Power Supplies

OUMike · July 30, 2006

okay...so I built my gf a computer recently. I used the exact same case I had, except a newer version. The case was supposed to come with a PowMax 400 w power supply, but instead only 350 .

Now when she burns she stutters and its actually rebooted on her. I have a 420 watter and no trouble. I wanna replace mine too because mine sounds like a hellicpoter taking off.

I'm looking for a fairly priced power supply that is QUIET. What do you guys use? I was thinking Antec, Ultra and Thermaltake. How many watts do you guys figure we need? The goon at Fry's said 450, but again my 420 is fine. We're both running AMD64 3200+ processsors. I'm running SATA (or will be soon), and we both have 16 meg video cards (mine is DDR).

I was thinking anything above 400 should be fine. What do you guys think?

Thanks

MCourson · August 4, 2006

In my personal machine I use this:

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=24480

In all new builds I use this:

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=22550

Buggle_96 · August 4, 2006

In my personal machine I use this:

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=24480

In all new builds I use this:

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=22550

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Agree 100%. Cant go wrong with Antec.

SoCalChris · August 4, 2006

Check the reviews at NewEgg.com, and disregard anything that a Fry's employee has told you.

OUMike · August 4, 2006

Thanks fellas, I was thinkin' Antec myself.

sincityZ71 · August 5, 2006

http://www.gepower.com/prod_serv/products/...ge/ms7001ea.htm

I would suggest a GE Frame 7EA combustion turbine...puts out a nice 85 Megawatts. That should keep things running nicely...you can even get noise dampers for it...

OUMike · August 5, 2006

http://www.gepower.com/prod_serv/products/...ge/ms7001ea.htm

I would suggest a GE Frame 7EA combustion turbine...puts out a nice 85 Megawatts. That should keep things running nicely...you can even get noise dampers for it...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

haha 115k hp? I'll put that in the Silverado.

Kalgorn · August 5, 2006

I put in a 400W Rosewill PSU when I built my rig a few months ago. I don't understand why your girlfriend's PC is struggling with 350W. It makes no sense. How many harddrives and opticals drives is she running in it? I'm running a Athlon 64 3500+, a DFI motherboard, a fairly high-power HIS Radeon X800GTO video card, a DVD burner, and a 250GB SATA Barracuda. Her rig should have no problem with 350W.

Perhaps it's the burner? Or the software? Check for viruses or spyware, even if it was just built. Could be the harddrive too.

Was everything new when you built it or did you use some stuff you had lying around?

clm7214 · August 7, 2006

I put in a 400W Rosewill PSU when I built my rig a few months ago. I don't understand why your girlfriend's PC is struggling with 350W. It makes no sense. How many harddrives and opticals drives is she running in it? I'm running a Athlon 64 3500+, a DFI motherboard, a fairly high-power HIS Radeon X800GTO video card, a DVD burner, and a 250GB SATA Barracuda. Her rig should have no problem with 350W.

Perhaps it's the burner? Or the software? Check for viruses or spyware, even if it was just built. Could be the harddrive too.

Was everything new when you built it or did you use some stuff you had lying around?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thats what i was thinking. It should be fine with 350W. I have an Antec 420 in mine and its fine. Im running a P4 at 4.5Ghz, 2G OCZ RAM, 955x gigabyte royal MoBo, 2 SATA Hard Drives, 2 SATA Plextor drives, and an overclocked RadeonX850XT.

I think your power supply is the last thing you should be troubleshooting.

OUMike · August 7, 2006

I put in a 400W Rosewill PSU when I built my rig a few months ago. I don't understand why your girlfriend's PC is struggling with 350W. It makes no sense. How many harddrives and opticals drives is she running in it? I'm running a Athlon 64 3500+, a DFI motherboard, a fairly high-power HIS Radeon X800GTO video card, a DVD burner, and a 250GB SATA Barracuda. Her rig should have no problem with 350W.

Perhaps it's the burner? Or the software? Check for viruses or spyware, even if it was just built. Could be the harddrive too.

Was everything new when you built it or did you use some stuff you had lying around?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Everything in the box was brand new. The computer runs no trouble at all 99% of the time. The only time she says it lags is when its burning a DVD. She said it restarted her computer.

Western Digital 160 gig IDE hard drive

NEC DVD Burner

ABIT ULi Motherboard (same as me...it rocks)

granted...this comptuer only has 512mb of RAM. The more I think about it. This is probably whats causing her lag. I have a gig in mine and it doesn't break a sweat when burning, listening to music and sifting through the forum.

6Burgh · August 7, 2006

If she is running XP go into control panel click system and click on the "Advanced" tab. Click "Settings" under Startup and Recovery. Uncheck the box beside Automatically Restart.

OUMike · August 8, 2006

So you guys think the lack of RAM was the cause of her lag? I havn't personally been at the computer while its doing this, its just from what she tells me.

In order for the system to reboot like she says it did, it woulda had to had a critical error. The computer is 100% stable to my knowledge. I'm gonna investigate the matter further. I don't want her to spend money on a power supply. I'm gonna mainly cause mine sounds like a helicopter. You TruePower guys....is it quiet?? My SmartPower Ihad a while back was really quiet.

Kalgorn · August 8, 2006

I really doubt the RAM is her issue with the crashing. 512mb is more than enough to run XP and burn something, as long as she isn't running 3 instances of IE, listening to music, and playing a game at the same time.

The only way I see the RAM being an issue is if it's bad. Is it 1 or 2 sticks? If it's two, try pulling one and then burning. If it still crashes, try pulling the other instead. Still crashing, you've ruled out the RAM (since it's unlikely that both sticks are bad).

Have you tried running anti-virus software and anti-spyware software? That could be one of the issues.

I just have my doubts about the PSU. 350W should definately be enough.

OUMike · August 15, 2006

I really doubt the RAM is her issue with the crashing. 512mb is more than enough to run XP and burn something, as long as she isn't running 3 instances of IE, listening to music, and playing a game at the same time.

The only way I see the RAM being an issue is if it's bad. Is it 1 or 2 sticks? If it's two, try pulling one and then burning. If it still crashes, try pulling the other instead. Still crashing, you've ruled out the RAM (since it's unlikely that both sticks are bad).

Have you tried running anti-virus software and anti-spyware software? That could be one of the issues.

I just have my doubts about the PSU. 350W should definately be enough.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yea, I know the RAM is ok. It's the RAM I used to use in my machine. It's two 128 meg sticks. She said the only time it restarted on her was when she was ripping a DVD, talking to me (via IM) and surfing. Her claims of bogging I think are normal. I'm on it now, and it seems good. I'm just gonna ride it out. The computer is stable.