Enough PSU power?

Kyouichi · 25th April 2007, 11:03 PM

Hi all,

Looking for some advice or solutions, but first a quick rundown of my PC:

nforce3 250GB
s754 Sempron 3100+ (Palermo)
2GB DDR (2x1)
2 IDE drives
Generic combo drive
4 80mm fans and a giant lump of copper hanging of the cpu.
Antec TruePower 2.0 480W

And on to the problem:

I recently bought a powercolor x1950 pro (agp) to give my machine one last gasp before I consign it to a deep dark hole, but it's not very happy. Previously, was using a 9800 pro and everything was fine (sun shining, birds tweeting, cpu mildly overclocked etc etc). Did the driver kill, unplug, slot new card, driver reinstall, everything seemed to go fine. Machine runs perfectly well in windows.

When I started up Bf2 to look at all the shiny improved explosions, I was allowed to look around for about 15 minutes, before my machine locked up. The screen froze, then went blank, and my monitor switched off. Reboot, try again, happens again, a little quicker. Reset cpu to stock (small volt bump), happens again.

The box says the card requires 30A on the 12V rail, and the antec I have provides 28A, but I'm not sure thats the problem. Knowing next to nothing about electronics and pretending that it wasnt the problem, I used ati tray tools to check the temps, and it said ~50 when it crashed. It didn't seem too high to me, but i locked the fan to 50% speed, and the problem seems to have gone away.

So finally, my question, is there a way to check whether it's the PSU that's giving me grief without buying another one, or can I assume that it's the card thats borked?

Cheers

►GIЯΛFFE◄™ · 25th April 2007, 11:17 PM

The PSU should be enough for the system, but you can try unplugging the case fans and un-needed drives to reduce the PSU load a little

Obvious question but is the 6pin PCIe power connector plugged in?

Kyouichi · 25th April 2007, 11:50 PM

Yep, molex to 6 pin is plugged in.

What I don't get is that if I set the fan speed up, it seems to work? Maybe it's just a coincidence...

151528 · 26th April 2007, 6:09 PM

Hmm, maybe when you begin to run a game it speeds up the fan as it gradually gets hotter, and due to the speed increase there my not be enough power too keep it at those speeds, although i dont see why not, but if thats the case, a new psu would be needed, but if the card doesnt get too hot whilst you have the fan at your current speed and run games for a while, then you shouldnt need to worry.

Thanks
TK

SnooP-WiggleS · 27th April 2007, 4:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyouichi

The box says the card requires 30A on the 12V rail, and the antec I have provides 28A, but I'm not sure thats the problem. Knowing next to nothing about electronics and pretending that it wasnt the problem, I used ati tray tools to check the temps, and it said ~50 when it crashed. It didn't seem too high to me, but i locked the fan to 50% speed, and the problem seems to have gone away.

So finally, my question, is there a way to check whether it's the PSU that's giving me grief without buying another one, or can I assume that it's the card thats borked?

Cheers

PSU requirements don't mean much. To put it into perspective, a x1950 pro draws about 75w of power on its own, a x1950xt does about 125W, yet they both say '30A required' on the box. In reality it all depends on cpu etc as well. Either way your psu should handle it fine. HOWEVER the truepower 2.0 series are notorious for bad quality capacitors, so any unit more than a few months old can potentially behave erratically, crashes etc. Have a look at the psu through the fan, if any of the blue capacitors show any signs of bulging or are leaking stuff, then your psu is shot and needs to be returned/replaced.

karnage112 · 27th April 2007, 4:58 PM

I've read up on the X1950 Pro AGP and many people have been having lockups, freezing etc.

AFAIK its because of insufficient DRM cooling. Powercolor have solved this issue under revisions i think.

SnooP-WiggleS · 27th April 2007, 5:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karnage112

I've read up on the X1950 Pro AGP and many people have been having lockups, freezing etc.

AFAIK its because of insufficient DRM cooling. Powercolor have solved this issue under revisions i think.

That would explain why fixing the fan speed might help. looks like the newer powercolour come with A-C accelero x2 cooler

karnage112 · 27th April 2007, 5:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnooP-WiggleS

That would explain why fixing the fan speed might help. looks like the newer powercolour come with A-C accelero x2 cooler

All the versions of the Powercolour X1950 Pro AGP came with the Arctic Cooling Accelero X2.
I don't think the vrm's get sufficient cooling from it or the cooler doesn't reach it.

power · 27th April 2007, 7:08 PM

that psu would easily power that system, if it's not faulty (sorry spanner in the works and all that)

SnooP-WiggleS · 27th April 2007, 7:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karnage112

All the versions of the Powercolour X1950 Pro AGP came with the Arctic Cooling Accelero X2.
I don't think the vrm's get sufficient cooling from it or the cooler doesn't reach it.

