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Power supply?

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7 replies

by aldridje

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I am building a 1.3MHz.Duron system with 256 RAM. When I tested the system, it hangs up, continues and then nothing. I've checked the voltage on the motherboard, with the main reading 7.5-8V. As I am new to building is this voltage normal, every thing I have read suggests that the normal voltage should be around 10.8 - 13.2 V. If this is the case could the Power supply be bad (It shipped with the case that I purchased)? Could the low voltage keep the drive from completing the boot cycle?

7 replies

by thechas

Sure sounds like a bad, or undersized supply to me.

One thing to check, is the 120 / 240 switch set correctly?
With that low of a voltage, I would suspect the switch is set or even wired wrong.

The +12 normally is within +/- .5 volts.
Same for the +5.
The +3.3 should be within +/- .2 volts.

You want a solid 400 Watt or larger supply for any new system.

Some of the supplies that come with cases these days are 'peak' rated.
Their power rating often does not account for the limits of the combination of 3.3 and 5 volt power limits.

And yes, low supply voltages can wreak havoc on your PC.

Chas

by akula

AMD systems have always been finicky about the power supply. I recommend a high quality one from Antec, Enermax, or PC Power and Cooling. If money is an issue, 300W will work, but I recommend more than that if future expansion is a possibility.

by razzadaz

I'm having the same problem with an ASUS A7V-VE, AMD 1.2 GHZ, except mine won't even light up, I've heard about the "finicky" AMD problem, which is related to the requirement of having at least 10ma at the 5+ pin.

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