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another power question, i read the FAQ

D

[DA]shorty

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 18, 2001
Messages
222
ok, so my friend has a:

p4 2.8 htt
1gig of corsair xms
2x 60GB hdds
1x 120GB hd
Geforce FX 5600 ultra
abit mobo
1x DVD-ROM
1x DVD-R-RW
1x CD-RW
etc etc

his box is packed with shit, and he is only running a 350watt psu

everything has been running stable, but recently he has been getting error msgs saying that the video card isnt getting enuff power, if so then why was it running so stable before? is the PSU just SICK of bieng maxed out? or is the error msg not as accurate?

any suggestions?

thanks guys
 
Originally posted by [DA]shorty
if so then why was it running so stable before?
is the PSU just SICK of bieng maxed out?
or is the error msg not as accurate?

any suggestions?
Click to expand...
1. Your friend's computer has probably accumulated miscellaneous processes over the course of the last format/OS installation. This includes spyware, system-tray utilities, etc. as well as the obvious applications he's constantly aware of. These access the hard drive constantly and use CPU resources, increasing overall power consumption in a pretty subtle manner. This is the likely reason why your friend's system ran more stable before.
2. Nice personification ;) It's a possibility that the components in your friends have been overstressed and the factory-set tolerances have slipped slightly, reducing the overall power delivery capabilities. Reason #1 is more tangible and believable, though.
3. It's probably accurate. I wouldn't ignore it.
4. There are lots of nice 350-450 watt power supplies available from Antec, Fortron, FSP, Sparkle, Enlight, Powerman, and others that will do better and cost in the $40-70 range. I suggest buying one before the weak power supply degenerates into more destructive behavior.
 
no its not a spyware type of deal, he is getting like 100 popups saying that his video card isnt getting enough power, its a nvidia box, so i dont think its a scam thing... he is seeing red dots and a shitty screen, so i was just thinking that he is just maxxing out his psu...
 
thats what im thinking, but what would cause it to just act up now? i would have thought that we would see these issues when the computer was built. all of his voltages are stable though.. the 12 rail is a good 11.9 somthin.. wouldnt that mean it isnt his PSU? or can it still be maxed out?
 
If the case or power supply seems a little dusty you might see if cleaning it will help. Dust insulates well trapping heat which lowers the efficiency, it could be enough to lower the available power. Or he could shell out the money for a good power supply from a reputable manufacturer and not have to worry about it.
 
i just want to make sure its the PSU before i go out and make a friend spend like $50 on somthing that doesnt fix his problem.
 
What is the model of the PSU. Check in the "PC Health" in the BIOS the different voltage rails. Check and see how "out" of spec. they are. As well it could be overworked. Especially if its just a generic (and I am guessing that it is).

What PSU do you have? If yours is better try it in his system first (if you don't mind). If the problem goes away its the power supply. With an error message like that I believe that its most likely the PSU.

Cheers,
 
yeah I am on his system now, unplugged some drives and the cd rom drives and no power errors. I'm 100% it's his PSU now. Yeah it was a generic 350watt in the case that he got. codegen is the brand.
 
i say help your friend out a little and give him $5 for the psu, put a switch into it so you can jump the green with the black on the mobo power, and you can have an ok psu to test fans and other things on (it comes in handy the one i use is a 90wat out of an old hp, great for testing to see if things will power up.
 
Originally posted by BLsibub666
i say help your friend out a little and give him $5 for the psu, put a switch into it so you can jump the green with the black on the mobo power, and you can have an ok psu to test fans and other things on (it comes in handy the one i use is a 90wat out of an old hp, great for testing to see if things will power up.
Click to expand...

Good Idea (or if you get a TruePower you can use the 4 pin port in the back).

Cheers,
 
Originally posted by Eigtball
What is the model of the PSU. Check in the "PC Health" in the BIOS the different voltage rails. Check and see how "out" of spec. they are. As well it could be overworked. Especially if its just a generic (and I am guessing that it is).

What PSU do you have? If yours is better try it in his system first (if you don't mind). If the problem goes away its the power supply. With an error message like that I believe that its most likely the PSU.

Cheers,
Click to expand...

PC Health and *all* other software based voltage monitoring are notoriously inaccurate. Use a multimeter and measure it yourself if you want *real* readings.
 
Measuring voltages won't necessarily tell you if the power supply is overloaded, though. It is certainly sounding like a power supply issue, though. Have him get a name brand psu and he should be fine.
 
I beg to differ.

PSUs that are overloaded have issues keeping the various different voltages properly regulated. If the PSU isn't overloaded, it shouldn't have problems keeping in spec. Yes, if it's a crappy supply it won't be able to do that even under minimal load, but either way if it's out of spec as measured by a multimeter it is a good indication that something is wrong with the PSU, whether it be overloading or otherwise.
 
Yes, if voltages are off then that would indicate a problem(even if the problem is that it is a crappy psu). However, you cannot simply say that if the voltages are off then it is overloaded or if the voltages are not off then it is not overloaded.
 
What does overloaded mean?

If the PSU can keep the voltages regulated right up to its maximum rated output, then is it overloaded when it's running at that maximum rating?

If the voltage is not off, then it is not overloaded. If the voltage is off, it could be overloading or poor regulation, or something else.
 
thats what i thought too, if the voltages start to drop that means its bieng overloaded. when i plugged all his power stuff back in though it didnt give him any error msgs
 
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