Ok my bad, but the accelero is specifically designed so both the ram and vrm gets cooled. It has a special slot to get ariflow onto vrms
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/A...g/AcceleroX2/2

Kyouichi · 28th April 2007, 2:31 AM

Hey all,

First thanks for all the replies.

I went ahead and got a new PSU, Coolermaster thingo with lots of watts and two 18A 12V rails. Handy too, because it comes with it's own 6 pin connector!

Anyway, from initial testing, the problem seems to be sorted. Without fiddling with the fan settings, bf2 seems to work with no problems. Time to find something else to throw at it! Also, keeping in mind that the fan is only operating at 40% between 0 and 70 degrees, the idle and load temps are ~5 degrees lower.

I suspect that when i increased the fan speed, it also increased flow over the VRM modules (courtesy of the extra tab on the cooler, which seems to direct flow in that general direction), possibly keeping it at working temperatures.

Moral: Buy the biggest PSU you can get your grubby mits on!

25th April 2007, 11:03 PM	#1
Kyouichi Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Melbourne Posts: 8	Enough PSU power? Hi all, Looking for some advice or solutions, but first a quick rundown of my PC: nforce3 250GB s754 Sempron 3100+ (Palermo) 2GB DDR (2x1) 2 IDE drives Generic combo drive 4 80mm fans and a giant lump of copper hanging of the cpu. Antec TruePower 2.0 480W And on to the problem: I recently bought a powercolor x1950 pro (agp) to give my machine one last gasp before I consign it to a deep dark hole, but it's not very happy. Previously, was using a 9800 pro and everything was fine (sun shining, birds tweeting, cpu mildly overclocked etc etc). Did the driver kill, unplug, slot new card, driver reinstall, everything seemed to go fine. Machine runs perfectly well in windows. When I started up Bf2 to look at all the shiny improved explosions, I was allowed to look around for about 15 minutes, before my machine locked up. The screen froze, then went blank, and my monitor switched off. Reboot, try again, happens again, a little quicker. Reset cpu to stock (small volt bump), happens again. The box says the card requires 30A on the 12V rail, and the antec I have provides 28A, but I'm not sure thats the problem. Knowing next to nothing about electronics and pretending that it wasnt the problem, I used ati tray tools to check the temps, and it said ~50 when it crashed. It didn't seem too high to me, but i locked the fan to 50% speed, and the problem seems to have gone away. So finally, my question, is there a way to check whether it's the PSU that's giving me grief without buying another one, or can I assume that it's the card thats borked? Cheers

27th April 2007, 7:08 PM	#9
power Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: brisbane Posts: 27,073	that psu would easily power that system, if it's not faulty (sorry spanner in the works and all that) __________________ this is who we are.

25th April 2007, 11:17 PM	#2
►GIЯΛFFE◄™ Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Melbourne Posts: 139	The PSU should be enough for the system, but you can try unplugging the case fans and un-needed drives to reduce the PSU load a little Obvious question but is the 6pin PCIe power connector plugged in?

25th April 2007, 11:50 PM	#3
Kyouichi Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Melbourne Posts: 8	Yep, molex to 6 pin is plugged in. What I don't get is that if I set the fan speed up, it seems to work? Maybe it's just a coincidence...

27th April 2007, 4:58 PM	#6
karnage112 Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Sydney Posts: 1,564	I've read up on the X1950 Pro AGP and many people have been having lockups, freezing etc. AFAIK its because of insufficient DRM cooling. Powercolor have solved this issue under revisions i think.

28th April 2007, 2:31 AM	#11
Kyouichi Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Melbourne Posts: 8	Hey all, First thanks for all the replies. I went ahead and got a new PSU, Coolermaster thingo with lots of watts and two 18A 12V rails. Handy too, because it comes with it's own 6 pin connector! Anyway, from initial testing, the problem seems to be sorted. Without fiddling with the fan settings, bf2 seems to work with no problems. Time to find something else to throw at it! Also, keeping in mind that the fan is only operating at 40% between 0 and 70 degrees, the idle and load temps are ~5 degrees lower. I suspect that when i increased the fan speed, it also increased flow over the VRM modules (courtesy of the extra tab on the cooler, which seems to direct flow in that general direction), possibly keeping it at working temperatures. Moral: Buy the biggest PSU you can get your grubby mits on!