[Voodoochile]

300w is very ample. Good luck with it!

 

[Sovkiller]

What CPU do you have, depending on the other components also some PC need up to 350 as a minimum requirement, in your shoes, I would get the bigger I could get, you will be on the save side (350 or 400) 300 for modern computers with fast CPUs, specially if they are AMD is a little short, my Athlon requires 350 as a minimum

 

[D-EJ915]

haha, I've run my Antec 300W with 2 Optical drives, 2 mice, 5 HDDs, and much more (extra network card, fw card, modem, capture card (coax), etc...and my computer ran like a dream, I've only got 2 HDDs in it now, but antec makes nice PSes

 

[chewmanji]

alrighty then, looks like i'llb e getting an antec PSU. costs about 70 CDN fffor a 350W for me.

FWIW, i'm running:

AMD Athlon 2100+
512 Mb PC333 DDR RAM
Lite-On 52x CD-RW
60G HD
128 Mb ATI Radeon 9000 Pro

 

[Voodoochile]

That's a nice little rig, chew. What case is it in? (and what PSU came with it?) The antecs do seem to handle heavier loads than many other brands of similar wattage.

I'm hoping your case was salvaged from an older machine, or came with a junk PSU- only because the other stuff is pretty current, which makes me wonder why the PS would **** the bed so early on.

 

[chewmanji]

i bought the cheapest case there was, and i was using the PSU that came with it. it was probably a $20 CAD PSU. so yeah, i think the PSU is a POS.

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Chewi,

Make sure to let us know if it was the PSU. Once the new one arrives it won't take long to fin out!

 

[chewmanji]

UPDATE: I just got my PSU....it's an ENERMAX 350W. built like a freakin tank compared to my old one. They didn't have any ANTEC in stock when I got it.

There's good news and there's bad enws.

The good news is that the computer turns on and seems to boot just fine.

The bad news is, when I plugged my monitor in, I got nothing. Something tells me that when my old PSU blew, it wouldn't go down without a fight, and took out my video card. Anyway, now it seems I have to find a new vid card. Any ideas on it possibly being a problem of a different sort?

what a pain.

 

[D-EJ915]

Sometimes my old (P2 233MHz) computer's video card has fits, when I have to take it out, the monitor connector, several times, and it'll finally work, it's really annoying, so I just don't bother with it any more, it won't recognize things, I think the mobo's busted. It may help to take it out, etc., hope so, if not, the ATi Radeon 9600 PRO is a good card to buy, and is less than $200.

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Chew,

It could be that the video card went out first and took the PSU with it. Do you have a friend who would be kind enough to loan you a video card for a short test to see if that is the problem? Just pop in a new card and see if everythingworks. If so, put the old one back in and make sure it just wasn't a seating issue with the current card.

 

[chewmanji]

SIE,

I'm hopefully getting my buddy to lend me a card. I forgot to mention that when the computer is turned on, the video card's cooling fan turns on, but still there's nothing on the screen.

Thanks so much to everyone who's helped me out so far.

 

[Voodoochile]

That is good and bad news, chew. I like SIE's advice of trying another vidcard... and also- have your friend try yours in his boxen. I doubt it's dead yet

.

 

[Voodoochile]

One further comment on the PSU:
Isn't it incredible how crummy they can make a PSU? There are many things that contribute to the stability, or lack of stability, in a computer. But the PSU is very key, especially the regulation and current capability of the 3.3v rails.

Even 500 watts is not enough if it cannot furnish enough current on the 3.3v line. Some of them send the bulk of the power through the 5 and 12 v rails. Likewise, even a 200 watt PSU can be adequate for many lightly-configured AMD systems if the current capacity exists on the 3.3v rails.n Gatting a solid 300-400 watt PSU from Sparklepower, Antecs TruePower, Enermax, or PC Power and Cooling makes a big difference, especially if the unit you have now is even standard, let alone substandard.

Anyway, a crappy PSU will give you absolute fits to the point where you are diddling with your memory timing, adding cooling fans, upgrading heatsinks, all kinds of crazy (and fun sometimes) stuff that is often not needed with a solid PSU. I have known many people who go out and buy new memory, etc... before trying a 'real' PSU.

It's very much overlooked in most systems. Not as glamorous as a nice vidcard or slot-load DVD reader

.

Oh well, I'm done cranking about the typical PSU now.

 

[Ctn]

Sounds like you got busted caps in your psu.

 

[chewmanji]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ctn Sounds like you got busted caps in your psu.

yessirree...and that's fixed, but now i'm onto other problems. awwwww yeaaaah.

yes, that's a good idea....seeing if my card works in another system.