Random Lock-ups and flighty HDDs, PSU brand to get?
So I've been having issues lately, my F drive sometimes like to play hide and seek, usually after a reboot or two it will pop back up and windows will see it just fine again... Now random crashes. At first I was thinking it was just the drive, but now that I am having other issues I am thinking that the drive might be power starved and thats the problem (the BIOS almost always sees it, occasionally it will lost it after a hard power off).
After banging my head on the wall I had an odd thought and went into the BIOS and checked the voltage levels, most of the stuff appears to be fine, except the 5v rail is reading 4.59 to 4.64 (and it is changing which doesn't strike me as a good thing to see).
So in short I'm now suspecting the Power Supply to be going down on me (Antec 430 W) and will probably be snagging one tomorrow on my way into my job, any recommendations on brands? Places that don't dip their power supplies in liquid nitrogen to test them and get the biggest number possible?
As I want it *now* I'm going to hit up either Microcenter or General Nanosystems in the afternoon, and hopefully upgrade the computer that night (luckily PSU replacements are easy).
Or am I missing something obvious?
"Also, I have four legs and am covered in wool. Baa!" *Legion* reveals his inner furry.
Yeah, that's low, and you're probably right on that diagnosis. Seasonic and PC Power and Cooling are two excellent choices. In the cheapies, Sparkle/Fortron is supposed to be very good for the price.
I had a Fortron Blue 430W and I upgraded to an Antec TruePower 650W as part of my C2D/GeForce 8800GTS system upgrade. A month later the fan in the Antec died and the system would crash/hard-lock seconds after booting, probably as a result of the heat (the PS was too hot to touch, I was amazed when I opened the case and discovered this).
Long story short, I put the Fortron back in and I've been running just fine for 4 months. This with a system with 2 DVD-RW drives, three physical Hard Drives, GF 8800GTS, C2D E6600, etc. No problems whatsoever.
I'm fast becoming skeptical of Antec's ability to consistently produce reliable power supplies. I've had or seen many Antec PS's die in the past few years.
"I have not supped of Buffy, nor have I supped in any wise during the absence of Firefly. When Firefly returns again in glory, then shall I sup at the table of Whedon." - Fedaykin98
I've seen many, many complaints about Antec. I don't recommend them anymore.
I actually had been seeing them and had a few bad experiences of my own, but I went ahead and spent the money on the Antec PSU anyway. More fool me. I think this last failure was the proverbial last straw. I'm going to stay away from Antec PS's for a while.
Still love their cases though!
"I have not supped of Buffy, nor have I supped in any wise during the absence of Firefly. When Firefly returns again in glory, then shall I sup at the table of Whedon." - Fedaykin98
Yeah, the P182 is well past awesome.
I'm using an AeroCool PSU. It's about 3 years old, but it has features like temperature and voltage regulation, such that if you're connecting too many devices for the PSU to handle, the computer won't even turn on. The fan speed adjusts according to temperature as well. Their PSUs generally come in a nice shiny finish, and the newer models offer plenty of power and has modular cabling.
It's gonna feel like you took a tray full of cookies and BAKED THEM UP IN YOUR ASS!!!
http://steamcommunity.com/id/bravace
I ended up getting the BFGtech one, I've had good luck with them in the past on other products, and well their support kicked ass on the one problem I had with a video card I bought from them (basically the fan stopped working (mostly from dust building up I think) I called them explained the problem , they sent out a new card and a sticker to send the old on back to them. Also is overkill being a 650 watt PSU.
Note the old one was an Antec truepower 430, which replaced a dead Antec... I don't think I'll be buying Antec PSUs any more.
"Also, I have four legs and am covered in wool. Baa!" *Legion* reveals his inner furry.