thartmann85

ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+
Crucial Ballistix 2 GB DDR2
GeForce 7600 GT
Seagate 300 GB SATA Hard Drive
Windows XP sp2

I am having a somewhat odd problem that is difficult to diagnose because of its inconsistency. I bulit the computer and it worked without any problems for at least a month or two. After no apparent major changes, the computer occasionally started having problems booting up. It ALWAYS restarts fine, but it almost never starts (on the first try) when it has been shut down, especially if it has been off for a while. I turn it on, the power comes on and the fan is running, but that is as far as it gets - the screen remains black. I then manually reset the computer, at which point it either does the same thing, or gets a bit farther to the boot screen before loading windows. Sometimes it also freezes at this screen as well. I reset yet again, and it often loads up windows normally after that, or in much rarer cases, freezes at the windows loading screen. When I returned from Christmas vacation, it took a VERY long time to get it running - in that case, I would turn the computer on (light and fan on), no response, and upon resetting it, the computer would power down completely. Eventually, it reverted to the process described above. Might anyone have any thoughts? (Additionally, and this is likely unrelated, but also strange - the clock on my computer frequently sets itself 3 hours backwards at seemingly random intervals. I do not know why it does this).

Impact Green

hhmmm... i think you need a more powerful power supply, and your clock is controlled buy a watch battery located behind the heatsink that has the word asus on it, try replacing that battery, and getting a more powerful power supply, maybe a 750watt

thartmann85

Thank you very much for the prompt suggestion! I have a Thermaltake 430W Power Supply. I realize that this may seem somewhat low, but according to the research I had conducted prior to building it, none of the components that I purchased seemed to require very much power. Perhaps I underestimated the overall power consumption. I wonder if there is any way that I could determine how much power I am using? My only hesitation is that I am a graduate student with very little money :), so I would like to test the power supply somehow before replacing it. However, I plan on upgrading my video card eventually, and will therefore need to purchase a new power supply anyway - perhaps I may as well jump into it a bit early.

koala

To find your system's power requirements, enter your full specs into this power calculator and set Capacitor Aging to 25%. Click the Calculate button, then add 30% to the total to allow for PSU inefficiency.

EDIT: I entered your specs and added a couple of other things you didn't list, like a ROM drive, USB devices and fans, and the total plus 30% came to approx 520W. This is just a guideline. You'll get a more accurate figure with more detailed specs.

thartmann85

Thank you! I entered in exact specs and it was right around 430W, which is probably too close for comfort :). Final question then to finish off the thread. I am looking at a PC P&C Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V. Will this fit properly in my ATX Mid tower? Thanks much!

koala

Yes, that will be fine. If you added on the extra 30% to give a total of 430W and you want to save some money, you could go for a 550W.

Silverstone SST-ST56F 560W - $95
OCZ GameXStream 600W - $100 (after $10 rebate)
SeaSonic S12 550W - $120

If you didn't add on the 30%, then you'll need a 600-650W PSU.