PC Hardware LAB 4 - Power

Student name: Student ID:

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Instructions: Use pen and write your Full name and student ID on all pages.
All labs have to be done during lab time, in the lab room.
Each lab has to be checked by the instructor progressively during lab time.

You must call your instructor to check your work and sign it whenever
you reach the point asking for the instructor’s initials or signature.

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Objectives: After completing this lab, you will demonstrate the ability to:
 Identify the form factor of the case, motherboard and power supply
 Use Multimeters
 Do Continuity check
 Check a LAN Cable
 Check a power supply fuse
 Check ATX-style motherboard DC voltage
 Check Berg and Molex connectors

Suggested Readings: Textbook Chapter 4

Parts Needed:
 Multimeter
 Fuses
 Wire
 LAN cable
 ATX-style systems

Activity: The form factor is a set of specifications about the size, shape, and
configuration of the components that make up the system.

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Lab 4.1 Identify Form Factors

1. Use a favorite Internet search engine, search for ATX power supplies.

a) What is the number of pins an ATX power supply connector has?

24 pins

b) How do we call this connector?

24-pin power supply connector

c) Is there any difference between ATX and BTX power supply?

The BTX powersupply uses a standard ATX psu specs so there’s no difference

Lab 4.2 Multimeters

A multimeter is an electrical / electronic device that performs continuity tests and

measures resistance, amperage, and voltage. Multimeters have analog or digital output
display and have two leads (probes) used to contact the component you are testing.

Continuity check

1. Obtain two pieces of wire and strip the ends. Ten to fifteen centimeters long is
enough.

2. Lay the cable horizontally in front of you. Refer the left side as Connector A and the
right side as Connector B.

3. Set your multimeter to measure resistance (Ohms).

4. Turn the multimeter on.

5. Place the red probe on connector A and the black probe on connector B.

6. What is the reading on your multimeter, and what does this mean regarding the
continuity of the test cable?
its means that there is no cut in the wire
1.2 ohms

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7. Keep the probes connected as above and cut the wire in middle. Alternatively, use
two pieces of wire, which is the same as having one piece cut in two.

8. What is now the reading of your meter, and what does it mean regarding the
continuity of the wire?

No reading. 0 ohm

Lab 4.3 LAN Cable check

1. Obtain a piece of LAN cable. Ten to fifteen centimeters long is enough.

2. Strip the ends of the wires and lay the cable horizontally in front of you.

3. Set your multimeter to measure resistance

4. Turn on the multimeter

5. Check the continuity of each wire. Place the red probe on the white and green wire,
keep the red probe connected to the white and green wire, and connect the black
probe to every other wire at the other end in the following order and state the
measured resistance.

a. Brown = 0.7 ohm

b. Brown and white =0.8 ohm
c. Orange = 0.7 ohm
d. Orange and white 0.8 ohm
e. Blue = 0.8 ohm
f. Blue and white 0.8 ohm
g. Green =0.8 ohm
h. Green and white = 0.8 ohm

6. Using the table below, draw a line from the left side wire to any wire on the right
site that shows zero resistance.

Left Site Wire Right Site Wire

Brown Brown
Brown and white Brown and white
Orange Orange
Orange and white Orange and white

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Blue Blue
Blue and white Blue and white
Green Green
Green and white Green and white

7. What is the resistance reading between the left side brown and right side green?
0 ohm

If you suspect a cable is not working, what test would you perform?
continuity test

What do you expect the meter reading to be if there is some discontinuity?

1, infinite or OL

Instructor’s initials:

Lab 4.4 Fuse check

Many times the power supply is not functioning simply because its fuse is blown up.
Although opening and the power supply and touching the wrong components may be
extremely dangerous, changing the fuse will cost much less than replacing the power
supply. It is strongly suggested though NOT to open the power supply unless you
really know what you are doing.

1. Obtain two fuses from your Instructor, one good and one blown (the wire inside the
fuse is broken). Return them when you finished with this procedure.

2. On the fuse there must be some indication of its amperage and voltage rating.
What is the rating on either one of the fuses?
0.5A

3. Set your multimeter to read ohms.

4. Power on the meter.

5. Connect the red probe of the multimeter to one end and the black to the opposite end
of the good fuse.

6. What is the resistance of the fuse?

4.0 ohms

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7. What reading did you anticipate if the fuse were not good?
1, infinite or OL

8. What is the actual measurement?

4.1 ohm

Lab 4.5. ATX-style motherboard DC voltage check

1. Power off the HP Compaq dc5700 Windows 7 - sandbox system and remove its
cover.

2. What is the form factor of the motherboard and power supply?

ATX and 320watts

3. Power on the computer.

4. Set the multimeter to read DC Voltage and set its calibration to read max. 20V

5. Turn on the multimeter.

6. With the computer on, and the power connectors attached on the motherboard,
place the multimeter’s black probe to any one of the power supply’s black
lead, and keep it there. Use a piece of stripped wire if the probe does not fit.

