02-Paratrewpr
[Immediate Shutdown on Startup] -28th Nov 2006
Ok Usually with
Power Supply Issues I try to discover what significant activity occurred prior to the time
Problems Started Usually it is an
Upgrade
Most PC Manufacturers will just install the smallest
Adequate Power Supply to operate the system as sold And do not allow for any additional
Upgrades Power Consumption
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First
First, I'll start with the power supply... Its an Antec that came with the case. Peak output says 180w on the power label. Further down, it says 323w when combined with the +12v spec. If that's only an effective 180w, I think that might be the problem. The thing is though, I've had this system for about 4 or 5 years pretty much the way it is except that just recently I went from the 40gb drive to 80gb plus the new printer. It wouldn't seem like that would push it over the edge but then again... the straw that broke the camel's back was pretty light.
Yep - You would think that upgrading from a 40gb drive to a 80gb drive would be safe enough Except for the
4-5 years time span with a Manufacturers Adequate Design Practice -
POWER SUPPLY BACKGROUND INFO
A 400 Watt PSU
Purchased 5 years ago does not mean you were getting 400 Watts, maybe 250, but that depends on who and how they made it -- But don't get worried yet. A 400-2000 MHz CPU takes between 40-60 Watts (Peak). A P4 3.2Ghz takes 89-103Watts (Depending on CPU model). A video card takes about 30-60 Watts, unless you're getting the latest NVidia 5x00, 4x00 that takes about 90 Watts (Peak). Hard drives take about 5-10 Watts. Your motherboard takes about 10 Watts. Fans take 2-5 Watts. A typical computer system takes in total about 190 Watts Peak, 160 Watts average/idle.
A normal switching type power supply is only 50%-60% efficient and so can only handle 50%-60% of the wattage the power supply is made for. If you have a 350Watt power supply, you can safely get about 210 Watts of Average Power out of it but the
Peak Value Specification will be the Major Limiting Upgrade Factor
So with the Antec 180Watt Peak your system I would say is a bit
Power Anemic from the beginning And that any small increase in
Power Consumption would be overtaxing the Power Supply And keep in mind that Peak means maximum at any given time And that on Initial Startup You will have the Maximum Inrush Current And this is where the
Peak Rating has a significant meaning -
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Secondly -
Related to the power issue... I have several peripheals hooked up via USB including 2 laser printers, vid cam, keyboard, mouse, scanner, and game pad. Does power distribution head to the peripheals before the OS is started? ...specifially during the time when I'm shutting down? I figure of course the keyboard and mouse have power as that's evident but am not sure of the rest of the devices. If so, that might be causing a drain.... ya think?
Now it depends on how the power is supplied By the Peripheral Power Pack or via the PC Power Supply USB Power Rail which is generally 3 AMPs so if you have a lot of USB devices that are receiving Operation Power from the system USB Power You should consider using a USB HUB Expander that has it internal USB Power The items that generally require a External HUB would be Video Camera USB Powered Scanners PDA iPOD which could draw 500 milliamps each {USB Standard) Again it is not the total current draw It is the Total Inrush Current which could exceed 3 amps for a few milliseconds
The Power Protection Circuitry has to be PDQ [Pretty Dam Quick] When you are operating in Nanoseconds -
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Finally Here are some guidelines for selecting power supplies
1st item is to make sure it
will fit in your Case
2nd item is that it is
compatible with your Motherboard Connectors
3rd item is verify that the
True Power is adequate for any immediate upgrades you have in mind
Here are some relative websites -
Antec -
http://www.antec.com...IYArticle1.htmlExamples
http://www.antec.com...owerSupply.htmlArticles -
http://www.antec.com/us/info_DIY.htmlCalculator -
http://www.extreme.o...m/powercalc.jspFAQ -
http://www.antec.com...aqDownload.htmlYou may want to search thru
System Building & Upgrading Forum that is located just South of the Hardware-Components& Peripherals Forum for more on selecting a new Power Supply -
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Jack123