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*URGENT* My computer died on me! Help ASAP!

post #1 of 14
9/11/05 at 9:50am
Thread Starter 
Hey all,

I am not new to this forum, used to be a regular, jost "joining" back in. I am in need of URGET help on my desktop, it has following specs

Gigabyte 81K1100 MB
Geil 512mb Ram
ATi Radeon 9600 Pro
Sound Blaster 2 Creative Audigy ZS Platinum
Dual 80 Gig Hard Drives (One is Hitachi Desktar, one is WD Caviar - both are 7200 RPM)

Cheap 400 watt PS that came with the case

I have had this computer for oever 2 years or so now, and everything always worked fine. The PS never seemed to overload because I NEVER got any random restarts etc during the middle of a game. Now, I wake up this morning and this:

I come downstairs, and I see my PC off, weird because I left it on. I turn it on, and it dies within 5 seconds, I press the "on" button again, and it dies within 1 second, again, and it dies withn 11 seconds. Again, and within 2 seconds. You get the idea.

Also, doesn't matter how long hte computer was on, it never showed anything up on my monitor about what was happening or what the PC was doing. My monitor had the orange indicator - meaning it had no signal coming through DVI even though the PC was "working".

I then thought maybe hte PS was overloaded, I unplugged power to everyting except CD drive, my boot hard drive, my graphics card, and motheboard. Still, same problems occured - and I don't think it was the PS because I have always had the same components for 2 yrs, and it never did ANYTHING like this to me before!


I am in need of urgent help - I need to know what to replace/test/fix in order to get it back up working! Please, help me ASAP everyone!
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post #2 of 14
9/11/05 at 10:02am
Sounds like to me your power supply crapped out.
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post #3 of 14
9/11/05 at 10:46am
Thread Starter 
Could it also be my MB?
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post #4 of 14
9/11/05 at 11:41am
Thread Starter 
Well..after extensive testing - I believe it is my PS.

Are there any good recommendations of a good solid PS from u guys? Also, is there a way to "Test" (for free) my PS to see its rating?
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post #5 of 14
9/11/05 at 3:35pm
I'll just repost what I said in another PSU thread yesterday:

The best place to get information about PSU's for a high-end system is HardOCPs PSU Forum:

HardOCP's Power Supplies for Today's & Tomorrow's Computers:

The best quality PSU below the PCP&C, with high amps per line, tight regulation, and high efficiency at room temperature is the OCZ PowerStream 520W.

Here is a link to it at NewEgg:
NewEgg OCZ OCZ520ADJ ATX 520W Power Supply


If you are not going to have an SLI system, I highly recommend the Fortron BlueStorm 500W. I cannot say enough good things about this PSU. It is a fully compliant ATX 2.0, with dual rails, low dB noise, high amps per 12v1 & 12v2 lines (15amps), very high efficiency (~80%), high regulation (+/- 4% under load), sleeved cables, and runs for ~$91.00 at NewEgg:

FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX500-A ATX12V 500W

BTW, before you start thinking that you have to have a 500W PSU just because the MB is going to be SLI-capable, I would suggest calculating exactly how much power you really need first, adding up the CPU, video card, Optical drives, hard drives, case fans, sound cards, etc, using this:

takaman's Power Supply Calculator
HOW TO BUY A PSU (or how to determine if your old one is up to it)

If you have any questions, ask away! g/l!
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post #6 of 14
9/11/05 at 5:08pm
ha ha, when I saw you had the deathstar drive I thought for sure this would be a hard drive problem thread..
No matter what I'd get rid of the cheapo PS, I don't know why they even bother including those with cases.
BTW, I have a 550W PS from MadDog, but it's actually made by CoolerMaster. It's worked peachy for about 6 months now. Just make sure you get a good brand and one with the cables you can plug in and unplug. Those are much better because they're rounded and you only need to plug in the ones you're actually using.
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post #7 of 14
9/11/05 at 5:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dman22
ha ha, when I saw you had the deathstar drive I thought for sure this would be a hard drive problem thread..
No matter what I'd get rid of the cheapo PS, I don't know why they even bother including those with cases.
BTW, I have a 550W PS from MadDog, but it's actually made by CoolerMaster. It's worked peachy for about 6 months now. Just make sure you get a good brand and one with the cables you can plug in and unplug. Those are much better because they're rounded and you only need to plug in the ones you're actually using.
All PSU cables are "round". If you mean sleeved and modular, then yes sleeved and modular cables are nice. However a PSU with sleeved & modular cables is not what makes a good PSU. A good example of this is the Ultra X-Connect 500W. Looks good, but extremely bad PSU. Out of spec rails, low efficiency, bad components, high failure rate, etc.

