Do I have a Problem??????

[Corey0808]

I think I might have a power supply problem but I'm not sure. I'm running an AMD Barton 2500+ on an Abit NF7-S V2.0. Just as a little info, my power supply is a generic 300W power supply that I purchased with my case about 4 years ago. It doesn't have the 12V stabilizer connector also. On default settings if I boot into windows and run CPU-Z it shows my CPU voltage and it varies very frequently over a wide range. Min of 1.612 to 1.648. It never goes beyond 1.648v and I've yet to see it go under 1.612v. When I tried overclocking to 3200+ I set the voltage to 1.75v and when I used CPU-Z to get the reading I got 1.712v and it was varying also. I think this made my overclock very unstable because windows froze within a minute or so.

So here is the question. Is my power supply slowly going on me? Should my voltage be changing over that wide range very frequently? If I do need a new power supply and you think it help my overclock what would you recommend? Thanks for the help.

 

[mechBgon]

My opinion is that you should shut it down and pick up a new power supply right away. Sometimes the power draw is high enough to do some serious damage to the ATX connector (think burned, melted, charred) and you're lucky it even runs without the ATX12V plug... most motherboards won't.

For a nominee... Antec SmartPower 350W (called the SL350) or Enermax's 365-series would be good ones to look at. If you want Serial ATA plugs for SATA hard drives, the Antec TruePower units now come with them.

Side note: measuring voltages with software is not always a reliable method, so don't be too alarmed if you get a new PSU and still see fluctuations. There's a reason for Fluke multimeters

 

[Corey0808]

Ok thanks for the tips!! It's really appreciated. My birthday is coming up in a couple weeks so I think I'll buy one then.

 

[psiu]

I just got the Antec Truepower 330 a couple of weeks ago and it's nice. It also has the thermal management (so it runs slower at cooler temps) and the fan-only connectors (for case fans) which are based off PSU temp reading.

Helps with keeping your rig quiet

The 3 intakes on mine (2 front, 1 side panel) are on the fan-only connectors, and then a Vantec Thermoflow for exhaust (it's got a temp sensor, spins up/down according to heat). The TruePower also has 2 fans and kicks heat out the back.

Definitely recommended, probably check out the TruePower 380 also....

One note, if you do get the TruePower series, DON'T plug in your hard drive or CPU fan or anything other than case fans into the fan-only connectors....

Have fun shopping! :beer: