Newbee problem: Build suddenly clicks off

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Pinx

System: Asus A7N8X, AMD XP2700, 3 x 512 Crucial PC2700 RAM, ATI 9600
graphics card, Codegen 550w PSU. 2 Western Digital 120g harddrives.
CDRW, DVD,FDD. WinXP pro.

New to building, I've put together successful boxes before and this is
my first real problem.
The computer frequently clicks off suddenly for no apparent reason --
sometimes if I'm running an app, sometimes if the box is just sitting
idle, sometimes when I'm powering up.
With some experimenting, I've found the problem usually, but not
always, goes away if I underclock the CPU. I've disassembled and
reassembled the box twice, always with the same problem.
My first guesses are a bad PSU or CPU.
Thank you for any theories from those who know more than I do about
this stuff.
 
Pinx said:
System: Asus A7N8X, AMD XP2700, 3 x 512 Crucial PC2700 RAM, ATI 9600
graphics card, Codegen 550w PSU. 2 Western Digital 120g harddrives.
CDRW, DVD,FDD. WinXP pro.

New to building, I've put together successful boxes before and this is
my first real problem.
The computer frequently clicks off suddenly for no apparent reason --
sometimes if I'm running an app, sometimes if the box is just sitting
idle, sometimes when I'm powering up.
With some experimenting, I've found the problem usually, but not
always, goes away if I underclock the CPU. I've disassembled and
reassembled the box twice, always with the same problem.
My first guesses are a bad PSU or CPU.
Click to expand...

More than likely, it's the power supply. If you have a spare lying around,
swap it out and try it. With today's power-hungry systems, it's getting more
and more important to invest in a decent PSU. IMHO, the best bang for the
buck (quality vs. price) is Antec. The generic ones that ship with many
cases are often just too junky to trust your other more valuable components
to.
 
I double that. I'm becoming an Antec convert bigtime.
I see the improvement in performance on systems that
all I did was change the case / powersupply. I can buy
the SLK1650 with 350 watt ps for about what I use
to pay for a new ps alone ... $55 to $58.

johns
 
Pinx said:
System: Asus A7N8X, AMD XP2700, 3 x 512 Crucial PC2700 RAM, ATI 9600
graphics card, Codegen 550w PSU. 2 Western Digital 120g harddrives.
CDRW, DVD,FDD. WinXP pro.

New to building, I've put together successful boxes before and this is
my first real problem.
The computer frequently clicks off suddenly for no apparent reason --
sometimes if I'm running an app, sometimes if the box is just sitting
idle, sometimes when I'm powering up.
With some experimenting, I've found the problem usually, but not
always, goes away if I underclock the CPU. I've disassembled and
reassembled the box twice, always with the same problem.
My first guesses are a bad PSU or CPU.
Thank you for any theories from those who know more than I do about
this stuff.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the motherboard is shutting the system down to prevent damage
from overheating. The likely cause is the heatsink isn't properly seated,
or you forgot thermal paste/pad between the CPU and heatsink.
 
johns said:
I double that. I'm becoming an Antec convert bigtime.
I see the improvement in performance on systems that
all I did was change the case / powersupply.weirdn buy
the SLK1650 with 350 watt ps for about what I use
to pay for a new ps alone ... $55 to $58.
Click to expand...

I triple that about how important a quality power supply is, and Antec is
the best IMO, but I think it's not the power supply causing it. Usually,
the power supply causes weird problems. When your system shuts down without
warning, it's often built-in safety mechanisms on the motherboard that shut
down the system due to the CPU overheating. The biggest clue of all was
that it goes away when the CPU gets underclocked. Underclocking the CPU
would cause it to run cooler, and therefore not shutdown. When the system
gets loaded, it runs hotter and breaks the threshold of the safety system.

Either the heatsink was not properly or completely seated, or the builder
didn't install thermal paste/pad between the two. I never use the stock
thermal crap, opting to use Artic Silver, instead. My vote is for the
former. I had a socket 775 build do the same thing because of the goofy way
of seating the heatsink, I didn't get it fully and firmly seated.
 
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