Details
BENCHLAB is a compact real-time telemetry board for PC builders, made by Open Benchtable and ElmorLabs. It sits between the power supply and your hardware and measures the power on every main power cable, reads voltages and temperatures, controls up to nine fans and lights the build with 30 addressable LEDs. The BENCHLAB software shows the data live, logs it to a CSV file or exports it to HWiNFO.
Properties
- Type
- System telemetry and fan control PCB
- Power measurement
- 24-pin ATX, 2x EPS, 3x PCIe 6+2-pin, 2x 12VHPWR
- Voltage inputs
- 1x differential plus 12x single-ended
- Temperature
- Ambient temperature and humidity, 4x thermistor
- Fan headers
- 9x 4-pin PWM
- RGB
- 30x ARGB LEDs
- Connection
- USB Type-C to the system
Power measurement
The power supply cables plug into the PSU side of the board (PSU_ATX24, PSU_CPU1 and 2, PSU_GPU1 to 3, PSU_HPWR1 and 2) and the included BENCHLAB cables run from the SYS side to the motherboard and graphics card. That way BENCHLAB sees the current, voltage and power of the 24-pin ATX (12 V, 5 V, 3.3 V and 5 VSB), both EPS, three PCIe 6+2-pin and two 12VHPWR connectors. To measure the power a graphics card draws through its PCIe slot, add the BENCHLAB PCI-E Slot Power Measurement Adapter.
Voltage and temperature
Eight single-ended 0 to 4 V inputs (V1 to V8) are meant for motherboard voltages and four (V9 to V12) for graphics card voltages, and a differential input (V+ and V-) reads from -18 V to +18 V. A sensor on the back measures ambient temperature and humidity, and four thermistor inputs (TS1 to TS4) take external probes, for example in the coolant.
Fan control
Up to nine 4-pin PWM fans connect to FAN1 to FAN9. In the software you map each fan curve to any temperature sensor. Without the software, switch SW1 sets full speed, temperature control or external control; with FAN_EXT1 connected to a motherboard fan header, the motherboard controls the fans.
RGB and I/O
Thirty ARGB LEDs on the back of the board are driven by the software or by a motherboard through the RGB connector; SW2 turns them off. Three USB 2.0 Type-A ports pass keyboard, mouse or flash drive through to the system connected by USB Type-C, three 2-pin headers handle power, reset or other functions, and a 5-pin connector is reserved for future use.
Installation
BENCHLAB is shaped to fit the Open Benchtable: it mounts on the included standoffs, the bench's own standoffs go on top, and the motherboard sits above the board. The software is a free download from the BENCHLAB GitHub page (github.com/BenchLab-io); unzip it, start the executable and the board shows up as connected.
Technical data
| Model | BENCHLAB-04 |
| CPU1, CPU2 | 4 or 8-pin EPS, 32 A at 12 V (384 W) continuous each |
| ATX24 | 20 or 24-pin ATX, 20 A at 3.3 V (66 W), 20 A at 5 V (100 W), 15 A at 12 V (180 W) |
| GPU1 to GPU3 | 6 or 8-pin PCIe, 24 A at 12 V (288 W) each |
| HPWR1, HPWR2 | 12+4-pin 12VHPWR, 60 A at 12 V (720 W) each |
| V1 to V12 | Single-ended, 0 to 4 V, over 1 MOhm impedance |
| V+ / V- | Differential, -18 to +18 V, 1 MOhm or more impedance |
| TS1 to TS4 | Thermistor, 10K at 25°C, B value 3950K (25 to 50°C) |
| FAN1 to FAN9 | 4-pin PWM, 3 A at 12 V (36 W) each, 7.5 A at 12 V (90 W) combined |
| ARGB | 3-pin, 2 A at 5 V (10 W), 30 LEDs (gen 1) |
| USB1 | USB 2.0 Type-C, to the system |
| USB2 to USB4 | USB 2.0 Type-A, 500 mA at 5 V each |
| Software export | CSV file, HWiNFO |
Notes
- Connect BENCHLAB to the system only with the included BENCHLAB cables. BENCHLAB warns that any other cable, such as modular PSU cables, may cause irreversible damage.
- The EPS cables are rated for 32 A per channel, 64 A for EPS1 and EPS2 together.
In the box
- 1x BENCHLAB PCB
- 1x 24-pin ATX to 24-pin ATX cable, 20 cm
- 2x 4+4-pin EPS to 8-pin EPS cable, 20 cm
- 3x 6+2-pin PCIe to 8-pin PCIe cable, 40 cm
- 2x 12+4-pin 12VHPWR to 12+4-pin 12VHPWR cable, 40 cm
- 4x 1-pin Dupont male lead with test hook, 30 cm (red, green, yellow, blue)
- 1x 4-pin fan header extension, 30 cm
- 2x Thin film thermistor (B=3950) to 2-pin JST XH, 100 cm
- 2x Waterproof thermistor (B=3950) to 2-pin JST XH, 100 cm
- 1x 3-pin RGB cable, 30 cm
- 3x 2-pin Dupont female to female cable, 20 cm
- 1x USB Type-A to Type-C cable, 100 cm
- 10x M3 standoff, 25 + 6 mm, nickel-plated copper
