Here is the spec for my system,

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz
Motherboard: Asus P5E3 Deluxe with Intel X38 chipset
Ram: Mushkin Enhanced 2x1GB DDR3 1333MHz;
Graphics Card: Asus GeForce 9800GTX 512Mb
Sound Card: Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS
Harddisk: 2 x WD120GB and 1 x WD320GB
DVDRW: Pioneer 18X drive
PSU: CoolerMaster Extreme Power Duo 650W with SLI ready


I'm using Windows XP SP2. My problem is that my system would restarts itself
during bootup (sometimes 2 or 3 times). This usually happens just as it
enter windows, at the screen after the windows logo and before the desktop.
I'm not sure but I think my problem could be my PSU being not as efficient
as rated (at 70%) or it could be overheating (as I've read at
http://www.motherboards.org/reviews/...re/1648_1.html that this model is
considered to have a pretty small heatsink for its power rating). But the
system runs without errors after entering windows.

The reason I'm saying it could be my PSU is that when I plug in only two of
my HDD (2x120GB running in RAID 0) it boots up fine, no restarting. But when
I plug in my third HDD (1x320GB) the problem starts. I can't figure it out,
could my 1x320GB hdd be consuming thats much power? Or could it be some
software problem or even a virus?

Also I'm using only a 4pin ATX12V connector for my motherboard's EATX12V
while the board uses a 8pin EPS + 12V power plug for the . Could this be the
problem?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.



Jerry.

Jerry Chong wrote:

> Here is the spec for my system,
>
> Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz
> Motherboard: Asus P5E3 Deluxe with Intel X38 chipset
> Ram: Mushkin Enhanced 2x1GB DDR3 1333MHz;
> Graphics Card: Asus GeForce 9800GTX 512Mb
> Sound Card: Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS
> Harddisk: 2 x WD120GB and 1 x WD320GB
> DVDRW: Pioneer 18X drive
> PSU: CoolerMaster Extreme Power Duo 650W with SLI ready
>
> I'm using Windows XP SP2. My problem is that my system would restarts itself
> during bootup (sometimes 2 or 3 times). This usually happens just as it
> enter windows, at the screen after the windows logo and before the desktop.
> I'm not sure but I think my problem could be my PSU being not as efficient
> as rated (at 70%) or it could be overheating (as I've read at
> http://www.motherboards.org/reviews/...re/1648_1.html that this model is
> considered to have a pretty small heatsink for its power rating). But the
> system runs without errors after entering windows.
>
> The reason I'm saying it could be my PSU is that when I plug in only two of
> my HDD (2x120GB running in RAID 0) it boots up fine, no restarting. But when
> I plug in my third HDD (1x320GB) the problem starts. I can't figure it out,
> could my 1x320GB hdd be consuming thats much power?

That's a pretty good indication of a PSU being too weak for the system
and not that you have a floating ground. Here's a real review of a
660W AcBel, the actual manufacturer of your CoolerMaster (if its
UL.com registration is E131375). By "real" I mean the PSU was loaded
down to its full rated power and not just with a computer system,
which is usually a load of just 200-300W.

www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/552/7

Notice that it failed the 378W test, even when the PSU was tested at
25C, or 5-15C cooler than a typical computer interior. It's normal
for maximum output capacity to drop at higher temperature, and this
proportion is typical for lesser designs. OTOH what Motherboards.org
said about the heatsinks being too small may not be true because even
first-rate PSUs, like Seasonics, use seemingly skimpy heatsinks in
their models that have large fans. Also I don't see how the reviewer
can conclude anything about the heatsinks without taking their
temperatures. BTW, HardwareSecrets.com said that a 450W AcBel PSU was
better than the 660W one.

Never trust PSU reviews that don't include amp numbers. Some of the
very few websites that do good PSU testing include XbitLabs.com,
JonnyGuru.com, Enthusiast.HardOCP.com, TomsHardware.com,
LegitReviews.com, HardwareSecrets.com, and ExtremeOverclocking.com.

Don't trust power ratings, badly done reviews, or customer ratings..
It's safer to trust brands, and JonnyGuru.com has a list of good and
bad products.

kony wrote:

> On Sat, 31 May 2008 05:28:54 -0700 (PDT), "larry moe 'n
> curly" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> > Here's a real review of a 660W AcBel, the actual
> > manufacturer of your CoolerMaster

> > www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/552/7
> >
> > Notice that it failed the 378W test, even when the
> > PSU was tested at 25C, or 5-15C cooler than a typical
> > computer interior.
>
> IMO, the linked test is just about worthless because no
> variables were isolated. There is no mention of trying the
> test at a lower temp, for all we know it is as likely that
> the reason for shutdown was the low load on the 5V rail.
> While there are some things the hardwaresecrets reviews do
> well, it is fairly invalid to define a test and apply a PSU
> against that test, instead of recognizing what was rated -
> the rail current ratio, and accumlating data about under
> which variables it fails.
>
> We can say one thing for certain, in the linked test #4,
> there is no way it overheated enough to cause shutdown in 10
> seconds. Similarly so in test 5, these are almost certainly
> output threshold limits exceeded.
>
> Key is the remark made on the page,
> "Over current protection (OCP) circuit was active and
> shutting down the power supply whenever we tried to pull
> more than 21 A from any +12 V rail."
>
> ... and yet, when dual rails aren't truely, completely
> independent, that may be what was happening in test #3 with
> a 14A + 14A load on both 12V rails. What is more important
> is that we don't know what the true limit if this PSU is,
> but it is reasonable to suspect that the OP's system was not
> drawing 28A @ 12V. I'd guesstimate OP's CPU and video card
> were consuming under 200W during boot, maybe 10W per HDD (on
> 12V rail), add maybe 20W more watts for fans and optical
> drive if it were spinning and you have 230W or 19A which is
> pretty close to the Test #2 linked above for 12V rail
> consumption... and that test #2 at 45C no less, which is
> below what a typical case ambient temp would be after having
> only been on for less than a minute booting windows.

> The PSU may indeed be bad, but I find it hard to believe one
> hard drive would make or break it while booting, but it
> never showed instability any other time (like when gaming
> which is a higher load).

Could it be that HardwareSecrets.com increased the power draw on not
only the +12V rails but also the +5V and +3.3V rails because that
reflects what more-power-hungry computers draw? I'm just speculating
because I've never seen numbers for amps on reach rail versus overall
power consumption.

After test #4 resulted in failure, it was repeated at 25C, but the PSU
soon shut down again. Also some PSUs have passed all of
HardwareSecret.com's test, and at least one other website, maybe
TomsHardware.com, listed an AcBel PSU among those that could not put
out their rated power in a ~25C environment.