sparacus

Well my epic quest to build a computer just got more difficult, and it is testing my patience, i knew this would be hard seeing that it my first custom built but never did i think the problems would start pileing on like this.

Anyways my computer first had a problem showing up on screen I soon did some test coming to conclusion that I had defective CPU. In a last ditch effort to start her up i wa having trouble even turning it on as my power supply makes a loud hissin noise and kind of smells funny. So now im very confused now, is it my psu or cpu or aliens... Trying to keep my spirit high heh

So my question is my psu dead was it the prob in the first place is 500 watts enough for this system

Asus motherboard
nvidia 8800 gts
2 gigs ram
quad core duo CPU 2.4 mhz

I thought the 500 watts would be comprible but I'm not to sure.
if anyone could help me it would be greatly apprciated.

Sorry if any missspells I'm writing this on my iPhone, I need this computer to work

mattlock

You should be running a quality 650w or higher power supply. Here Are a few brands/models checkout.

Antec Trio or Neo series
Any Seasonic
Thermaltake Toughpower series
Pc Power and Cooling
Silverstone
Coolermaster Real Power Pro Series

What is the Model number of your Asus motherboard? There are compatibilty issues with some motherboards and the 8800GT and G92 based 8800GTS.

Also, what is the make and model of your 500w PSU?

sparacus

i have an asus p5n-e SLI mobo

And a thermaltake power supply

1 g0t 0wn3d

I would say the the power supply is is shot, any computer part that hisses and then smells is pretty much done for (i think one or more of the capacitors may have burst/leaked under so much load ) i would look at a 650+watt power supply in the brands that matt pointed out

Tumbleweed36

We all agree that the power supply is not up to the video card you are running, regardless of the brand name. I just hope the lack of a sufficient power supply didn't harm something else like it so often can. Buy one of the suggested supplies and give it a try.

mattlock

OK your motherboard is compatible with the 8800GT & 2nd Gen 8800GTS as it's PCI-E 1.1.

As Tumble stated, there's always a chance of a PSU taking out other hardware with it when it dies. That's one of the many good reason not to skimp on the power supply when building a new PC. It's failure could cost you more in the long run than any other single piece of hardware.

The only high quality offering from Thermaltake is the Toughpower series. The Purepower and TR2 series offerings are low quality units (as you've just found out).

BTW, another good brand I forgot to mention above is Corsair.

For more info on the importance of selecting a quality power supply click here.

sparacus

thanks matt apprciated the help didn't think I really went cheap on the PSU but you live and learn. Btw one last question how can I find out if it fryed anything else in mypc?

Tumbleweed36

What I suggest is to get a very good power supply and try it. Only then will you know for sure.

If you visually inspect any components and find they have bulging capacitors, then you can assume that is a fried piece of hardware. Don't attempt to use something like that. Let us know how this one comes out.

mattlock

You're welcome.

Where did you purchase the PSU from? You may be able to return it as defective for a refund and upgrade to a better unit.

Unfortunately, high price doesn't always equal high quality. Especially when it comes to power supplies. However low price almost always equals poor quality. (I.E 700w PSU for $19.99).

Here's a few good examples of overpriced paper weights.You couldn't give me one of these units, yet the retail price is over $100.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817152033
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817190012
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817148028

sparacus

well I just bought a new power supply antec trio 650 watt and low and behold still no start up im really starting to get discouraged and scared that this dream of a custom built is gonna start costing me more money and more time it still does not run it has to be the cpu or motherboard u guys have any sugestions I'm guessing my blood pressure has risen quite alot over the last 5 days....

1 g0t 0wn3d

rma the mobo (before that test with one stick of ram use all ram sticks)

sparacus

as much as I think its the mobo I tested on a second one and it powered up no display I'm realizing that my computer knowledge is very limited...

mattlock

What did you test on another board?

Do you hear any beeps?
Do the fans, hard drive, etc spinup?
Did you verify all conections from the power supply to the motherboard?

Try doing Linderman's Bench Test, and let us know the results.

sparacus

I tested the cpu psu and vid card and yes all connections are good. No beeps fans don't work if only for three seconds if I only have the 24 slot plug in the motherboard not the 4 slot one and i did the linderman test couple days ago and been doing it ever since i heard about it on another post

mattlock

OK, let me see if I'm getting this right. If you don't plug in the 12v ATX 4 pin plug near the CPU, all the fans spinup for a few seconds. If you have it plugged in then nothing happens?

sparacus

correct

mattlock

What was the other motherboard that used to you test your CPU, VGA, PSU, etc? Did you try each part one at a time or did you swap everything at once? You should do it one piece of hardware at time, verify each component is good.

When you get no signs of life it usually points to a dead short (you're bench test should eliminate this possibility), a bad motherboard, power supply, or CPU.

sparacus

on an ecs elite group compatible mobo it did power up with everything pluged in just no display and how do i test them jndavidually thought ag first they needed to all be in to test those components

mattlock

I was hoping it wasn't just a motherboard but, a fully functioning machine. Can you give me the model number of the ECS board? It nay not be compatible with the 8800GT.

I've been reading some customer reviews on the P5N E SLI and it really seems to have a lot of problems. I've really lost a lot of respect for Asus over the past year or so.

sparacus

its an p4m900t-m mobo and ya its been about 4 years since i had my last comp that had an asus motherboard, things i guess have changed as i have been out of the loop...