Power Supply Low? etc....

S

stevieg

Geek Trainee
just upgraded to an AMD 2000+ Asus A7V333 Mobo and a chaintech MX440 64Mb Gforce4. I am running Windows XP
I was having problems with the comp just suddenly rebooting especially when I booted Warcraft 3. It might be (tough to ascertain) when a lot is going on in the program. Called Micropro (where I ordered everything) they said to upgrade the bios. Did that and it seems like things might be a litttle better... but at ASUS they said this shouldn't be a problem and they said it was probably b/c I was told I only needed a 300W power supply. They said the Mobo takes ~100W, processor ~100W, and the video ~100W... does anyone think they are on about this, or maybe they are off? Should I have gotten a 350 or a 400?

The other thing is that my processor seems to get a little high temp wise. IT seems to idle around 59-60oC and can get up to ~65 during gaming. One time, after playing W3, I noticed it was up to high 70's C though... suggestions on why?

Do I have a fan issue that might be affecting the temperature? I have a front fan that revs about 2200 RPM and my processor fan goes ~4500 RPM. I don't have a second fan blowing air out of my case.... My case is actually designed such that when you put it all back together, there is basically all plastic overlying the front intake fan. It seems to me this is limiting the air circulation for obvious reasons. I'm thinking about drilling a bunch of holes in the front panel of the case to allow air to flow in. Although, even when i have the case completely off, my CPU tends to get up around 65C when gaming. Is this ok? I know AMD processors are ok up to 90C, but could this be what is causing my reboot issue?

Could my reboot issue be a software problem? XP? Else?

It was suggested by micropro that the Vcore should be <1.7... mine lingers ~1.78.

So the issues are 1) Rebooting phenomenon (why? how to alleviate)
2) Processor Temperature (should this be lower?)

Any thoughts on what might be going on would be helpful. thanks.

Steve
 
The CPU temp is getting a bit high, which could be something like an improperly mounted cooler, or using one that just isn't efficient enough. I don't know how many drives you have in there, but if you have over 2, that 300W might be a concern.
What cooler are you using?
What else do ya have in the system?

Check in BIOS and check your manual to see how to adjust the Vcore, as you should be able to do it manually. Also, be aware of jumper settings, as Asus tends to use both.
 
I have 2 hard drives, a CD Rom, and a CD Rw, and a floppy. The fan is a coolermaster DP5-6I31C. That's what was sent w/ the combo from Microtech.

It seems like a lot of people are suggesting it's my powersupply. Not necessarily just that it is too low wattage, but also that maybe I need a better company. It is an AGI powersupply ? I've heard Antec is the way to go. I think i'll get a 400W and be done w/ that issue. I'll try buying and maybe returning if it doesn't solve.

This still shouldn't resolve my temperature issue. It's so wierd though b/c right now it is idling around 45 C ? ? ? the case is completely off, so it is pretty much infinate "fan" supply since cool air is constatnly there, but i've pushed 65 even with the case on. I've been at 65 lots though w/o it rebooting so I think this may be 2 separate issues...

The other wierd symptom is this. Sometimes when i load XP it sits at the login screen and I can't type or move the mouse. But- after a while, the screen saver comes on which seems to say that it isn't frozen, just the Mouse/Kb are offline... Does that confirm the power issue?

Thanks a ton!

Steve
 
If that CPU is hitting 70*C under load, you really should look at a better cooling solution. The old Thuderbird cores can take the high temperatures, but the new Palimino cores---like those powering your XP2000+---are not as forgiving. I checked out that cooler, and it's only rated for up to an XP1900+. If I were you, I'd seriously consider purchasing a different cooler, preferrably one with a copper base as these transfer heat much better than aluminum.

But, based on how much you have in there, a better power supply would be a good idea. Antec or Sparkle are what I recommend and happen to use a 350W PSU from both companies.
 
Well, I bit the bullet and went out and bought an Antec 350 power supply (SL350) whcih is supposed to be good. Thoguth everyhting was going well, in fact my temp seems to be down (could be unrelated?) b/c after gaming for 1.5-2 hours, it was still ~50 C. Thought everyhting was good, and then BAM in the middle of a game- reboot. I am so frustrated and out of ideas. I could buy a 400 powersupply, but is that really the issue- 350 from Antec should be enough!.

