Hello everyone!
I’ve been reading through the hardware threads here for a while to help with my own builds, but this is my first time posting in the software section. I’m hoping to get some advice from the seasoned overclockers and system builders here regarding diagnostic tools.
I’m currently troubleshooting a frustrating issue with my home lab setup. I’ve repurposed an older workstation to act as a virtualization server (running a few VMs for network testing and file storage). It’s generally been reliable, but lately, I’ve had a few random system freezes when the machine is under moderate load—specifically when I'm transferring large files across the network.
My suspicion is pointing strongly towards the power supply, but I don't have a hardware oscilloscope to test the rails properly. The machine is running on a proprietary 575-watt power supply unit. It’s one of those specific "Network Power" rated units you often find in OEM server workstations rather than a standard consumer ATX unit.
On paper, 575 watts should be plenty of overhead for the hardware I’m running (a mid-range CPU, a 10Gb network card, and four hard drives). However, the unit is a few years old now. I’m worried that maybe the 12v rail is drooping or becoming unstable when the network card and mechanical drives all spike in power consumption simultaneously.
Personal Insight:
I used to just blindly swap out hardware when things went wrong, but I’m trying to be more disciplined (and budget-conscious) these days. I really want to diagnose this via software to confirm it’s a power delivery issue before I go through the hassle of modifying the case to fit a new PSU.
My question is: Which software do you trust most for creating long-term logs of voltage stability?
I’ve used standard tools like HWMonitor in the past, but I feel like the polling rate isn't fast enough to catch those split-second micro-drops that cause instability. Is AIDA64 worth the investment for its logging capabilities, or is there a specific open-source tool (perhaps something better on Linux) that is better suited for analyzing power efficiency and rail stability over time?
I’d love to hear what tools you guys use to "stress test" your PSU stability from a software perspective.
Thanks in advance!
