FSP ATX250 PSU won't turn on my pc

rshiggs · 08-07-2007, 07:33 PM

Hello all,

I am running into an odd problem. I have an older Athlon XP barton core based computer that I am trying to get running again. I am using an Asus A7V8X_MX motherboard, which only has a 20 pin ATX connector. I am trying to run it with a brand new FSP (Fortron Group) 250 watt atx power supply, that has a 20+4 pin connector. Since my motherboard only has a 20 pin, I leave the 4 pin part at the top of the case. The motherboard does not have a 4 pin 12V adaptor on it for powering the cpu, but the power supply does. When I hook everything up with my psu, and hit the power button - nothing happens.

Now the weird part is that I tried hooking up my PSU from my other computer, an Ultra XVS 600 watt, the computer works fine. That has the 20+4 pin connectors, along with the 4 pin 12V connectors as well.

Now, the FSP psu works fine, because I pulled it from a working Acer pc that was just unboxed a week ago. I tried it again, and the psu still powers the Acer pc, but not my home built older Athlon XP computer. Is it a problem with the power supply?

**Doby** · 08-07-2007, 07:56 PM

Most likely not a problem with the psu but your athlon system needs more power than the 250w can deliver.

Typically a athlon system needs at least 18amps on the 12V rail and this really depends on what else is in the system, info on watts is on the side of the psu.

My bet is the 250w is to small

rshiggs · 08-07-2007, 08:22 PM

Well, the 250 FSP psu powers an Acer system with a Athlon 4000+ X2 processor, 3 GBs ram, 250 gig sata hd, and a dvd burner.

On my old Asus Athlon XP board, the system standby light turns on when I plug in the atx power adaptor, but I don't get anything at all when I hit the button - no fans or anything. I tried turning the computer on with only the atx connector attached, and nothing happens. I thought at least something would try to work even if it was underpowered.

From AMD's white paper on the athlon xp (the following link), the chip needs a maximum of 15A on the 12v, and a peak maximum of 18. My FSP psu says 6.0A on 12v1, and 10A on 12v2.

http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/cont...docs/26003.pdf

Tumbleweed36 · 08-07-2007, 08:28 PM

What video card is in each computer. I too suspect the 250 watt is not enough to pull the rig you are trying to start.

rshiggs · 08-07-2007, 08:44 PM

Its 250 watts, and i don't even have the video card hooked up in the old computer. I am literally just trying to get it to start the cpu and fan. I disconnected all of the molex adaptors to the HDD, DVDRW, and extra fans.

In the old, AGP 6600GT OC, in the new, pci-e 8600GT

**Doby** · 08-07-2007, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Well, the 250 FSP psu powers an Acer system with a Athlon 4000+ X2 processor, 3 GBs ram, 250 gig sata hd, and a dvd burner.

I am very suprised at that, I know the Fortrons are strong especially the older ones.

I know what AMD's white paper say but I have been around these socket A systems a very long time and from my experiance and along with what other users say 18A on the 12V is the minimum for a stable system.

You have 16A, I just don't know, every time I have seen this it causes problems but I too think it should boot the system.

Tumble has a great point, a video card can draw alot of power so please tell us what each computer has in it.

Tumbleweed36 · 08-07-2007, 09:04 PM

You know, I think you answered your own question when you say that if you put the 600 watt in there that it works. The 250 watt (although FSP is a decent power supply) will not do the job and when you put an adequate power supply in there, it takes off.

rshiggs · 08-07-2007, 09:13 PM

I understand that it is a little on the lower side in terms of a power supply. But I am still convinced that it should at least start to boot. It is an excellent name brand in power supplies, and a quality 250watt psu.

Just to cap everything up - I am trying to get just the cpu and it's corresponding fan to spin up now. I have absolutely nothing else attached on the motherboard or via molex adaptor.

The 250 watt psu was successfully able to power my newer rig:
Athlon 4000+ X2
3GB ram ddr2 pc 5300 (2x512mb, 2x1gb)
250 sata
dvdrw
pci-e 8600gt

I knew 250 watts was not enough to run that, so i got the 600 watt ultra xvs modular psu. however, i thought it might be ok to power my old rig.

My old rig is:
athlon xp 3000+ barton
1gb ddr pc2700 (2x512)
120gb ide
dvdrw
agp 6600gt oc

This is more out of sheer wonderment and educational value to get this 250 watt fortron psu to turn on my old computer. I will have to get a new psu it seems, but i am still confused why it wont even try to boot at all.

**1 g0t 0wn3d** · 08-07-2007, 09:32 PM

It should be around a 400-450 watt psu for that one.

rshiggs · 08-07-2007, 09:33 PM

Part of what i can come up with is that would this power supply NEED to have the 12v adapter plugged in to the motherboard to work? A lot of mobos seem to have the 12v 4 pin connector on the mobo, and my asus board does not.

I still think I should at least get the computer to boot to the bios with nothing else plugged in. When these barton chips first came out, 250-300 watt power supplies were definitely the norm.

**1 g0t 0wn3d** · 08-07-2007, 09:36 PM

But the video card takes to much power do you have a onboard gpu?

rshiggs · 08-07-2007, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1 g0t 0wn3d

It should be around a 400-450 watt psu for that one.

