Help needed with a power supply

jason rees · 15 Feb 2006 at 10:59

Ok lads first of all here is my spec.
Asus A8R MVP mobo
Athlon 64 3.7 san diego
2 x x850xt graphics
2 gig corsair twinx platinum
X-fi sound card
1 x seagate 120gb hdd
And here is the problem i think, 1 x 500watt x connect psu.

Right problem is when system is working i.e accessing the hdd the sreen flickers very slightly, not a big problem i know but bloody annoying and could cause system crash.Just noticed it flickers slightly when not doing anything also cpu voltage up and down all the time.This is a new power supply and system so dont think its faulty just not man enough for the job.
Any thoughts or recommendations? :confused:

Admiral Huddy · 15 Feb 2006 at 11:30

My immediate thoughts is that if there were any problems with the stability of the PSU, then the system would either freeze or restart without warning.

My second thought is your two x850xts so I’m assuming then that all these are regular purchases.

I think your first port of call is to check to make sure you have all the latest drivers from ATI and that the previous drivers were removed correctly (display and chipset).

Check all your connections and cables. Swap out for known working ones just to eliminate them.

Check your driver settings in display properties i.e. refresh rate etc..

If it’s none of these, then you could be right, maybe the PSU isn't up to the job.

Your next step is to check the voltages.. See if you can get a copy of motherboard monitor to check that the rails are inside the allowable tolerance, or get a multimeter to check the supply itself.

Building a system like this on a poor PSU is like building on sand. Therefore, it might be best to get a quality build PSU like the Seasonic 600W and see if it cures your problem.

If it does, it's your right to RMA the first PSU.

If it doesn't, then we may have to look else where, RMA the first PSU anyway.
Hope this helps

jason rees · 15 Feb 2006 at 12:55

Thanks for the advice think i will order a new power supply and see what happens.

PieEater · 15 Feb 2006 at 13:15

How did you decide that your screen flicker is caused by the PSU? Have you eliminated the screen, VGA / DVI cable, graphics cards, graphics drivers etc as potential causes? Or did you just want an excuse to upgrade your PSU

Admiral Huddy · 15 Feb 2006 at 14:09

jason rees said:
Thanks for the advice think i will order a new power supply and see what happens.

well check everyting else first. Sometimes a solution is as simple of making a few obvious inspections as per my previous post.