every now and then my computer, which i just recently built with all brand new supplys (asus k8n mobo, amd athlon 64 3000+, western digital 80gb 7200 hard drive, aspire x-gear case with stock 350 watt ps). i am running 4 80mm fans a hard drive cooler fan two cdrw drives, and a floppy. my problem is that every now and then my computer just reboots (restarts) like i hit the reset button with no warning or anything, no shut down screen, nothing. what could be the cause of this? any help would be apreciated. it almost always sounds like, to me anyway, that the hard drive just stops, kinda like it winds down, clicks, and thats it. but it is also brand new, and i had this problem for a while, and this is the second hard drive ive tried with the same problem. please help.....
computer reboots sparatically
- Thread starter Phate321
- Start date
<<seS>>Saint
New Member
dave597 said:
Well yes but probably not... more often then not the rating isn't what it says it really is.
For example a 550w Powersupply actual out put is 480w or so.
Antec has come out with a power supply called Truepower and that is the most accurate PSU (that I know of) with the rating they give it.
<<seS>>Saint
New Member
Here are some PSU Faq's
THE Power Supply FAQ
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Most newcomers to the DIY PC world, often overlook one of the most important aspects of a stable system. The power supply never garners as much attention as it deserves. Afterall, a poor power supply can render some of your hadware useless, or destroy your machine as a whole. "How do I choose a power supply?", you say?
Most people go by the wattage rating that is advertised somewhere on the power supply itself. Thats all it is everybody, just a rating. Most of the power supplies on the market today are rated at their peak output, which means it puts out that much power when its begging for mercy....ready to take your rig with it. Wattage means absolutely nothing. Heck, a hair dryer puts out 1200W, do you think it could power your computer? Think of a cheap 600W amplifier, but put it up against a quality 400W and it gets killed. Quality is what we're after everybody.
Now that we know what wattage doesn't matter, so what really does matter? The amperage rating is the most important factor when choosing a power supply. Most modern Intel and AMD systems should have the +12V rail putting out 16a or more. If you look at the label on your power supply, you will see a chart showing the +12V, +5V, and +3.3V rails and how many amps each rail puts out. Many of the newer 6800 and X800 video cards run off of the +5V rail, and will need many amps to back it up. 30a on the +5V rail should be the minimum if you want to run the latest hardware, 40a preferably. The +3.3V rail supplies power to components such as your memory. +3.3V rail should be atleast 25a, 35a preferred though. Running your memory at 3.1V will eat up alot of juice, but think how much more you're using up when you add more modules. Most overclockers usually run atleast a 400W power supply. Once you start adding voltage to various components, its taking more juice to get it to run properly.
The more reputable brands out there are Fortron, Sparkle, Enermax, Enlight, Antec, PC Power and Cooling, and Thermaltake. The Fortron and Sparkle units are the most cost effective, in some cases costing half as much as their Antec counterparts. One of the best methods for determining a quality power supply....pick it up and see how heavy it is. The heaviier power supplies are generally built with more heatsinks and capacitors and such. The lightweight power supply is the one that can bring you down. The heavier it is, the better it is.
THE Power Supply FAQ
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most newcomers to the DIY PC world, often overlook one of the most important aspects of a stable system. The power supply never garners as much attention as it deserves. Afterall, a poor power supply can render some of your hadware useless, or destroy your machine as a whole. "How do I choose a power supply?", you say?
Most people go by the wattage rating that is advertised somewhere on the power supply itself. Thats all it is everybody, just a rating. Most of the power supplies on the market today are rated at their peak output, which means it puts out that much power when its begging for mercy....ready to take your rig with it. Wattage means absolutely nothing. Heck, a hair dryer puts out 1200W, do you think it could power your computer? Think of a cheap 600W amplifier, but put it up against a quality 400W and it gets killed. Quality is what we're after everybody.
Now that we know what wattage doesn't matter, so what really does matter? The amperage rating is the most important factor when choosing a power supply. Most modern Intel and AMD systems should have the +12V rail putting out 16a or more. If you look at the label on your power supply, you will see a chart showing the +12V, +5V, and +3.3V rails and how many amps each rail puts out. Many of the newer 6800 and X800 video cards run off of the +5V rail, and will need many amps to back it up. 30a on the +5V rail should be the minimum if you want to run the latest hardware, 40a preferably. The +3.3V rail supplies power to components such as your memory. +3.3V rail should be atleast 25a, 35a preferred though. Running your memory at 3.1V will eat up alot of juice, but think how much more you're using up when you add more modules. Most overclockers usually run atleast a 400W power supply. Once you start adding voltage to various components, its taking more juice to get it to run properly.
The more reputable brands out there are Fortron, Sparkle, Enermax, Enlight, Antec, PC Power and Cooling, and Thermaltake. The Fortron and Sparkle units are the most cost effective, in some cases costing half as much as their Antec counterparts. One of the best methods for determining a quality power supply....pick it up and see how heavy it is. The heaviier power supplies are generally built with more heatsinks and capacitors and such. The lightweight power supply is the one that can bring you down. The heavier it is, the better it is.
are the voltage lines stable? Temperatures being a problem?
wattage isnt all that important and provided you're not running a heavy video card (which you're not), 300w should be doable . A bit on the low end but doable. What you should be concerned about is voltage stability
The TruPower was excellent for the previous generation of PSUs but it doesnt quite match the current gen (which the Neo series should be). The OCZ PowerStreams are damn near the de-facto on line stability now
