help me out...is this a PSU issue?

My system is SO screwed up right now!

Well, first off, I've had a few random hard reboots. Whole thing just shuts down and restarts. They were few and far between for a while...I mean RARE, maybe 2-3 times a MONTH, and my PC runs 24/7. Well, the windows registry got corrupted (I'm pretty sure it's due to the reboots becoming a bit more frequent), but I'm getting that straightened out...I'll at least be able to get my mp3's and stuff back before reformatting ( http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?p=3899823#post3899823 )

Anyway, the last couple of days, the reboots have been coming more and more frequent. But, strangely irratic. Like, I'll turn the system on and it will get past the post screen to the RAID screen, then reboot...then it will get to the POST screen and reboot. Then it will come on and stay on long enough for me to do all of the jacking around with the registry I had to do (explained thoroughly in the above link). Next reboot, same thing...system wont stay on long enough to even post. There doesnt seem to be any pattern to it at all...the only constant is that they are coming more often, sooner.

My first thought is that my power supply is just about dead. But I thought I'd check with you guys first, and also see if you can give me some recommendations for PSU's (if that's what is in fact wrong).

RAM? I dont think so. I've disconnected everything except the RAM, vid card, and one optical drive. It's been running Memtest86 for a couple of hours now with no errors. why isnt it crashing now?

HDD's? Well...it does seem to crash more frequently more often when the HDD's are connected than when they arent...but it still does it when they are disconnected. They are WD Raptors, and these things carry a 5 yr (or was it 3? I think it was 5) warranty when no one else does. They arent making any strange noises or anything. I dont really think they are the culprit.

PSU? Here's my vote. I've got a PILE of crap hooked up to this inexpensive PSU, although it hasnt given me any problems before with all of that stuff. It's given me a couple of years of great service, but it was cheap and it's old. And it seems to fit.

Mobo? I see a couple of caps with some residue and corosion on the tops of them. So I havent ruled this out. But...my thought is that IF I have to buy a new mobo, it's going to be an upgrade, with an upgraded CPU...which will require an upgraded PSU...so I'm thinking I'll buy a new PSU first.

Loose connection? no way...I've looked them over about a million times now.

full system specs:
Chieftec case
TurboLink 420 watt PSU (made by Channel Well, I think...see this link - http://episteme.arstechnica.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/77909585/m/5490910644/r/5490910644#5490910644 )
Asus A7N8X Deluxe mobo
AMD Barton 2500+ (clocked back down to stock since this started happening
Kingston RAM - 256x2
WD Raptor x2 - RAID0
ATi Radeon 9500 Pro
Koolance Exos - runs off computer's PSU (12 volt)
a couple of neon lights that I've unplugged since this started

If you do think it's a PSU issue, please feel free to post any suggestions on a new one. I'll probably get a nice one this time I'm considering the PC Power and Cooling Silencer 470...470 watts, the PCP&C name and reputation for quality, quiet, and reasonably priced for 99.00.

Sorry for the length of the post, but I wanted to be thorough. Thanks in advance for any help you guys may offer!

Have you looked at any voltage readings on the PSU?

If you do think it's a PSU issue, please feel free to post any suggestions on a new one. I'll probably get a nice one this time I'm considering the PC Power and Cooling Silencer 470...470 watts, the PCP&C name and reputation for quality, quiet, and reasonably priced for 99.00.

Click to expand...

Personally I'd go with OCZ520W for that price. But your initial response that its the PSU seems right. I bet you if you follow IMOGs advice, that the rails are way out of spec.

Havent checked the voltages with a voltmeter or anything. Glanced at them in BIOS...it was earlier today, so I dont remember exactly...but
vCore was OK
12 volt was OK
5 volt was a little low, lingered around 4.8, never below 4.78 that I saw
3.3 volt was low, occasionally dipping to 3.15...that one had me worried a bit.
I dunno...whatcha think? They're a little low, but I always thought it was OK if they were within 5% of spec, and those numbers are (well, just barely)...although that was in BIOS, system wasnt under load. Now that I think about it, I think I may have had my hard drives disconnected when I checked those voltage values...so the 5 volt may be even lower with everything hooked up.

About the OCZ PSU...I havent been watching the hardware scene as closely as I used to. All I know about OCZ is that scandal they had a couple of years ago with some crappy RAM and a lot of unhappy customers. I would be a little leary to buy a PSU by them unless I read a LOT of good reviews. Who manufactures the OCZ PSU's? Can you point me to some good reviews or posts about it? My last PSU was cheap, but I put a LOT of effort and research into it before I bought it, and there were a lot of people very happy with it.

Is this the one you're talking about?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104152
A little pricier than the PCP&C one I was looking at, but it's a good bit higher wattage, has those pots on the back, and of course the bling factor.

If price is an issue I would look at the Fortron AX-500 Blue Storm, or the FSP 530.

You said that there were caps with residue, thus the motherboard has bad caps!!!

http://badcaps.net

This sounds like it could be motherboard related to me. I always found my A7N8X to be a bit quirky to begin with, even when it was "working". Beboots and problems cold starting became fairly common before I retired it.

As for the OCZ powerstream 520w, I don't think you will have any trouble finding testimony to how good it is, pretty much every PSU related thread here has at least 1 person highly recommending it. There is plenty of real world results for alot of OCers here to back this one up.

RJARRRPCGP said:

You said that there were caps with residue, thus the motherboard has bad caps!!!

http://badcaps.net

Click to expand...

While that may sound obvious, its not. My motherboard has about 5 or so caps on it that are bulging and corroded on top which look like hell honestly. I don't have any stability issues and its been about 8 months probably since I first noticed them. It's possible these are his problem, but it's also quite possible these aren't it.

This sounds like a power issue, but he needs to do more troubleshooting or we are all just in the dark. Some firm PSU numbers would be nice, swapping out some components if possible might also help.

If it's not the mobo I'd blame the PS. Bios reading may not be accurate, use a meter. I've seen a PS with bad caps and yours could have flaky cap that causes random reboot. You did mention it is old and cheap so that would be the first thing you may want to replace.

Thanks for all the help, guys. After contemplating things for a couple of days, I think I'm going to just go ahead and invest in a new PSU. I'm pretty sure that's the problem...could be something else, but like I said, if I were to be upgrading anyway, the PSU would be one of the first things I would upgrade. So it's time to go shopping. I'm going to be looking closely at that OCZ one. Any other suggestions (brand name or what size you think I need) are much appreciated.

Thanks again for the troubleshooting help, guys!

It will probably be a few days before I even order a new PSU, but when I get it in, I will reply back and let you know how it goes.