7. Place the red probe of your multimeter to each one of the other leads of the
power supply and fill in the table below with your measurements.

Pin Number -color Measured Voltage

1orange 3.38V
2orange 3.38V
3 black ground 0v
4red 5.11v
5 black ground 0v
6red 5.11v
7 black ground 0v
8white 4.99v
9violet 5.09v
10yellow 12.23v
11yellow 12.23v
12orange 3.38v
13orange 3.38V
14blue -12.15v
15black-ground 0v
16green 0.30
17ground 0v

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18ground 0v
19 black ground 0v
20blank
21red 5.11v
22red 5.11v
23red 5.11v
24black 0v

8. What is the maximum and minimum voltage measured?

-12.15 v is the minimum and maximum is 12.23v

Instructor’s initials:

Lab 4.6. Molex connector check

Certain times one of your devices may not be working properly. One reason could be
that it does not receive the proper level of power or even no power at all although
your power supply is up and running.
The problem could be a faulty connector (Molex or SATA)

1. Power on the Windows 7 computer if not already on.

2. Set the multimeter to read DC Voltage and set its calibration to read max. 20V.

3. Turn on the multimeter, if not on.

4. With the computer on, locate one of the Molex connectors.

With Molex connector attached on the device, place the multimeter’s black probe
to any one of the connector’s black lead, and keep it there.

5. Place the red probe of your multimeter to each one of the other leads of the
connector and fill in the table below with your measurements.

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Color Pin Voltage Measurement

Black 0v
Red 5.11v
Yellow 12.22v

Lab 4.7. Berg connector check

1. With the same settings and the computer on, locate one of the Berg connectors.
With Berg connector attached on the device, usually the floppy drive, place the
multimeter’s black probe to any one of the connector’s black lead, and keep it
there.

2. Place the red probe of your multimeter to each one of the other leads of the
connector and fill in the table below with your measurements.

Color Pin Voltage Measurement

Black 0v
Red 5.11v
Yellow 12.22v

3. Turn off the Windows 7 system and disconnect the main power connector from
the motherboard. Place the red probe of your multimeter to each one of the other
leads of the connector and fill in the table below with your measurements.

No power to Main Board

Color Pin Voltage Measurement
Black 0v
Red 0.17v
Yellow 0v

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Call your Instructor to verify your measurements.

Instructor’s Initials:

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Lab 4.8. CHOOSE THE RIGHT POWER SUPPLY

Running a system with an inadequate power supply can cause the power supply to wear
out faster than normal. Also, an inadequate power supply can cause the system to reboot
at odd times and exhibit other types of intermittent errors.
Choosing an overrated power supply is not wise because a lot of the power is wasted by
blowing it out as wasted heat. In the other hand, you must also take precautions for
feature upgrades.
When selecting a system’s power supply you must look at the system’s components as a
whole and how the system is being used now or will be used in the feature.

The following table lists the components you may have in a system and the average
estimated power for each component.
Open the HP Compaq system (Windows 8.1), locate each component listed in the table,
and record how many components are present. Not all components will be present.

Component Wattage required How many present Total wattage

Core i7 CPU 100 W average 1 100W
PCI Express video card 100 W average 0 0
Average PCI cards 10 W 0 0
SATA DVD/CD drives 25 W average 1 25
Blue Ray 25 W 0 0
SATA Hard drives 10 W average 1 10W
Case and CPU fans 3 W each 2 6W
Motherboard 75 W average 1 75W
DDR3 4 W per stick 1 4W
Power Supply fan 10 W 1 10W

Wattage 230W
Add 30% 69W
Total Wattage 299W

Based on the wattage your system needs, what power supply are you going to purchase?

Instructor’s initials:

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Student Signature:

Note: ON THE DUE DATE RETURN ONLY THIS PAGE TO YOUR INSTRUCTOR
FOR MARKING.

It is the student’s responsibility to have the Instructor sign all steps stated in the
Lab. Failing to do so will result in the loss of marks.
In addition, 10% will be deducted for each day late.

Check Points Instructor’s Signature Date and Time

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