how to test for an insufficient power supply ?

[fred45]

how do i test to see if my power supply is not enough to run my system ?

what can i do if i can't get any other p/s rated more than 300watt?


i'm getting spontaneous restarts happening by just scrolling within a webpage! i notice the 3.3v drops to 3.1v

Basic system specs :
300watt p/s
msi m/b
AMD Athlon xp 1800
matrox parhelia videocard
512ddr ram
20gig
60gig
80gig
dvd rom drive
cd-rw drive


my system voltages reads :
Vcore=1.68v
3.3v=3.1v
+5v=4.78v
+12v=11.58v

 

[gargouille]

Hi Fred45:

Try disabling some of the "stuff" you have onboard...1 of the CD's...one or more of the hard drives...both cables (power/IDE)...and see if it still does it.

Why wouldn't you be able to get more than 300W PS?

 

[paparazi]

Under normal operating conditions ie: opening Cdroms, CDroms spinning up, hard drives being accessed, file swopping, gaming etc, can you hear the tone of the system fans changing appreciably?
Well on my system the only time I hear the fan tone changing is on cold boot, once into windows fan tone is continuous irrespective of load.
But it wasn't always like that, with my original generic 300watt, supplied with the case the tone continuously changed with load.
NOW WITH
Enermax 431watt PSU.
Gigabyte GA-7VAXP
XP2.1+
Barracuda 40gig 7,200 X2 drives
Yamaha SCISI CDRW
DVDrom
CDrom
GF4 4200Ti
Scisi card
Pinnicle TV card
Extra 10/100
Creative 5.1
7 fans IN ALL (PSU, GPU, Chipset + 3case)
Martin Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.

 

[fred45]

no, when the system boots i can't hear the fans rpm get any slower.

i have a voltage monitor running all the time so i can see any variations. it's only the 3.3v line that keeps dropping to around 3.1v when any change in screen graphics occur, then the pc just reboots.



in reply to gargouille, none of the nearby pc shops carry any psu over 300watt, so i'm stuck. i can't really disable any hardware (cd, harddrives) beacuse i need all of em for my work, but temporarily disabling some of em seems to give more stable voltages from the psu.


what i'd like to know is if anyone knows what are the minimum lower volatges that are acceptable from a psu.


another quirk that i forgot to post earlier is that from within windows xp, if i select "restart" it never totally restarts. the system just gets past the bios post, then it freezes. i then have to manually press ctrl-alt-del or the reset button to complete the restart. this happens all the time. is this also a symtom of a bad psu?

 

[ANFPS26]

Can't you order a power supply online? If you are in USA or UK there are sources. Your PS may not be supplying enough current. Current is as important as voltage. Jim

Please come back and let us know if your
problem is fixed and what fixed it!!

 

[gargouille]

Hello again fred45:

I'd also suspect your video card as a possible culprit...
it's the one sucking in 3.3 volt readings...and the scrolling is a video activity. That one also makes me suspect a driver issue

Now that we know you have XP, have you looked in Event Viewer for clues?

The added diagnostics info does lead to suspecting the PS, but it likewise could be other things dragging it down...and could be a video card issue.

You may have to track down your motherboard manual and see what it says with regard to settings to expect in the hardware monitoring section and voltages. (seems best path to take to me)

 

[Tbarney]

You need a better power supply my friend. On it's BEST day a no name 300 watt power supply is barely enough for an athlon or duron 1 ghz pc with 128 mb ram and onboard video and no extra drives. You got all this stuff using power making heat, let's see, 3 hard drives, monster 512 mb ram, how many fans?, a Parahelia vid card (I know that is sucking up some power, cuz they are fairly new) not to mention am 1800+ XP. Ever look at AMD's site for power supply recommendations? You won't see anything that says 300 watt. You need to beg, steal or borrow, or online order a name brand,( Enermax is a good one !) Power supply, 400 watts min. 450 better. Seriously, you put all that $$ for a kick butt pc and you risk having components burn up as you read this. You're gonna need some $$ for the neon lights too...Friends don't let friends use 300 watters anymore... Please go get a power supply.

 

[fred45]

hi gargouille,

i appreciate the "confirmation" that maybe it's the videocard using too much power.

i've just built this system and still getting used to xp, can you explain where i'd find the event viewer? and what to look for?

 

[fred45]

hey Tbarney, i just read your post, i think i've no choice now but to order a new psu online! thanks for the advice!

 

[gargouille]

Right click on My Computer and choose manage and you'll find them.
Look in Event/System Logs...you can double click on them to view details...and sometimes even decipher their cryptic messages with a trip to Tech Net...
Their presence is IMHO a boon to users.
Case in point:
I had a motherboard failing and in the course of troubleshooting looked in the logs and noticed one of the logs saying the driver had identified a problem with the IDE controller!

 

[fred45]

ok, i'll check the logs when i get home then...