M2NPV-MX + Sempron 2800: is 300W enough ?

Hi,

I recently upgraded a 3-year old computer to the following configuration:
Asus M2NPV-MX (I'm using the onboard sound, LAN and VGA)
Sempron 2800+ with stock cooler (QFan turned on)
256MB of DDR2-533
Maxtor 40GB IDE hard disk
Philips 48x speed CDRW drive

I'm still using the power supply that came with the Aopen H500A case, a 300W
one. It has a 20-pin connector, but I plugged it into the 24-pin connector
on the mainboard (the manual suggested I could) and it works.
However, I'm experiencing some problems with the onboard graphics during
simple office applications, and I was wondering whether it could be a power
issue (the symptoms don't suggest this, but I've tried everything else :-)
Is 300W not enough for this configuration? Has anyone else experienced
problems with a similar setup and an Aopen 300W power supply?

Any help/suggestions welcome!

Marc.

:-)

Btw, the manual for the M2NPV-MX says "use a 300W or more PSU".

Marc.

> I recently upgraded a 3-year old computer to the following configuration:
> Asus M2NPV-MX (I'm using the onboard sound, LAN and VGA)
> Sempron 2800+ with stock cooler (QFan turned on)
> 256MB of DDR2-533
> Maxtor 40GB IDE hard disk
> Philips 48x speed CDRW drive
>
> I'm still using the power supply that came with the Aopen H500A case, a
300W
> one. It has a 20-pin connector, but I plugged it into the 24-pin connector
> on the mainboard (the manual suggested I could) and it works.
> However, I'm experiencing some problems with the onboard graphics during
> simple office applications, and I was wondering whether it could be a
power
> issue (the symptoms don't suggest this, but I've tried everything else :-)
> Is 300W not enough for this configuration? Has anyone else experienced
> problems with a similar setup and an Aopen 300W power supply?
>
> Any help/suggestions welcome!
>
> Marc.

It's not just that it's only a 300 Watt PSU that you are using; it is a
disposable inexpensive PSU that came with the case. Inexpensive PSU's do
NOT put out their full rated power at their normal operating temp.. They use
inexpensive parts; that's why they're cheap.You need a quality PSU of higher
power output.

--
DaveW

----------------
"Me" <> wrote in message
news:4Scsh.299533$...
> Hi,
>
> I recently upgraded a 3-year old computer to the following configuration:
> Asus M2NPV-MX (I'm using the onboard sound, LAN and VGA)
> Sempron 2800+ with stock cooler (QFan turned on)
> 256MB of DDR2-533
> Maxtor 40GB IDE hard disk
> Philips 48x speed CDRW drive
>
> I'm still using the power supply that came with the Aopen H500A case, a
> 300W
> one. It has a 20-pin connector, but I plugged it into the 24-pin connector
> on the mainboard (the manual suggested I could) and it works.
> However, I'm experiencing some problems with the onboard graphics during
> simple office applications, and I was wondering whether it could be a
> power
> issue (the symptoms don't suggest this, but I've tried everything else :-)
> Is 300W not enough for this configuration? Has anyone else experienced
> problems with a similar setup and an Aopen 300W power supply?
>
> Any help/suggestions welcome!
>
> Marc.
>
>
>

DaveW wrote:
> It's not just that it's only a 300 Watt PSU that you are using; it is a
> disposable inexpensive PSU that came with the case. Inexpensive PSU's do
> NOT put out their full rated power at their normal operating temp.. They use
> inexpensive parts; that's why they're cheap.You need a quality PSU of higher
> power output.
>
>
In addition to the PSU getting beefed up a little, the RAM needs to be
increased. With the onboard graphics being used, some of the RAM is
consumed by it. That leaves things working quite sluggish with only a
256MB stick. I had to run 1GB on mine, before WinXP and any other
applications started moving halfway decent.
Rob

:-)

Yes, I am getting 512MB of memory from the QVL in the manual (I had indeed
forgotten about the onboard graphics using some of the memory).
My main concern now is about the PSU; are people who tell me to get an
expensive 500W PSU just repeating a sales pitch, or is 300W really not
enough for this configuration? Remember, this is a cheap pc that my parents
use to write e-mail and letters on; it's not a gaming machine.
And what sort of symptoms would you expect from a system with insufficient
power?

Marc.

"Rob" <> wrote in message
news:E-udneWgUogzrC_YnZ2dnUVZ_t-...
> DaveW wrote:
> > It's not just that it's only a 300 Watt PSU that you are using; it is a
> > disposable inexpensive PSU that came with the case. Inexpensive PSU's
do
> > NOT put out their full rated power at their normal operating temp.. They
use
> > inexpensive parts; that's why they're cheap.You need a quality PSU of
higher
> > power output.
> >
> >
> In addition to the PSU getting beefed up a little, the RAM needs to be
> increased. With the onboard graphics being used, some of the RAM is
> consumed by it. That leaves things working quite sluggish with only a
> 256MB stick. I had to run 1GB on mine, before WinXP and any other
> applications started moving halfway decent.
> Rob

In article <D4rsh.300666$>,
ess says...
> :-)
>
> Yes, I am getting 512MB of memory from the QVL in the manual (I had indeed
> forgotten about the onboard graphics using some of the memory).
> My main concern now is about the PSU; are people who tell me to get an
> expensive 500W PSU just repeating a sales pitch, or is 300W really not
> enough for this configuration? Remember, this is a cheap pc that my parents
> use to write e-mail and letters on; it's not a gaming machine.
<snip>

Define expensive.

