Start up problem

T

trents

Geek Trainee
Lately I've had this intermittent problem when attempting to start up the computer once it's been turned off. It doesn't happen ever when restarting (warm reboot) but only when starting up from scratch. When I hit the power switch the computer begins to power up and after about 2 seconds it shuts down, though the front panel LED remains lit. I have to turn off the PS switch (the one on the back of the PS) before I attemp to power up the board again or nothing happens. I thought it was a problem with the front panel power switch going bad so I replaced it but that wasn't the problem. Here's some info about my system: APEVIA ATX-CW500WP4 ATX 500W Power Supply, MSI K8N Neo 4 motherboard with socket 939 Athlon 64 3400+, 1 GB (2 x 512) Muskin DDR 400 gaming ram, 1x250 gb SATA2 HD, Nvidia 6600 GT 128 mb PCIE. The system is overclocked to 2.61 ghz (10.5 x 249) but runs cool (40 C. idle and 54 C. under load) and stable. Bios voltage setting for CPU, ram, and northbridge have been modestly increased to allow for overclocking but PCI divider and Hypertransport settings are at default. I can run Prime95 for hours with no errors.

Does this sound like a PS problem or a mother board issue or something else? I'm thinking it might have something to do with the ATX power up scheme, you know, where it starts with a momentary pulse but shuts off after holding the switch in for 10 seconds. Is some switching mechanism in the PS or motherboard weak or hanging up?

What do you think?
 
Well, given that Apevia is one of the worst PSU brands, it's highly likely. You might try running things at stock, but even then, given the poor quality and liberal tolerance in rail fluctuations, I'd be uncomfortable telling you to keep that PSU.

But, yeah, outside the Apevia issue, definitely.

Do yourself a favor and get yourself a Corsair 520HX, FSP/Fortron 600W, or an OCZ GameXStreme 600W. They're around $110-130 online. Not cheap, but with power supplies you get what you pay for.
 
Well, maybe Apevia doesn't have a good rep in some circles but the unit I bought from New Egg got good ratings by other purchasers and there were a lot of reviews to go by. Now of course, that doesn't necessarily mean anything and you can get a bad unit no matter how much you spend on it.

Steve
 
Well, unfortunately, power supplies can't be properly reviewed by simply plugging them in and not having them blow up. No power supply would get UL approval if they did that. However, if a power supply says 500W, it's supposed to provide that. Most people don't have a programmable load tester on hand to hook up a power supply to, which would allow them to see if the power supply could provide it's output. What many people do is the same as turning on a car, and if it starts there's no problem. If that's true, then my driver's side window motor should still work, but it doesn't. Point being that just because it doesn't show a problem immediately in no way means it's a good part.

Apevia is a problematic brand for a few reasons.

1.)Poor design. It's cheap, poorly constructed, and uses it's looks as it's selling point--although I can't really fault them on the last one, save for the garish color schemes used.
2.)Regulation +/- 10%. Power supplies are given 5% leeway in either direction for fluctuation. Apevia allows for 10%. With that wide of berth, you run a very real risk of the unit failing to provide adequate voltage to your components. If components fail to recieve a certain voltage level, they will fail to work or work improperly. Also, this may affect boot up attempts, as that's one point where the unit is stressed often. Another situation is during gaming, overclocking, simulation, etc. where more power is requested.
3.)Temperatures. Good power supplies tend to have their ratings based at up to 50*C. Apevia uses an unrealistic 25*C. Once the said temperature is exceeded, the power supply's output starts to drop. The problem with 25*C is that power supplies run in the 30-35*C range, sometimes up to 40*C.

Effectively, you're getting a 300W power supply that's arguably junk to start with marketed as a 500W unit.
 
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