Do I not have enough power?

[pjyelton]

Completely first time I've ever put together a new computer from scratch and I'm having problems. I just installed a new motherboard and now I'm having problems getting the computer to start. It acts as though it has no power but if I start unhooking items like the video card then it will although sometimes it takes me hitting the power button a few times. I'm guessing its because I'm not supplying enough power to the motherboard but I wanted to check here first to see if others agreed.

Heres what I have installed:
AMD Sempron 2800+
ATI Radeon 9600
Sound Blaster
CD ROM
DVD
768 RAM
Standard Modem
3 fans including heat sink fan over CPU

The power supply is 300W, everything worked seemingly just fine on my old motherboard which was a standard issue mobo from a store bought eMachine. The new motherboard is an MSI MK4AM-V. If this is not enough power, what would you guys recommend?

[edit] I changed the motherboard name from ASI to MSI [/edit]

 

[WW2Planes1]

[insert Scottie quote or other blatant Star Trek reference here]

umm. your problem might be the power supply. I'm assuming the 300W came with your eMachines so it's probably not a really high quality one. Although I ran an AthlonXP 1800 system off a 300W power supply, and I had 3 hard drives, 2 Opticals and a GF4Ti4200.

another possibility might be the motherboard. But i only say that because i've never actually heard of ASI.

Also, Antec makes some really good power supplies. I'd say something in the 350 to 400W range should fit the bill, the bigger you get, the more you'll be able to upgrade.
First though, see if what other people say about your mobo.

 

[pjyelton]

I'm sorry, that was a typo. Instead of ASI it should say MSI. And the power supply came with an cheap Antec case I bought a few months ago.

Everything seemingly worked fine on my old motherboard but I really don't know if the much improved motherboard takes up that much more power and I'd hate to go buy a new power supply only to find it doesn't help.

 

[loic2003]

Originally posted by: WW2Planes1
another possibility might be the motherboard. But i only say that because i've never actually heard of MSI.

MSI are pretty big and are really quite good. I've had many years of reliable operation from MSI boards, although I'm using an Abit right now which has been the most reliable by far.


I don't think you're low on power, but to be sure remove all non essential items (just have 1 CD drive, remove the modem & sound card) to check. If it doesn't start still, maybe borrow a friend's power pack and try his. Don't want to have to say it but you might have a dead motherboard sitting in there. I once had the same issue on the very first coputer I ever built and the problem was that I'd left a screw on the case that shouldn't have been there. This screw touched the back of the motherboard and fried it. Try doing a BIOS reset (check the manual) to see if thast helps.

 

[WW2Planes1]

Ah. MSI. That's a name I've heard of.
Yeah, i would try removing everything you don't need. Also, make sure that the 20-pin ATX connector and all other connectors are in tightly.
good luck.

 

[mechBgon]

pjyelton, what speed is your RAM rated for, and how many modules is that 768MB? If you're trying to use PC2100 (DDR266) with your Sempron and its DDR333 bus speed, there's one possible hangup right there. Some chipsets also have limits on how many banks of RAM they will run at a given speed.

Even Google has never heard of that model of MSI board but if it has a fitting for an ATX12V cable then plug it in pronto, if you didn't already. It sounds like an old VIA-based board of some type, can you double-check the model number?

 

[pjyelton]

Jeez, whats with all of my typos last night!?!!?? Ok, the motherboard is an MSI KM4AM-V. Here is a picture: http://www.msi.com.tw/program/...php?UID=615&KIND=1

When I start to unplug things, ESPECIALLY the Radeon 9600 which I know sucks up a lot of power, then then it will start up which is why I assumed it was a power issue.

And not to sound like a complete noob, but I do not have anything plugged into the ATX12V slot. My old motherboard didn't have this feature and my instruction booklet simply says 12v power for processor. But what plugs in there? I don't see a connector from my power supply that would fit.

 

[tyanni]

That is most likely your problem - most newer power supplies will have a connector for this. Your el-cheapo Emachines one does not. Get yourself a nice powersupply.

 

[mechBgon]

Seconded. They don't put that receptacle on there just for show, it triples the number of 12V lines to the board. Do not attempt to run the thing with just your main ATX line, you may overload its single 12V wire and let the magic smoke out.

 

[NinjaGnome]

you could also have a screw touching the back of your motherboard and th reason it doesnt work when your graphics card is in is because it puts the pressure down on that part of the board and shorts it out. thats a possiblity. I would carefully do a complete rebuild and before you start buying anything.

Thanks,
Rob

 

[obeseotron]

The problem is definitely the power supply. Buy a new one, no way around that. The ATX12V connector is not optional. Any board that has one probably needs it. There are adapters to change an HD Molex connector into the ATX12V line, but that's not going to solve anything. eMachines put exactly what you would expect into the cheapest PC's on earth, I wouldn't be shocked, or even mad, if upgrading was difficult. The power supplies used are probably extremely reliable at powering low cost garbage boxes, but not capable of dealing with much upgrading.

Also, MSI is one of the very biggest motherboard makers, probably behind Asus and Intel and not many others. They've made enthusiast boards for years, and are generally highly recommended, was very surprised that someone on this forum didn't know who they were.