I understand that it should be more than 250 watts - but then my questions is how did it power my newer rig? It turned on, and ran vista fine.

I can't even get my old rig to come to life at all. WIth nothing else attached. All i am trying to power is the mobo, ram, cpu, and cpu fan. No video cards, no hard drives, no optical drives. 250 watts should be plenty to get it to the bios.

rshiggs · 08-07-2007, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1 g0t 0wn3d

But the video card takes to much power do you have a onboard gpu?

Yes, it has onboard sound, video, and lan on the mobo

**1 g0t 0wn3d** · 08-07-2007, 10:09 PM

Try it without the video card in

rshiggs · 08-07-2007, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1 g0t 0wn3d

Try it without the video card in

I already have. From my previous posts, I have tried booting with only the ram in, the atx connector from the power supply plugged into the motherboard, and with the processor fan hooked up. Still nothing.

rshiggs · 08-07-2007, 10:23 PM

Ok, just to see how this power supply works, I plugged it back into my newer rig with only the atx connector plugged in. It booted up the computer fine.

Step two - plugged it back into my older rig, with only the atx connector hooked up. For some strange reason, it is now powering up.

I am slowly adding my components in to see what the psu will handle. As of right now, I have 2 hard drives, 2 optical drives and the geforce 6600gt oc hooked up and its running winxp. Granted, it took a little longer to get into windows than normal, but it worked. I did not get any power errors from the video card either. The only thing I have left to plug in is my side case fan. I am completely stumped why it didn't work before, unless my side case fan splitter is the culprit.

**mattlock** · 08-08-2007, 12:43 AM

Glad to hear you got it running, but you'll likely run into some stability issues if you start pushing that system.

I had pretty much the same system (I had a 9600XT) and ran it on an Enermax 350w without an issues. As a matter of fact, that system is still in the family and running like a champ.

08-07-2007, 07:33 PM	#1 (permalink)
rshiggs Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 9 OS: WinXP	FSP ATX250 PSU won't turn on my pc Hello all, I am running into an odd problem. I have an older Athlon XP barton core based computer that I am trying to get running again. I am using an Asus A7V8X_MX motherboard, which only has a 20 pin ATX connector. I am trying to run it with a brand new FSP (Fortron Group) 250 watt atx power supply, that has a 20+4 pin connector. Since my motherboard only has a 20 pin, I leave the 4 pin part at the top of the case. The motherboard does not have a 4 pin 12V adaptor on it for powering the cpu, but the power supply does. When I hook everything up with my psu, and hit the power button - nothing happens. Now the weird part is that I tried hooking up my PSU from my other computer, an Ultra XVS 600 watt, the computer works fine. That has the 20+4 pin connectors, along with the 4 pin 12V connectors as well. Now, the FSP psu works fine, because I pulled it from a working Acer pc that was just unboxed a week ago. I tried it again, and the psu still powers the Acer pc, but not my home built older Athlon XP computer. Is it a problem with the power supply?

08-07-2007, 07:56 PM	#2 (permalink)
Doby Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Central PA (USA) Posts: 8,083 OS: XP sp2/ Vista My System	Re: FSP ATX250 PSU won't turn on my pc Most likely not a problem with the psu but your athlon system needs more power than the 250w can deliver. Typically a athlon system needs at least 18amps on the 12V rail and this really depends on what else is in the system, info on watts is on the side of the psu. My bet is the 250w is to small __________________ Would you like to help TSF fight cancer and other diseases??? JOIN TEAM TSF

08-07-2007, 08:22 PM	#3 (permalink)
rshiggs Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 9 OS: WinXP	Re: FSP ATX250 PSU won't turn on my pc Well, the 250 FSP psu powers an Acer system with a Athlon 4000+ X2 processor, 3 GBs ram, 250 gig sata hd, and a dvd burner. On my old Asus Athlon XP board, the system standby light turns on when I plug in the atx power adaptor, but I don't get anything at all when I hit the button - no fans or anything. I tried turning the computer on with only the atx connector attached, and nothing happens. I thought at least something would try to work even if it was underpowered. From AMD's white paper on the athlon xp (the following link), the chip needs a maximum of 15A on the 12v, and a peak maximum of 18. My FSP psu says 6.0A on 12v1, and 10A on 12v2. http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/cont...docs/26003.pdf

08-07-2007, 08:28 PM	#4 (permalink)
Tumbleweed36 Asst Manager Hardware Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 19,654 OS: XP Professional	Re: FSP ATX250 PSU won't turn on my pc What video card is in each computer. I too suspect the 250 watt is not enough to pull the rig you are trying to start. __________________ ---------- I don't receive email notifications of replies to subscribed threads. (Internet provider policy) Therefore, if I don't respond to your post within 24 hours, please send me a reminder PM and include the link to your thread. Last edited by Tumbleweed36; 08-07-2007 at 09:10 PM.

08-07-2007, 08:44 PM	#5 (permalink)
rshiggs Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 9 OS: WinXP	Re: FSP ATX250 PSU won't turn on my pc Its 250 watts, and i don't even have the video card hooked up in the old computer. I am literally just trying to get it to start the cpu and fan. I disconnected all of the molex adaptors to the HDD, DVDRW, and extra fans. In the old, AGP 6600GT OC, in the new, pci-e 8600GT

08-07-2007, 09:04 PM	#7 (permalink)
Tumbleweed36 Asst Manager Hardware Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 19,654 OS: XP Professional	Re: FSP ATX250 PSU won't turn on my pc You know, I think you answered your own question when you say that if you put the 600 watt in there that it works. The 250 watt (although FSP is a decent power supply) will not do the job and when you put an adequate power supply in there, it takes off. __________________ ---------- I don't receive email notifications of replies to subscribed threads. (Internet provider policy) Therefore, if I don't respond to your post within 24 hours, please send me a reminder PM and include the link to your thread. Last edited by Tumbleweed36; 08-07-2007 at 09:11 PM.

08-07-2007, 09:13 PM	#8 (permalink)
rshiggs Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 9 OS: WinXP	Re: FSP ATX250 PSU won't turn on my pc I understand that it is a little on the lower side in terms of a power supply. But I am still convinced that it should at least start to boot. It is an excellent name brand in power supplies, and a quality 250watt psu. Just to cap everything up - I am trying to get just the cpu and it's corresponding fan to spin up now. I have absolutely nothing else attached on the motherboard or via molex adaptor. The 250 watt psu was successfully able to power my newer rig: Athlon 4000+ X2 3GB ram ddr2 pc 5300 (2x512mb, 2x1gb) 250 sata dvdrw pci-e 8600gt I knew 250 watts was not enough to run that, so i got the 600 watt ultra xvs modular psu. however, i thought it might be ok to power my old rig. My old rig is: athlon xp 3000+ barton 1gb ddr pc2700 (2x512) 120gb ide dvdrw agp 6600gt oc This is more out of sheer wonderment and educational value to get this 250 watt fortron psu to turn on my old computer. I will have to get a new psu it seems, but i am still confused why it wont even try to boot at all.

08-07-2007, 09:32 PM	#9 (permalink)
1 g0t 0wn3d TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Sedona, az Posts: 6,528 OS: Vista basic 32bit My System	Re: FSP ATX250 PSU won't turn on my pc It should be around a 400-450 watt psu for that one. __________________ Bench Test \| PC Wizard \| System specs \| PSU info \| PSU calculator \| Memtest86+ \| Speedfan

08-07-2007, 09:33 PM	#10 (permalink)
rshiggs Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 9 OS: WinXP	Re: FSP ATX250 PSU won't turn on my pc Part of what i can come up with is that would this power supply NEED to have the 12v adapter plugged in to the motherboard to work? A lot of mobos seem to have the 12v 4 pin connector on the mobo, and my asus board does not. I still think I should at least get the computer to boot to the bios with nothing else plugged in. When these barton chips first came out, 250-300 watt power supplies were definitely the norm.

08-07-2007, 09:36 PM	#11 (permalink)
1 g0t 0wn3d TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Sedona, az Posts: 6,528 OS: Vista basic 32bit My System	Re: FSP ATX250 PSU won't turn on my pc But the video card takes to much power do you have a onboard gpu? __________________ Bench Test \| PC Wizard \| System specs \| PSU info \| PSU calculator \| Memtest86+ \| Speedfan

08-07-2007, 10:09 PM	#14 (permalink)
1 g0t 0wn3d TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Sedona, az Posts: 6,528 OS: Vista basic 32bit My System	Re: FSP ATX250 PSU won't turn on my pc Try it without the video card in __________________ Bench Test \| PC Wizard \| System specs \| PSU info \| PSU calculator \| Memtest86+ \| Speedfan

08-07-2007, 10:23 PM	#16 (permalink)
rshiggs Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 9 OS: WinXP	Re: FSP ATX250 PSU won't turn on my pc Ok, just to see how this power supply works, I plugged it back into my newer rig with only the atx connector plugged in. It booted up the computer fine. Step two - plugged it back into my older rig, with only the atx connector hooked up. For some strange reason, it is now powering up. I am slowly adding my components in to see what the psu will handle. As of right now, I have 2 hard drives, 2 optical drives and the geforce 6600gt oc hooked up and its running winxp. Granted, it took a little longer to get into windows than normal, but it worked. I did not get any power errors from the video card either. The only thing I have left to plug in is my side case fan. I am completely stumped why it didn't work before, unless my side case fan splitter is the culprit.

08-08-2007, 12:43 AM	#17 (permalink)
mattlock Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 4,183 OS: XP SP2, Win 7 Beta, Win 7 RC My System	Re: FSP ATX250 PSU won't turn on my pc Glad to hear you got it running, but you'll likely run into some stability issues if you start pushing that system. I had pretty much the same system (I had a 9600XT) and ran it on an Enermax 350w without an issues. As a matter of fact, that system is still in the family and running like a champ. __________________ Matt Everest-Thermal Paste Instruction-Power Supply Info-Sensorview PSU Calculator-Speedfan-Bench Test Help TSF Fight Disease. It's Free!