• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

PS problem?

Smudge

n00b
Joined
Oct 1, 2005
Messages
8
For the last year or so my PC has been completely stable. Then (apparently) out of nowhere, it refused to startup. It seems to stop/freeze either before or right during POST, I think it's when the CPU is being recognized, then the monitor loses signal. I tried all the normal culprits (BIOS, drivers, v-card) and nothing. I had a breakthough when after unplugging a USB scanner it started working fine and consistently again. I can recreate the problem every time by simply plugging in the scanner. Since the scanner is powered through the USB connection, I'm thinking this may be a PSU problem, but I'm also considering the motherboard/CPU itself.

Looking for advice on whether this sounds like the PSU or not? I know given the power supply that most here will say to replace it whether it's causing the problem or not, but I'd like to know the likelihood that this is the cuplrit first. Thanks!

AMD 2100+
Gigabyte 7-VAX motherboard
DVD RW
DVD ROM
Card Reader
Floppy
Fan Controller
USB Printer
USB Scanner
Network Card
NVidia GeForce 3ti
Generic 350watt PSU
 
So you're saying that it sounds to you like it's likely to be the PS then?

Hadn't seen the SuperFlower talked about much here. I'll check it out.
 
Oh, and I looked and the PS currently in it is a PowerUp 350 watt. If it actually is the culprit it has lasted for around 3 years.
 
Smudge said:
So you're saying that it sounds to you like it's likely to be the PS then?

No. But you're posting in the Power Supply forums with what you think may be a power supply problem.

In reality, the problem could be motherboard, CPU, RAM..... Anything, at least until you actually do some troubleshooting.

But if you do find that the problem is the power supply, that Superflower would be a good replacement considering your build.
 
Understood...so getting back to PS then, I'm coming to grips with the possibility that to be completely confident the problem is gone I might just upgrade the PS, motherboard and the cpu. Would you say the above mentioned PS is still OK for an Athon 64 2800+?

Also, how quiet is this PS?
 
No. I wouldn't say that.

The PSU was suggested because it had a high 5V. You would want that for a Socket A board like yours that regulates the CPU voltage off of the 5V rail. An Athlon64 would regulate CPU voltage off of the 12V rail. So the power requirements are completely different.
 
So what kind of numbers should I be looking for on the 12V for an Atholon64 2800+? All the voltage figures with power supplies tend to get me confused easily.

Other things that are important for me in a PS are definitely quiet and if possible modular.

And thanks guys for the suggestions so far.
 
Smudge said:
So what kind of numbers should I be looking for on the 12V for an Atholon64 2800+? All the voltage figures with power supplies tend to get me confused easily.

Other things that are important for me in a PS are definitely quiet and if possible modular.

And thanks guys for the suggestions so far.
+12V@26A & +123V@34A for SLI.

That $30 PSU is for OLD computers, consider the $52 XCilo 450W as the min for a MODERN PC.

Cheap, but Good PSU's: http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1027898523&postcount=7
 
The XClio is very possibly what I will get, but this OCZ Modstream 450 keeps tugging at my purse-strings. It seems that this would satisfy all the requirements, but just to be sure, would this work for the system?
 
Smudge said:
The XClio is very possibly what I will get, but this OCZ Modstream 450 keeps tugging at my purse-strings. It seems that this would satisfy all the requirements, but just to be sure, would this work for the system?
Having only a single +12V rail it would be much better for your older system than the XCilo with dual 12V rails.
The ModStream 450W also has +12V@26A which is enough for most any non-SLI modern system, too!

Good Call! :D
 
Back
Top