There are a few really good PSU manufacturers, but you have to do alot of work to know who they are & why they are good. Or you can just ask me instead.
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post #8 of 14
9/11/05 at 11:16pm
Thread Starter 
Well, thanks for all the help guys! This forum is and always has been very helpful!

I have decided to go with the OCZ 520 Watt.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...104-152&depa=0

I like it very much, can't wait to get it!
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post #9 of 14
9/12/05 at 3:07am
Its a great PSU.
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post #10 of 14
9/12/05 at 4:49am
I can't see spending that much money. I have a 300 watt cheapo nSpire I bought 5 years ago for around $25 and it is still going strong. My PC is maxed out on the PCI and memory slots. I got a TV tuner, modem, all the works. As a matter of fact that one looks just like my nSpire I bought for $25. BTW, you will still need to take it apart every once in a while to get the dust out or it will fail from overheating.
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post #11 of 14
9/12/05 at 5:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mobile_Hackbox
I can't see spending that much money. I have a 300 watt cheapo nSpire I bought 5 years ago for around $25 and it is still going strong. My PC is maxed out on the PCI and memory slots. I got a TV tuner, modem, all the works. As a matter of fact that one looks just like my nSpire I bought for $25. BTW, you will still need to take it apart every once in a while to get the dust out or it will fail from overheating.
I used to think the same way, until I started making money from building computers. Then I started to see all of the problems that were caused by over/undervoltage, capacitors blowing, unexplained shutdowns, restarts, performance loss, and fires (true). Once I got into my head that since I'm willing to pay $600.00 for a video card, I'd better be willing to pay good money for a PSU that is giving my $600 video card its electricity (in addition to my $800 Dual-Core CPU, $150 motherboard, $200 soundcard, $400 in hard drives, etc).

I highly suggest you do not take apart their PSU. Even unplugged, a PSUs capacitors retain charges much longer than capacitors on motherboards, for example. At the very least, it will void any and all warranties. It you want to keep a clean PSU, the two best things to do are to use compressed air canisters (while outside), and use fan filters for the intake fans in your case.

This is the investment someone should make when building a $2,500 computer.

For someone on the cheap, there are still some very good PSU's ~$50.00.
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post #12 of 14
9/13/05 at 12:32am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Karma
I'd better be willing to pay good money for a PSU that is giving my $600 video card its electricity (in addition to my $800 Dual-Core CPU, $150 motherboard, $200 soundcard, $400 in hard drives, etc).


This is the investment someone should make when building a $2,500 computer.

Agreed!

I wil tell u if everything works fine when I get the PSU on Thurs/Friday!
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post #13 of 14
9/13/05 at 8:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Karma
It you want to keep a clean PSU, the two best things to do are to use compressed air canisters (while outside), and use fan filters for the intake fans in your case.
Another good tip is to make sure you have a front fan(s). Many people don't use one, but put 1 or two in the back (in addition to the PS fan sucking air out). The pressure difference causes dust to be sucked in every crevice in the PC (Optical drives and floppy drive areas are popular for collecting the foreign debris Most PCs with equal CFM in and out (or more in than out) remain extremely clean on the inside, especially when utilizing a filter on the intake fans like Karma suggested.
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post #14 of 14
9/13/05 at 8:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by twinturbovenom
Could it also be my MB?

It could be (the MB voltage regulator circuit in particular), but the PS is more likely/common. This is especially true when using cheapies.
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