Mekadave

Quote: Quote: Ok, silly question. Can I test a power supply that isn't hooked up to a motherboard, or does it need to be hooked up and running? There are some ATX PS testers out there however they still only do a static test, PS's will and can behave differently under load so it's best to actually have the machine turned on and an OS running with something in the background that really taxes the system, like 3D Mark for Windows. I'm sure there are similar things for Linux as well Cool, much thanks! I'll give it a shot. Hopefully the multimeter will get here soon.

Thanks, I'll give that a shot. I found an inexpensive multimeter on ebay that looks decent. The Flukes looked REALLY nice, but I don't have $150 to spend on the multimeter and still replace whatever hardware is going bad. ;( I have a suspect power supply that I've been wanting to test, too. Ok, silly question. Can I test a power supply that isn't hooked up to a motherboard, or does it need to be hooked up and running?

Thanks for the suggestion. Do you know where I can find any guides on how to use a volt meter? I've never laid eyes on a VM in my life. We've always tossed suspect power supplies at all the jobs I've had. It was never worth our time to test them.

Hi, all! Does this sound like a going-bad/insufficient power supply to you folks? In the last couple of weeks, my PC has locked up during boot pretty often. I've checked a lot of other possible culprits, running ChkDsk, defragging the drive, running Western Digital Diagnostic (WD hard drives), cleaning the registry, scanning for virii & spyware. I haven't installed any new software lately. Nothing's shown up, so I'm checking the power. Edited to add: I also checked the RAM with 2 different RAM testing programs. No errors there, either. Once it gets going, I've been monitoring the voltage with Asus PC Probe, and the only lead that seems low at all is the +5V one, which usually hangs around 4.9, but dips to 4.8 or under whenever I actually do anything, like browse, open a program, etc. When I scroll on a large webpage, I can actually hear the fan speed change! When I check the voltage in the BIOS before I even boot, the +5V lead is down around 4.56 to 4.65. All the others hang right around where they should be. My system: Win2K SP4 Athlon XP 2100+ Palomino Antec Truepower430 Asus A7V333 Mboard WD 60GB 7200 SE (C 2x WD 80GB 7200 SE in RAID 0 config Lite-On 16X DVD-ROM 4 extra Antec 80mm case fans the usual floppy drive Any suggestions/ideas are appreciated!

Cool, thanks! Do you have any idea of what framerates you're getting?

I guess I probably should've clarified. I'm trying to find a laptop in the right pricerange with the right combo of features. Been a little tough. Dell puts the ATI 7500 in their midrange laptop. ;(

Much thanks!

Well, I realize that, I just mean how much. Never mind the 9000 then, just the Geforce Go vs the 7500.

Hi, all. Got a question I'm sure someone can help with. I'm shopping for laptops. How does the ATI Mobility 7500 Radeon compare with the GeForce Go and the ATI Mobility 9000 chipsets, as far as both productivity and gaming go? Much thanks.

Is the 2600 a 266 mhz bus or a 333mhz bus?

Check your motherboard revision and your BIOS version, too. This page will tell you what CPUs your board will support: http://www.asus.com.tw/support/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx

Quote: Guys, Just a quick question - was getting worried that my computer was running a bit hot so slapped on a bigger fan. My current readings are: CPU: 58.5 C System: 32 C Is this OK for a Athlon 2100+ / Ti4600 ? Cheers, P I have an Athlon XP 2100+ and a Ti4200 on an Asus A7V333 MB, with an Akasa Silver Mountain 2 HSF w/Delta 60MM 38CFM fan, with Arctic Silver 3 in between, all in an Antec 1080AMG case with all fans installed (5: 3 intake, 2 exhaust. Still surprisingly quiet.). The CPU runs at about 50-51 C when idle, and 52-53 C while loaded. Motherboard temp is steady at 28 C whether loaded or not. Temp readings taken with Asus PC Probe, which draws readings straight from the BIOS. The XP 2100+ has a pretty high wattage draw since it's the last of the Palomino cores, and a corresponding higher temperature. Looking back, I wish I'd spent the extra $50-60 and got a 2200+ Thoroughbred, but I've got no complaints about performance. I've literally run Dungeon Siege all day long with no glitches, so I think the system is pretty stable.

Quote: If your BIOS software is well-written, THAT's the most practical and reliable monitor to use for your PSU's supply voltages and the CPU core voltage. Third-party utilities can instead be unreliable. Sorry, I should have been more specific about my hardware. It's an Asus A7V board & Duron 1.1Ghz with the most recent non-beta BIOS (1011), monitored with Asus PC Probe, the software Asus supplies for that purpose. I was putting together this machine on the cheap, and got a decent midtower case, though it had a Rhycom 450w PS. (Nowhere on the list of AMD recommended or approved PSes.) I got the case on clearance. It would be cheaper in total to buy an Antec Truepower PS than it would be to send it all back and buy a new case. I just don't know if it's necessary. So 10% is the 'allowed' variance? Within that, it should be ok?

Here's a question for everyone: How can you tell if your power supply is working ok, short of weird problems and errors? Asus PC Probe shows the different voltages (+12, +5, +3.3, Vcore). Is there a range that those should stay within for safety/quality?

Yes, it works just fine. That's the way I have it installed at home, Office XP on top of Win2000.