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A week ago, my PC started exhibiting a problem. When scrolling in a web browser or trying to game, microfreezes happen randomly.

The PSU is five years old, and some of the voltages look out-of-spec, so I'm wondering if that might be the cause.

Setup:

I tested in OCCT for around 20 min. Voltage on screen. Column titles: Current, Min, Max.

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Is the voltage from the PSU normal, or do I need to buy a new one (and is the PSU likely the cause of the freezes)?

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    While it's possible for PSUs to develop issues, it's more likely that you're seeing a software issue. Something running in the background demanding the CPU / memory / disk of your PC, causing the slow performance. OS updates, programs installed, browser plugins added, etc.
    – MountainMan
    Commented Dec 7, 2018 at 21:31
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    If your 12v channel is really 8v you need a much bigger power supply like +100w. The safe range is + or - 5% or 11.4 to 12.6v. You are severely over drawing it at 8v.
    – cybernard
    Commented Dec 7, 2018 at 23:05
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    Good info in both of the above answers (they aren't mutually exclusive). If you're actually getting only 8V on the 12V output, it's surprising the system would work at all. However, the voltage reading is suspect because PSUs tend to shut down or fail if you draw enough current to drop the voltage that much. Check it with a meter. But the particular symptom in the question doesn't sound like a voltage issue. So you have two, probably unrelated, issues to investigate.
    – fixer1234
    Commented Dec 8, 2018 at 5:05
  • If the "12v rail" is really reading ~8v, then you have serious problems (either over current, or failing PSU)... either way, do not trust software to read your voltages. Use a multimeter and confirm each of the potential 12v rails (Motherboard / CPU / GPU / Peripheral(s) can be independent, depending on the PSU). Note also that some PSUs will derive all other rails from a "big" 12v supply, so the excess current draw isn't necessarily on a 12v output from the PSU.
    – Attie
    Commented Dec 8, 2018 at 10:57

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