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Help me diagnose this shit
Tiphares2000:
It's all guesswork untill we have more information.
Still needed is : maker & model of at least the mainboard, CPU, RAM, PSU, windows version
Right now we are uncertain if the memory is in the QVL of the mainboard, compatibility of the maiboard + CPU (as Kitamesume pointed out earlier), output of the PSU (Kitamesume again) over the 12V lines.
Failures might come from:
memory : incompatibility, wrong settings, bad ramsticks <- excluded from Memtest
PSU : configuration draws 100-150W for CPU, 150W for GPU = 300W + change for other components = around 25A from the 12V lines. Quality PSU gives around 40A combined. (edit : thats at a 530W PSU)
It can still be a driver problem, as you are stable in windows safe mode. Be sure to remove the drivers completely when changeing from ATI to Nvidia (or back).
You can try running a linux distro to see what happens.
rostheferret:
--- Quote from: kitamesume on December 01, 2012, 10:07:16 AM ---
--- Quote from: rostheferret on December 01, 2012, 09:52:22 AM ---Someone please point out if I'm talking out my ass, but to the best of my knowledge most PSU's (particularly cheap ones) run on rails. For example a 400W PSU may have two rails capable of handling 200W a piece. If you overload one rail, down goes the system. You'll have multiple leads coming out of the PSU - and since you're running close to the limit it seems - don't plug in all from one lead. A power spike could be all that's needed to cause the crash. Normally you'll want to allow a 20% buffer for optimum efficiency. Means he should be looking at a 600W really, but you're right in that it should still run in theory. Failing that, see if you can't get a PSU from another computer for testing purposes.
--- End quote ---
theres a flaw in this concept, you shouldn't aim for pure wattage rating, hunt for ampere capacity per rails, aim for 18A(for single-mainstream GPUs) to over 22A(required for high-end GPUs).
i've aimed for 350watt PSUs (seasonic SS-350SFE) with some awesome 12V amperage, at 18A on each of it's two rails(total Amperage mustn't exceed 26A) it can run a 180watt GPU(15Amps) for all it cares without breaking a sweat.
edit: now that i think of it, i wonder which rail is the P4 power is tapped into, or does it have it's own rail... hmmm...
ah and about the power spikes, it rarely happens on a PC, since a PC's power consumption is capped.
--- End quote ---
Blergh. Amps vs Power: School-level physics. Well now I feel like a dolt. Still, it was a theory, even if my explanation had more holes than swiss cheese.
Pentium100:
A cheap PSU won't provide the power it claims to.
I recently repaired a cheap PSU and it claimed to provide 30A at 5V, but the diode used was rated for 2x10A, so it could only provide 20A at 5V at most.
Good quality PSUs will provide the rated power and might even survive a slight overload. With a cheap one be happy if the PSU does not blow up when you try to pull the rated power.
Also, if the PSU has more than one "rail" be careful to load balance between them - you might overload one of them and the power supply with shut off or release the magic smoke.
kitamesume:
--- Quote from: Pentium100 on December 01, 2012, 11:56:39 AM ---A cheap PSU won't provide the power it claims to.
I recently repaired a cheap PSU and it claimed to provide 30A at 5V, but the diode used was rated for 2x10A, so it could only provide 20A at 5V at most.
Good quality PSUs will provide the rated power and might even survive a slight overload. With a cheap one be happy if the PSU does not blow up when you try to pull the rated power.
Also, if the PSU has more than one "rail" be careful to load balance between them - you might overload one of them and the power supply with shut off or release the magic smoke.
--- End quote ---
is that 2x10A continuous or pulsed? because pulse rating is approximately 3-4times higher than continuous, and it should be obvious that a switching powersupply is pulsed with a certain duty cycle.
if it was a quality PSU, even if you overload one rail it shouldn't send off a magic smoke, the OCP sensor could get fried when repeatedly done though.
GoGeTa006:
YUP. . . Swaped the PSU and its working fine now. . .
Thank you kind sirs
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