me that maybe the PSU wouldnt effect the overall benchmark score and the overall running of the system as all it does is supply power. would the type of PSU (i.e 250w dell vs 400w generic) change the capabilities of the system as a whole, or would it just fluctuate according to how manny appliances i plug into it...

any help is good help.. cheers

midge

McHectic · 29th March 2005, 3:57 PM

i have a firend who had to do a research project in year 10 as well...he tested heatsyncs and their effect on temperature...i.e. which material are better etc. He is a member of these forums BTW.

good luck

midget · 29th March 2005, 4:00 PM

hmm that might be a good idea.. but somewhat expensive unless i can get some to borrow..

SLATYE · 29th March 2005, 4:15 PM

PSUs won't affect performance much normally. A good one will provide the same performance as a cheap one, except in two situations:
(1) Cheap one dies, and therefore fails all benchmarks
(2) If the 12v rail is just a bit too low for the HDD, so the computer keeps stopping while the HDD spins up again.

Generally, you'd see stability problems rather than different benchmark results.

midget · 29th March 2005, 4:16 PM

dammit... is there something else i could do using PSUs? i have 4 of them and dun have alot of anything else... could do heatsinks but would take alot more effort

Bionic · 29th March 2005, 4:22 PM

How about....... how many electrical compnents in the PSU fry when changing the voltage to 120 or what ever the other one os... ummmmm how long do they last without ventilation

midget · 29th March 2005, 4:22 PM

lol.. not so practical.. and wouldnt like to kill them.. but keep trying

J_Dem0n · 29th March 2005, 5:08 PM

just a guess
take temps in bios and see what temps they are in 1 hour
2 hours fro mthe 1 hr ago
6 hrs from then
12hrs
24hs

---- to 72 hrs

see what temps?
and stress them

midget · 29th March 2005, 5:14 PM

naa i dunno... doesnt seem like enough.. and rather irrelevant

J_Dem0n · 29th March 2005, 5:17 PM

what section?
like what part in the text book?

information?

midget · 29th March 2005, 5:26 PM

its an assessment... so it isnt in a textbook..

it is basically a scientific research project on anything you are interested in.

you have to carry out experiments to andswer a hypothesis... the hypothesis could be "to see how PSUs affect the overall running of a computer system"... or something along those lines..

J_Dem0n · 29th March 2005, 5:38 PM

well a powersupply can limiti what products you use,
due to the fact its only got enough watts for that product.
Which will limit you with upgrades and with your systems capabilities

so if you do that you need to talk about the system requirements and what the certain powersupplies can with stand and what happens with too much load, that seem easy?

Shawry · 29th March 2005, 5:47 PM

You could always just benchmark the different PSUs and how they hold up in different situations. For instance: Choose 1 computer to test the PSUs on. Take voltage readings while the computer is idle, underload, heavy HDD usage etc. Compare the results for each PSU.

SLATYE · 29th March 2005, 6:05 PM

Take the PSUs apart and compare the internal differences between them. You might find that a decent-quality 200w one (Dell, for example) has components with better ratings and better heatsinking than a generic 400w one.

EDIT: Alternatively, if you've got a multimeter that can take 10A 240v, you could examine what happens when you aren't drawing the full load from a PSU (relative to efficiency). For example, if you're drawing 10w from a 200w PSU, does the PSU draw 200w from the wall outlet? Or does it draw 11w? If you draw 200w from the same PSU, does it keep the same efficiency (so if to deliver 10w it needed 11w input, it would need 220w input for 200w output) or does it go up (might only need 210w for 200w output) or does it go down (300w input for 200w output)?

midget · 29th March 2005, 6:10 PM

hmm some good ideas... but rather complicated.. and i dun have a multimeter... this is gonna be harder than i thought

29th March 2005, 3:48 PM	#1
midget Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Hornsby, Sydney Posts: 277	Science Project mmmk heres th lo-down. I landed a HUGE research task (year 10) in science today and i wanna do it on something to do with computers (simply because the computer wil do the work for me i.e. benchmark results and stress testing). the only resource that i really have that is readyily availablie is PSUs as i have 4. i was gonna do ram but i just dont have enough lying around. i was thinking of testing the 4 PSUs in 3 machines (a below ave maching [700mhz, 128ram], an average machine [2.0ghz, 768ram], and an above ave machine [will borrow a friends... prolly AMD]. then it occured to me that maybe the PSU wouldnt effect the overall benchmark score and the overall running of the system as all it does is supply power. would the type of PSU (i.e 250w dell vs 400w generic) change the capabilities of the system as a whole, or would it just fluctuate according to how manny appliances i plug into it... any help is good help.. cheers midge __________________ My Rig: Asus p5nd2-sli \| Antec Superlanboy \| 2 x 512 DDR2 Corsair value \| Intel Pentium D 805 (2.66ghz) \| Lite-on 16x Dual Layer DVDRW \| Lite-on DVD/CD \| 80gb WD 7200rpm \| 120gb Seagate 7200rpm \| 320gb WD sata-II \| XFX nVidia 7900gt Successful trades with: wyzest1, dewy, devilsmurf x4, inspectr, ArcTan, azron, slinger, Gibbz, Jazper, smokeytk, rival81, Defyant, waynejkruse10, discordance, fewture, d-cee, wildturkey008, eth3Real, s4mmy