Then I tried replaying soem of the games we played and it kept crashing as I was wathcing the replays saying "The application has encountered a critical error: FATAL ERROR! Program .... war3.exe ...Exception: 0xC000... (ACCESS_VIOLATION) at 001B:150205F0 The instruction at '0x15025f0' referenced memory at '0x...' The memory could not be 'read' Press OK to terminate the application."

So what is that! ? ! I bought my memory from Best Buy. PNY Optima 2100 256MB 2 sticks (it says it is registered memory). Could that be a problem?

I am really struggling to figure out what to do with it from here... What I'm thinking now, unless someone else has other suggestions. Send back Mobo/Proc/vid card/Power supply (300W they sent me)/memory (OCZ 2700 256) then sent me and have them resend me Mobo/Proc/Vid Card. Someone also informed me thy have too small of a fan on the heat sink. So that might acocunt for some of the Proc overheat, but it's not doing that anymore, but if I reorder, I would like to get the right one.

A final wierd symptom (maybe completely unrelated) I did the recent Win XP service pack upgrade... did the IE upgrade.... another symptom is that my IE keeps critical crashing. In fact, I've had to retype this letter 4 times! any thoughts on this one? unrelated?

Any other suggestions?

Thanks a ton!

Steve
 
WEll, i'm still getting reboots... again, seems like in warcraft... not always when I play, but frequently. Lots of times i can get through several games w/ no problem... then all of a sudden, in the middle of one game, bam- reboot. I just had the mouse and keyboard symptom again... i.e. load windows and at the login screen, can't move mouse or type on keyboard... It's not locking up b/c it will eventually run the screen saver, but you can't get keyboard/mouse. Although this seems to be happening very infrequently. Maybe I'll try a 400W or 430W? Either way, I think I'm going to send back the mobo/proc/video and get new ones.

I am having that symptom too, explorer as well as infrequently word/excel, are all of a sudden getting "critical errors..." etc. and for the program to end. I did just do the XP service pack and explorer service pack, so it might be MS related?

Any more thoughts would be appreciated. Do you guys still think it's the power supply (causing reboots)? 55 C doesn't seem too high to me, but maybe it's a bad chip or mobo?

Is PNY memory Ok? THat's what they sell at best buy here in town. IT was PNY optima. It said CMTL (or something?) certified, meaning they tested it or something...? Could it be bad memory?

Steve
 
In my experience, PNY memory is overpriced and not that great. If you are running it at any timing faster than the defaults----which are typically the lowest ones---then the stuff tends to barf on you. I had one stick that wouldn't even work---it would be as if the stick wasn't even there---if I upped the CAS from 3 to 2. PNY memory is bascially crap from my exprience, so suggest getting a refund if you can and purchasing something else.

I would try to replace one part at a time.

65*C may be fine, but I think that's too high. If it's dropped to about 55*C, then that's safe----if that's where it's peaking at.

That power supply you have now is fine, so I'd start looking at other hardware. Memory---get a different brand, like Crucial or Samsung.
CPU---I suggest getting a different cooler, preferrably one with a copper base.

Basically, what I'm trying to do here is eliminate possible culprits, which has been done with the Power supply. If you really want to you can get something more powerful, but that doesn't seem like the issue here.

I think it's either cooling, memory or the motherboard.
 
It does sound like a memory issue although it could be a combination of that and a bad install of XP.

If you can I'd try and get a refund on the ram and try picking up a stick or two of Crucial, Samsung or Corsair memory and see if that helps to solve the blue screens.

To lower your temps you might want to try adding a HD cooler, adding another case fan or two or maybe upgrading the CPU fan/heatsink to something like a Volcano 7+ or Delta.
 
The Delta fans do cool well, however they are very loud---keep that in mind. Alternatively, and something I've been thinking about myself, is getting a 60mm to 80mm fan adapter and using an 80mm fan. You get better airflow without increasing the fan noise. Also, using a paste like Arctic Silver II or 3 will be good (NOTE: Make sure to apply this stuff ONLY to the CPU core as it does have silver which does conduct electricity and can cause a short on the CPU).
 
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