A better supply that provides a proper connector for the motherboard
and more current for the +12 rail is what you want. These can be found
for under $50 USD. Any good supply from 350 watts on up should do. More
wattage will give you some breathing room for adding future components;
say memory, better video card, another hard drive or dvd burner.

> And what sort of symptoms would you expect from a system with insufficient
> power?
>

Random blue screen failures, data corruption, component destruction
when the overtaxed power supply catastrophically fails because it's old
and been overtaxed for too long. You're putting in nice new components;
using the old power supply in this case would be false economy, IMO.

Bill
--
Gmail and Google Groups. This century's answer to AOL and WebTV.

Me wrote:
> :-)
>
> Yes, I am getting 512MB of memory from the QVL in the manual (I had indeed
> forgotten about the onboard graphics using some of the memory).
> My main concern now is about the PSU; are people who tell me to get an
> expensive 500W PSU just repeating a sales pitch, or is 300W really not
> enough for this configuration? Remember, this is a cheap pc that my parents
> use to write e-mail and letters on; it's not a gaming machine.
> And what sort of symptoms would you expect from a system with insufficient
> power?
>
> Marc.

When I totaled up the numbers, I got about 148W.

(Its an estimate, since the motherboard component is never specified.
I use some numbers I've measured for that, but every motherboard will
differ.)

To figure out what is working or not working, there are
three tests.

1) memtest86+ from memtest.org. Make the floppy or CD version and boot with it.
Do a minimum of two passes. No errors are acceptable. Bumping Vdimm may
help if just a couple errors are showing. Then do another couple passes.
2) Prime95 while in Windows or Linux (mersenne.org). The program has a Torture
Test. It does a calculation with a known answer. The program will stop on
the first error it finds. A system in trouble will stop in 10 seconds.
A healthy system will run for hours. A pass means good processor, good RAM,
and a healthy Northbridge.
3) 3DMark2001SE Build 330 benchmark and demo loop. Install chipset drivers,
the video driver (for either built-in or for video card), and DirectX 9c.
Then run the benchmark, looking for artifacts or a crash.

If (1) and (2) pass, and build-in graphics fail (3), then return the
motherboard under warranty or to the retailer. If you failed (2) and (3), then
(3) could no longer be considered conclusive - in that case, the root
cause could be bad RAM for example, even if memtest86+ doesn't catch it.
Memtest86+ is used to detect the "easy" faults, before booting into Windows
for the first time.

Paul

>
> "Rob" <> wrote in message
> news:E-udneWgUogzrC_YnZ2dnUVZ_t-...
>> DaveW wrote:
>>> It's not just that it's only a 300 Watt PSU that you are using; it is a
>>> disposable inexpensive PSU that came with the case. Inexpensive PSU's
> do
>>> NOT put out their full rated power at their normal operating temp.. They
> use
>>> inexpensive parts; that's why they're cheap.You need a quality PSU of
> higher
>>> power output.
>>>
>>>
>> In addition to the PSU getting beefed up a little, the RAM needs to be
>> increased. With the onboard graphics being used, some of the RAM is
>> consumed by it. That leaves things working quite sluggish with only a
>> 256MB stick. I had to run 1GB on mine, before WinXP and any other
>> applications started moving halfway decent.
>> Rob
>
>

Have a peep at this site, going to the bottom if it's page click
'Start Calculator' and it'll give you some idea of the Wattage
required.
http://www.journeysystems.com/power_...calculator.php

Any CPU above about 2Ghz requires a good power supply with good
regulation because of the ripple frequency of the clocking signals,
take the Wattage of any ol' power unit with a 'pinch of salt', many
'El Cheapos' fails misrubly in supplying a good 'steady DC' with fast
CPUs...

If you stick to a renowned brand you can't go wrong.

Davy

Me wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I recently upgraded a 3-year old computer to the following
> configuration: Asus M2NPV-MX (I'm using the onboard sound, LAN and
> VGA)
> Sempron 2800+ with stock cooler (QFan turned on)
> 256MB of DDR2-533
> Maxtor 40GB IDE hard disk
> Philips 48x speed CDRW drive
>
> I'm still using the power supply that came with the Aopen H500A case,
> a 300W one. It has a 20-pin connector, but I plugged it into the
> 24-pin connector on the mainboard (the manual suggested I could) and
> it works.
> However, I'm experiencing some problems with the onboard graphics
> during simple office applications, and I was wondering whether it
> could be a power issue (the symptoms don't suggest this, but I've
> tried everything else :-) Is 300W not enough for this configuration?

Depends on the maker of the power supply.

When a power supply is included in the cost of the case it's often of poor
to fair quality. I doubt even a good quality 300W PS would suffice for your
current needs.

Best value:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103013

Good but more expensive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104954
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151022

Overkill:
http://www.pcpower.com/products/view...hp?show=T1KWSR