29th March 2005, 4:00 PM	#3
midget Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Hornsby, Sydney Posts: 277	hmm that might be a good idea.. but somewhat expensive unless i can get some to borrow.. __________________ My Rig: Asus p5nd2-sli \| Antec Superlanboy \| 2 x 512 DDR2 Corsair value \| Intel Pentium D 805 (2.66ghz) \| Lite-on 16x Dual Layer DVDRW \| Lite-on DVD/CD \| 80gb WD 7200rpm \| 120gb Seagate 7200rpm \| 320gb WD sata-II \| XFX nVidia 7900gt Successful trades with: wyzest1, dewy, devilsmurf x4, inspectr, ArcTan, azron, slinger, Gibbz, Jazper, smokeytk, rival81, Defyant, waynejkruse10, discordance, fewture, d-cee, wildturkey008, eth3Real, s4mmy

29th March 2005, 4:15 PM	#4
SLATYE SLATYE, not SLAYTE Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Canberra Posts: 25,832	PSUs won't affect performance much normally. A good one will provide the same performance as a cheap one, except in two situations: (1) Cheap one dies, and therefore fails all benchmarks (2) If the 12v rail is just a bit too low for the HDD, so the computer keeps stopping while the HDD spins up again. Generally, you'd see stability problems rather than different benchmark results. __________________ Main system: Phenom II X4 920 \| 8GB (4x 2GB) DDR2-800 \| Gigabyte M57SLI-S4 v2.0 \| Leadtek Geforce 9600GSO 384MB \| Enermax Modu82+ 525W \| 1TB Hitachi HDD \| 3.5" + 5.25" FDD Laptop: Compal EL80 \| C2D T7200 \| 320GB Fujistu HDD \| 2GB DDR2-667 \| GF Go 7600

29th March 2005, 4:16 PM	#5
midget Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Hornsby, Sydney Posts: 277	dammit... is there something else i could do using PSUs? i have 4 of them and dun have alot of anything else... could do heatsinks but would take alot more effort __________________ My Rig: Asus p5nd2-sli \| Antec Superlanboy \| 2 x 512 DDR2 Corsair value \| Intel Pentium D 805 (2.66ghz) \| Lite-on 16x Dual Layer DVDRW \| Lite-on DVD/CD \| 80gb WD 7200rpm \| 120gb Seagate 7200rpm \| 320gb WD sata-II \| XFX nVidia 7900gt Successful trades with: wyzest1, dewy, devilsmurf x4, inspectr, ArcTan, azron, slinger, Gibbz, Jazper, smokeytk, rival81, Defyant, waynejkruse10, discordance, fewture, d-cee, wildturkey008, eth3Real, s4mmy

29th March 2005, 4:22 PM	#6
Bionic Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Wollongong - NSW Posts: 3,234	How about....... how many electrical compnents in the PSU fry when changing the voltage to 120 or what ever the other one os... ummmmm how long do they last without ventilation __________________ OCAU OFFICIAL CHAIR RAVER'S SOCIETY MEMBER #5 Computer games don't affect kids. I mean if Pacman affected our generation as kids, we'd all run around in a darkened room munching on pills and listening to repetitive music.. ummm Hold on a sec yes it has

29th March 2005, 3:57 PM	#2
McHectic (Banned or Deleted) Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: My Computer Desk Posts: 4	i have a firend who had to do a research project in year 10 as well...he tested heatsyncs and their effect on temperature...i.e. which material are better etc. He is a member of these forums BTW. good luck

29th March 2005, 5:08 PM	#8
J_Dem0n (Taking a Break) Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: WICKED WOLLONGONG! Posts: 767	just a guess take temps in bios and see what temps they are in 1 hour 2 hours fro mthe 1 hr ago 6 hrs from then 12hrs 24hs ---- to 72 hrs see what temps? and stress them

