A7N8X Deluxe question in the BIG thread

[Papageno]

If someone could check my post the A7N8X/Deluxe thread, I'd appreciate it much. Pretty please?

For your convenience, here's the URL (don't know if it goes to the last page, though):

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...adid=995238&STARTPAGE=74&enterthread=y

 

[mlc]

what, if anything, did you introduce that may have triggered this problem ? install any new software, hardware, add any USB devices, load any new drivers , etc ?

are you running the latest bios? You may want to try clearing/resetting the bios to see if that helps....

check all of your connections, to ensure they are snug....

 

[Papageno]

I have no idea what I may have introduced-- I mean, at most I may have upgraded video card drivers in that timeframe. It's true that I'm not running the latest BIOS-- I'm running 1004 and the latest non-beta for this board is 1008-- but this BIOS has been working fine since I upgraded to it like two years ago or whenever. Still, I suppose it couldn't hurt.

 

[mlc]

could be a variety of things, which is why i asked .... sounds like some type of PSU related issue.. but is it the PSU itself or the signal, as you suggest, being communicated to it by the board or Windows ?

good read here.. maybe it'll give you some insight
http://aumha.org/win5/a/shtdwnxp.php

also bios upgrade probably not necessary, maybe just clear CMOS and reset it ?

 

[Papageno]

Oops, posted with no content:

Anyway, I ended up replacing the PSU (an Antec Smart Power [1] 400W) with an Antec True Power II 480W and it solved the problem. It's only a shame that I can't use those extra PCI-E power connectors or the extra +12V output, or the SATA ones (since I have no SATA drives in this machine, alas) Only 5 regular molex connectors, and I had to use each and every one, yikes (2 optical drives, 2 HDs and a 6600GT vidcard).

Thanks for the help, mlc, that's a useful link.

 

[mlc]

glad it worked out.... (don't worry you'll go to SATA in no time.. especially now that you know you have those unused connectors !!!)

in my readings it seems that more and more of the nf4 SLI related problems are often due to an inadequately rated PSU rather than a board issue... NF4 SLI boards, particularly with multiple HDD's , external soundcards, and of course higher rated graphics cards, do seem to push these PSU's to their limits.. particularly the 12v rails...