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Opinions Please

KlutZ

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 25, 2003
Messages
303
I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this, but it would do my heart good to get ya'lls opinions before I spend money I don't have on a new PSU.
I started getting all kinds of errors awhile back in the event viewer. By all kinds of errors I mean that I would get errors involving memory, hard drives, optical drives, etc. The list goes on. They would be random and a different error every time. Windows also kept telling me that I had some bad device drivers and that I should update them. I would also get the occasional BSOD. You know, blue screen, memory dump, reset the system. You know what I'm talking about. This would happen when I went to start programs or try to read files on CD or whatever. Now I'm getting more and more frequent system lock-ups.
Anyways, I updated all drivers. Updated the BIOS. Checked the hard drives using the diagnostic floppy that you get from the manufacturer. Ran memtest for ten hours, with zero errors. Opened up my case and cleaned it out to make sure that it wasn't a heat issue. I do that often anyways. Reseated the RAM, video card, etc.
My final conclusion is the same as my first suspicion. Either my PSU is dieing or my motherboard is heading south. Unfortunately, I don't have another PSU that I can put in there to check it out, and I don't know anybody who has one I can borrow. If worse comes to worse, I have a very old 300w unit I can put in there as something temporary.

Thanks for reading this, all opinions are valued, and any suggestions welcomed.
 
well you seem to have ruled at the vast majority of other suspects
and poor power certainly fits the bill

a little more info on the config and what make and model of PSU might reveal more
(for instance an ATX12V v1.2 supply trying to power a more modern config with a different "typical" crossload)
 
Yea, I should have been more specific with my specs, but I was getting in a hurry. My system locked up twice while trying to post. I finally had to write everything in Word, so I could keep saving, and copy and pasted here. Shortly after I posted, the system would lock up before getting into windows. Then it started locking up before POST. It would just freeze detecting drives.
Anyways, it's most definately the PSU. I put my old, reliable 300w in here and, so far, everything is working fine. But, I don't want to push it. I'm using every plug on the PSU except one of the floppy connectors. Some of them twice, to power case fans.
So now I'm in the shopping phase of my investigation. I was thinking about getting this one:
Cooler Master Real Power
But, I haven't heard much of Cooler Master power supplies. The reviews look good though. You guys have any thoughts? My current specs are:
Abit NF7-S v2
2500+
512mb Corsair
XFX 6600GT
2 HDD (IDE)
2 Optical drives
Santa Cruz sound

I might add 2 SATA HDD and upgrade to 1gb of RAM before I retire this system as my main computer. I'll be biulding a completely new system in less than a year. After that this system will be downgraded to a kids computer. With that said, I need a power supply that would last the life of this computer (of course) without any further upgrade, other than what I said earlier.

Thanks again.
 
The real powers are good supplies. that one is an atx2.0 IIRC so it is a forwardish thinking one as well. The only issue will be if you have to use a 24 pin to 20pin adapter on that motherboard. The adapters in general add resistance.
 
Well, I'll definately need to use the adapter. If you think that could be an issue, then I need to look at something else.
 
KlutZ said:
Well, I'll definately need to use the adapter. If you think that could be an issue, then I need to look at something else.

Not much of one.
 
Correct. Just something to be aware of though. Some people don't like modular PSU's for the same reason. PC Power and Cooling for one.
 
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