29th March 2005, 5:14 PM	#9
midget Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Hornsby, Sydney Posts: 277	naa i dunno... doesnt seem like enough.. and rather irrelevant __________________ My Rig: Asus p5nd2-sli \| Antec Superlanboy \| 2 x 512 DDR2 Corsair value \| Intel Pentium D 805 (2.66ghz) \| Lite-on 16x Dual Layer DVDRW \| Lite-on DVD/CD \| 80gb WD 7200rpm \| 120gb Seagate 7200rpm \| 320gb WD sata-II \| XFX nVidia 7900gt Successful trades with: wyzest1, dewy, devilsmurf x4, inspectr, ArcTan, azron, slinger, Gibbz, Jazper, smokeytk, rival81, Defyant, waynejkruse10, discordance, fewture, d-cee, wildturkey008, eth3Real, s4mmy

29th March 2005, 5:17 PM	#10
J_Dem0n (Taking a Break) Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: WICKED WOLLONGONG! Posts: 767	what section? like what part in the text book? information?

29th March 2005, 5:26 PM	#11
midget Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Hornsby, Sydney Posts: 277	its an assessment... so it isnt in a textbook.. it is basically a scientific research project on anything you are interested in. you have to carry out experiments to andswer a hypothesis... the hypothesis could be "to see how PSUs affect the overall running of a computer system"... or something along those lines.. __________________ My Rig: Asus p5nd2-sli \| Antec Superlanboy \| 2 x 512 DDR2 Corsair value \| Intel Pentium D 805 (2.66ghz) \| Lite-on 16x Dual Layer DVDRW \| Lite-on DVD/CD \| 80gb WD 7200rpm \| 120gb Seagate 7200rpm \| 320gb WD sata-II \| XFX nVidia 7900gt Successful trades with: wyzest1, dewy, devilsmurf x4, inspectr, ArcTan, azron, slinger, Gibbz, Jazper, smokeytk, rival81, Defyant, waynejkruse10, discordance, fewture, d-cee, wildturkey008, eth3Real, s4mmy

29th March 2005, 5:38 PM	#12
J_Dem0n (Taking a Break) Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: WICKED WOLLONGONG! Posts: 767	well a powersupply can limiti what products you use, due to the fact its only got enough watts for that product. Which will limit you with upgrades and with your systems capabilities so if you do that you need to talk about the system requirements and what the certain powersupplies can with stand and what happens with too much load, that seem easy?

29th March 2005, 5:47 PM	#13
Shawry Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Oakleigh, Melb Posts: 2,702	You could always just benchmark the different PSUs and how they hold up in different situations. For instance: Choose 1 computer to test the PSUs on. Take voltage readings while the computer is idle, underload, heavy HDD usage etc. Compare the results for each PSU.

29th March 2005, 6:05 PM	#14
SLATYE SLATYE, not SLAYTE Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Canberra Posts: 25,832	Take the PSUs apart and compare the internal differences between them. You might find that a decent-quality 200w one (Dell, for example) has components with better ratings and better heatsinking than a generic 400w one. EDIT: Alternatively, if you've got a multimeter that can take 10A 240v, you could examine what happens when you aren't drawing the full load from a PSU (relative to efficiency). For example, if you're drawing 10w from a 200w PSU, does the PSU draw 200w from the wall outlet? Or does it draw 11w? If you draw 200w from the same PSU, does it keep the same efficiency (so if to deliver 10w it needed 11w input, it would need 220w input for 200w output) or does it go up (might only need 210w for 200w output) or does it go down (300w input for 200w output)? __________________ Main system: Phenom II X4 920 \| 8GB (4x 2GB) DDR2-800 \| Gigabyte M57SLI-S4 v2.0 \| Leadtek Geforce 9600GSO 384MB \| Enermax Modu82+ 525W \| 1TB Hitachi HDD \| 3.5" + 5.25" FDD Laptop: Compal EL80 \| C2D T7200 \| 320GB Fujistu HDD \| 2GB DDR2-667 \| GF Go 7600 Last edited by SLATYE; 29th March 2005 at 6:07 PM.

29th March 2005, 6:10 PM	#15
midget Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Hornsby, Sydney Posts: 277	hmm some good ideas... but rather complicated.. and i dun have a multimeter... this is gonna be harder than i thought __________________ My Rig: Asus p5nd2-sli \| Antec Superlanboy \| 2 x 512 DDR2 Corsair value \| Intel Pentium D 805 (2.66ghz) \| Lite-on 16x Dual Layer DVDRW \| Lite-on DVD/CD \| 80gb WD 7200rpm \| 120gb Seagate 7200rpm \| 320gb WD sata-II \| XFX nVidia 7900gt Successful trades with: wyzest1, dewy, devilsmurf x4, inspectr, ArcTan, azron, slinger, Gibbz, Jazper, smokeytk, rival81, Defyant, waynejkruse10, discordance, fewture, d-cee, wildturkey008, eth3Real, s4mmy