power problems?

[WingWizard]

Hey guys, I'm just wondering what the symptoms are of having an inadequate psu. Right now it works okay, but I have 2 80mm led fans and a 60 mm fan, as well as an extra 512 mb pc3200 ram on the way. Right now I have a Codegen 400w PSU...should I worry?

Intel P4 2.4c @3.02 ghz
lite on cd-rw
lite on dvd
1 x 40gb western digital hdd
1 x 160 gb maxtor hdd
ATI radeon 9700 Pro AIW
5 x 80mm fans and 1 x 60mm fan (total, after I get'em)
1 cold cathode light
1 x front panel multifunction display (similar to digital doc)
2 x 512 MB GEIL pc3200 RAM (only have 512 right now...the other stick is on it's way from newegg )

What would happen if I don't have enough power? That way I can diagnose it quickly.

Thanks! I appreciate any help

[Highlife Man]

Found this test profile for power supplies in this thread that should provide you with some assistance. Do you have a link to your Codegen 400watt power supply so we could take a look at the rails? That might help even more.

Also, somethings to look out for with bad power supplies is random reboots and sometimes video artifacts.

[WingWizard]

I got it with my case, but I'll look around.

[WingWizard]

Well, using the chart from tom's hardware, i'll have around 362-370 watts total...so I should be okay, right?

What is video artifacting exactly? It's only happened twice, but when I rebooted I get goofy multi-colored blocks across the screen...

I believe it's this
http://www.codegengroup.com/proddetail2.asp?id=29

http://www.dealsonic.com/co40atxp4amd.html

[Highlife Man]

No need for link if you can just read(write) off the ratings from the side of the psu like the info shown in the following pic: http://images10.newegg.com/productim...161-001-02.JPG .

i'll have around 362-370 watts total...so I should be okay, right?

I like the word "should" in this case because it will be hard to determine if it is adequate until you get your new gear. Sometimes a power supplies ratings are misleading so what you could do is get a program like Motherboard Monitor (there must be a better one for this) and see what kind of high/lows/averages are being supplied by your power supply like so:

edit: yes i know this computer is running too hot but everythings under control, i swear!

[WingWizard]

Thanks Highlife! The rails should stay at 3.3, 5, and 12v whether in idle OR load, correct?

[Omardeth]

most the time it isn't the 3.3 or 5v rails you have to worry about . it is the 12v rail . if the link from dealsonic is the power supply your talking about , i think it might come up a bit shy on the 12v rail and you might have problems . it only has 12a on the 12v rail .your cpu cdr/rom and harddrives alone will pull about 12a .so all the fans and lights put you way over . the fans are about .25 or more a each no idea what the light and display will pull .also i wouldn't pay to much attention to how many "watts" the power supply says , pay attention to what the rails are .

with all the stuff you have in your system that uses the 12v rail i wouldn't get anything under 20a on the 12v rail . i use achieve 500w supply . they are cheap and are dual fan and work really well . have used half adozen sofar and haven't had a problem with one yet . for 23$ shipped i think they are the best value out there in a power supply at the time . you can get one at www.akida.net look under the case/pwer supply section . here is a pic of one i have installed . it will show you the rails .

[WingWizard]

Hmm, thanks Omar, I'll take a look at them when I get home

[WingWizard]

Hey Omar, I just bought one...how long did it take for you to get yours?

[Omardeth]

i am in ca so i got it fast they are also in ca . took like 2-3days after i paid for it . good thing is they also take paypal .