250w psu.

SPeedY_B

I may actually be insane.
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I've never really looked at my PSU before now, as I've never had any problems.
Over time i've added more and more peripherals to this box since its original purchase, and recently it's been rebooting itself a lot, and upon opening up the case to move/remove some PCI cards i noticed that my PSU is in-fact only a 250w unit.
Could this be causing the computer to reboot/hang etc ?

Currently running off the unit is an AMD 1.0GHz chip, 512mb of PC133 (2x128+1x256), 40GB HDD, 20GB HDD, sound card, webcam, 32mb GeForce 2MX, 10/100 NIC.
 
Do you have a hardware monitor installed? If so is anything runnin in the red? 250 isnt alot by todays standards. I think amd recommends at least a 300 watt ps. Ive had to upgrade my ps twice to keep up with all the add ons. Should have just got a 550 watt to begin with and be done with it. Not sure if that would cause a reboot or not but you could always unplug some things to see if it still has problems.
 
If it worked before it should work now unless you've added something. PSU:s don't degrade over time like that.

I'm guessing it's a software problem. 99% of the time it is.
 
Was worth asking anyway, i wasnt thinking of degradation, more of it not being able to handle the extra peripherals.

When originally bought the box had a 30gb hdd, 256mb, on-board sound, ball mouse

Since then i've added, 256mb, 40gb hdd (this replaced the 30), 20gb hdd, optical mouse, webcam, digital camera, 17" monitor (obvious has its own power, but requires more work from gfx for higher res), NIC.


I've removed most things for the time being and will add them back in over time to try and pinpoint the problem.
 
Speedy, I have an emachines PC, one that my mom uses, and it has a 200 watt mini psu, and it has trouble with more then two drives, two opticals, and the rest of the set up.

I'm thinking you should go for a PSU with more wattage, at least 350, but better off 400 +

Try to clean install windows, and see if the problem continues. If it does, you could blame it on the PSU.

Make sure something isn't overheating, that could cause restarts.
 
250watts for that setup is plenty. friend of mine had a 1ghz, 512mb, 1 hdd, 2 optical, and a gf2 gts running on 180watts for a long time. then he bought a gf4 ti and the only problem was inconsistent benchmarks. shortly after he got a antec 350watt and the numbers are more consistent now.

but maybe your "250w" unit doesn't putout as much as the label susggests..? this is somewhat common among cheaper/generic brand psu's.
 
taurusu
but maybe your "250w" unit doesn't putout as much as the label susggests..? this is somewhat common among cheaper/generic brand psu's.
Possibly, the shop i bought it from is run by complete and utter f***wits.


Nick, I do intend to do a windows re-install at some point, just need to sort my files out first.
 
Taurus is right, not all PSWs give out what they are actually labeled.

Like cheapo speaker systems, it says 4000 watt, but it isn't constant. Has to be 4000 watt RMS lol what am I telling you for, you know :)

Speedy, I would do that reinstall, and see if it does this or not. I'v had some apps mess things up for me, and cause reboots in the past.
 
Nick M
Like cheapo speaker systems, it says 4000 watt, but it isn't constant. Has to be 4000 watt RMS lol what am I telling you for, you know :)

Speedy, I would do that reinstall, and see if it does this or not. I'v had some apps mess things up for me, and cause reboots in the past.
Heh, it annoys the heck outta me when people label amp & speaker systems by the PMPO rating. Thankfully really powerful rack amps and P.A. speakers are rated with the -real- power.

I'll re-install some time this following week , altho i do think its hardware problems, this Box is quite old.
Guess we'll see.
 
I have 2, 550W PSU by Antec. Check out the speck sheet and you will see that the major voltages only add up to 530W. This PSU has a lot to offer however in the way of protection. You can get them for under $100 USD............

The advantage here is that when you upgrade in the future (you know you want to) you will the power and then some.....
 

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Also Hi EP and people. I found this place again while looking through a oooollllllldddd backup. I have filled over 10TB and was looking at my collection of antiques. Any bids on the 500Mhz Win 95 fix?
Any of the SP crew still out there?
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Impressed you have kept this alive this long EP! So many sites have come and gone. :(

Just did some crude math and I apparently joined almost 18yrs ago, how is that possible???
hello peeps... is been some time since i last came here.
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