Possible 12v rail issue ? - input/suggestions required.

orpheusorpheus
edited September 2004 in Hardware
Hi there im quite new to this site (in fact this is my first post :) ). My Googling for similar issues has led me here, as i have seen quite a few posts that have been answered by what appears to be some intelligent individuals.

Anyway, let me cut to the chase...first my system specs:

Gigabyte GA7N400 Pro 2 Motherboard
AMD Athlon XP2500@3200 w/SLK900 Heatsink w/92mm Fan
1Gb Geil DDR 400 Dual Channel Ram @ 11-3-3-2.5
Powercolor Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB
Thermaltake 480W Butterfly PSU
Liteon 4x DVD-RW
1 x 80GB IDE Seagate Barracuda V HDD
1 x 60GB IDE Seagate Barracuda V HDD
1 x 200GB SATA Seagate Barracuda V HDD
4 x case fans (2 powered from Motherboard, 2 powerd by molex connectors)

My problem is that I am getting intermittent screen corruption, while either playing games or in Windows. Unfortunately I am unable to provide a screenshot, but if you could imagaine thousands of vertical/horizontal lines all over the screen, then thats what im seeing.

A ot of the google results i have seen make it appear to be a 12v rail issue, which i have checked in MBM5 and mine is currently hovering around the 11.3-11.5. I have seen it drop as low as 10.8 - 10.9.

This problem first occurred a few months ago, but after sending the PSU away for testing, it came back with a clean bill of health. Once i put the PSU back in the PC, it was fine until last week. This was however the same time i put in the 200Gb SATA Hard Disk.

The following are the things i have tried to stabilise what i beleive is a power related issue:

- The 9800 Pro is now running on its own molex cable, not sharing any other devices

- all power connections have been re-seated and cleaned (just in case)

- 2 Drives and Cold Cathode have been unplugged (problem still occurred after this, so i plugged them back in)

- Motheboard Monitor 5 is running all the time to monitor the voltages, and as i type this the 12v rail has never gone above 11.5, and never as low as 11.37, with an avergae of 11.43.

If anybody here has any ideas what my problem could be or any further suggestion of testing to eliminate anything else, your input would be much appreciated :)

Im sorry if i have left out any other Info, and will gladly supply upon request.

Regards

orpheus.

Comments

  • orpheusorpheus
    edited September 2004
    In addition to above, here is the high/low info from within MBM 5 (if it helps at all)

    untitled.JPG
  • ketoketo Occupied. Or is it preoccupied? Icrontian
    edited September 2004
    5v rail looks to be the culprit, if that is an accurate reading. 4.08 is WAYYYY low, many of your components run on that rail. And, as you may have surmised, your 12v is marginal at best. My opinion (and wait for a couple more) is that you definitely are in the market for a better PSU.

    Good luck sussing it out.
  • JChretienJChretien Vancouver, BC, Canada
    edited September 2004
    Wow what a crappy Tt psu.. go get an Antec.... or PC Power and COoling, if you have the money =D PCPaC psus are like... 200$ usd each -_-
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited September 2004
    My opinion (and wait for a couple more) is that you definitely are in the market for a better PSU.
    My opinion too. It's time to relegate your current PSU as a standalone fan tester.
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited September 2004
    Yeah, I'd say your voltages look pretty damn low too. Another way that you can check your actual voltages from the psu is to physically check them with a multimeter while the machine is running and loaded to see what the psu is actually putting out to the board and drives. If you don't have a multimeter, you can get one for fairly cheap ($20 or so) and you can check both the molex connectors for 12v and 5v and also check what's going to the ATX connector by sticking the back side of the plug and check the volts going to it on each individual wire. This way, you have an independent confirmation that the rails actually low and the problem isn't being caused by the motherboard or the ATX connector.

    It sounds to me like whoever checked the psu out didn't actually check it with it loaded heavily, just with a fairly light load like one of those psu checkers that Antec makes.
  • orpheusorpheus
    edited September 2004
    thanks everybody for the input, i will start looking for a decent Antec, as by the sounds of it they cant go wrong with PSU's :)
  • orpheusorpheus
    edited September 2004
    a little update:

    Ive been stable now for over 2 weeks, and all i have done is tidyed up a few wires and removed the DVD-RW from the same molex line as the radeon was on. The 12v is reporting a stable 11.4 - 11.5, and the 5v hasnt changed.

    Im yet to test a new PSU on this
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited September 2004
    orpheus wrote:
    a little update:

    Ive been stable now for over 2 weeks, and all i have done is tidyed up a few wires and removed the DVD-RW from the same molex line as the radeon was on. The 12v is reporting a stable 11.4 - 11.5, and the 5v hasnt changed.

    Im yet to test a new PSU on this
    your PSUs lifespan cant be too much longer if its running with rails that low. It looks like your PSU is getting its ass kicked, and while your system may be stable you may want a better psu anyway
Sign In or Register to comment.