Fans, CD drives cutting out. Power supply prob?

Mikeybob

I've been getting the odd problem since installing my new 64bit CPU. Every now and then my DVD and/or CD drives won't respond, sometimes they spin up but don't show up in My Computer. Recently I've been getting problems with my GFX card too. I have installed a Arctic Cooler on it and sometimes the fan cuts out. I wobble some wires and eventually it spins back up again, though I'm not sure if wobbling the wires did it. The only conclusion I can think of is that my power supply isn't strong enough for the bits and bobs in my PC.

I'm running an Asus A8V Deluxe mobo,
An AMD 64 3500
An Asus X800 XT PE gfx card.

I also have:
a floppy drive,
a DVD drive,
CD/RW,
3 hard drives (30GB, 40GB and 200GB)(all Maxtor),
and a TV tuner.

I think my power supply is a 350W or 450W.

Does anyone know what may be going on? Is it the power supply?

profdlp

I think your suspicions regarding the power supply are a good place to start. What Brand and Model# is your PSU? Are all the power connectors on the MB hooked up?

Mikeybob

Yeah, both connecters. The 20 pin and the 4 pin.

It's a Powerup LC-B350AtX. 350W, not 450.

I've had a look around and found some Hiper power supplies and some Seasonic power supplies that run at anything up to 600W. If the voltage is that huge will it damage anything on the PC?

PS. If that is the problem can you reccomend any PSUs?

tmh88

I would suggest either borrowing or buying a more powerful PSU. I had a 350 watt psu and I was having problems with my cd burner. Sometimes it wouldnt show up, othertimes it wouldnt even read discs. I borrowed my friends old 480 watt and tested it for a week and i never had a problem.

The first thing I'd do would be to replace those cables that you were talking about. I wouldn't rule that out. Also when buying a PSU, thats one of the things you dont want to go with a "no-name" brand because theyre cheaply put together and often have horrible soldering jobs along with bad internal parts.. Maybe its just me, but ive never heard of Hiper power supplies. I've had good luck with Antec, check those out.

Mikeybob

Hiper aren't cheap. They retail at around £64 ($113). They look fancy too

profdlp

Mikeybob wrote:

...It's a Powerup LC-B350AtX. 350W, not 450...

I found this info on your PSU -

PowerUp 350W power supply (LC-B350ATX)
Ratings from sticker:
3.3v = 28A
5.0v = 35A
12v = 16A
-5v = 0.3A
-12v = 0.8A
+5vsb = 2A
200W combined 5/3.3v max
192W 12v max
330W 3.3/5/12v max
total output 350W

Those Amperages are on the low end for a rig like yours.

I've had a look around and found some..that run at anything up to 600W. If the voltage is that huge will it damage anything on the PC?

Wattage is not the same as Voltage. That number shows what the PSU is capable of putting out if needed. Your system will only draw the power it needs; having more juice in reserve just provides a safety margin for sudden (temporary) spikes in current demand.

PS. If that is the problem can you recommend any PSUs?

I'm not enough of an expert in particular brands and models, but I'm sure someone who is will happen along to advise you.

EDIT: And while I was typing this out someone already has.

Mikeybob

Thanks guys . You've helped a lot. I really appreciate the research you've put in to help me. I'll note your advice on Antec too, though several independent reviewers have rated the Hiper highly. But then there are a lot of independent reviwers out there.

Thanks again guy

Mikeybob

i've reading a few reviews on some power supplies. The Hiper HPU-4K580-MK Type R scores highly but still has glitches here and there. The AntecAntec TruePower 2.0 550W EPS12V again seems to be popular and has a good reputation. A little less aesthetic than the hyper thought with Molex plugs everywhere. The third PSU I was looking at was a Seasonic S12 600w. Apart from the obivous huge power output it's SLI ready which is a good future proof feature. The price tag is a bit huge though but only a little bit more than the Antec.

One thing still boggles me though. On the benchmarks the voltage is often a little bit higher or a little bit lower than the +3.3V, +5V etc. Is it better to have a little bit higher or little bit lower?

Leonardo

The rule of thumb:

+/- 10% nominal currency is acceptable for ordinary operations
+/- 5% nominal is acceptable for overclocked systems

If the system is overclocked or under heavy usage, a slight overvoltage is better than under voltage. The most important voltages, the ones that must be closest to the nominal (stated, required) are the +12v and 3.3v

I would say though, that if the voltage fluctuates 10%, such as your 12v 'rail' dropping to 10.8v, you have a substandard power supply unit. My overclocked systems will not tolerate even a 5% undervoltage.

The biggest demands on a PC are normally going to be 12 volt, followed by 3.3 volt.

Mikeybob

My system is not over clocked, but in case of serious power munching in the future which would be the best buy? All three PSUs are roughly the same price (with the Hiper pricing about £20 cheaper).

[edit]

Has anyone heard of Enermax? I've seen some good PSUs on Overclockers.

tmh88

Mikeybob wrote:

Hiper aren't cheap. They retail at around £64 ($113). They look fancy too

sorry, i have just never heard of them so im assuming theyre not the greatest. But with a price tag of that they better be good.

Mikeybob

Yeah, a lot of people like them. According to reviews they seem to output higher than spec. Apparently they're designed that why. Anyway, some pople like them others don't, guess it's a Marmite situtation lol.

tmh88

Mikeybob wrote:

Yeah, a lot of people like them. According to reviews they seem to output higher than spec. Apparently they're designed that why. Anyway, some pople like them others don't, guess it's a Marmite situtation lol.

When you say they output higher than spec, do you mean they preform very well, or they literally perform higher than spec. For you dont want the 12 volt to be running at 13, or the core to be running at like 2 volts, because that would kill your parts. The closer the actual out put is to the deisred voltages, sorry i have no clue what you would call them, but the 12v, 5v, 3v, and core which is different for most pc's. but anyway you dont want the readings too far of those numbers or it means youl have alot of problems.

profdlp

I would guess that "output higher than spec" in this case refers to Amperage. If you look at the specs for his current PSU (see post #6) you'll notice that his "350W" PSU shows the following:

200W combined 5/3.3v max
192W 12v max
330W 3.3/5/12v max
total output 350W

The total output is determined by adding up the Amperage of all the various voltage rails. It is easy for a manufacturer to bump the Amps on one of the lower-voltage rails; not so easy for the 12V leg. When you find a PSU - regardless of its rating in Watts - which has a high Amperage output on both the 12V rail (important for your drives and video) and the 3.3V rail (crucial for CPU & RAM) you probably have a winner on your hands. Some PSU's even have two separately-powered 12V rails, meaning that you in effect have double the Amperage available at that voltage.

In the old days, some stereo companies used to cheat and measure the output of their amplifiers in POP (Peak Output Power). They'd measure the power surge at its peak level, then try to tell you that the thing actually was that powerful. A more accurate measure would be what the device can supply on a constant basis, leading to the adoption of the RMS (Root-Mean-Square) standard, which averages out the peaks and valleys to provide a truer picture of its capability.

tmh88

yea listen to prof, he knows way more about this stuff than i do.

profdlp

tmh88 wrote:

yea listen to prof, he knows way more about this stuff than i do.

Thanks.

I have a basic idea of the theory, but I'm not so hot on keeping up with current brands and models of individual PSU's.

Now, if I had some idea as to what to make of this mess...