Some PC Problems - Hardware & Software

So my pc is about 2 months old and this has been going on for a while now, I hear a whistling noise from my pc witch is probably a fan but i also hear it even more throught my speakers/headset. If i mute my sound i still hear it. Also for the last 2 days my monitor has had these lines going down it. not really noticeable but its there. Monitor is pretty new also. Then my pc randomly powers down and turns back on. Probably something with the surge protector. The pc itself works perfect. Everything is fast. Games play fine. Here is some info about my pc. I can give more if you need it to help me figure out some of these problems. Thanks CPU: intel i5 3450 GPU: AMD radeon 6670 500 watt power supply

Sounds like it could be caused by something not being grounded correctly. Has this been going on since you build the machine?

500 Watts is the combined output of all voltage channels in the PSU. You might not be getting sufficient power, check your PSU specifications(Located on the PSU, On the company website, and on the box). If it has more than one 12v rail, it's very likely that it's the problem.

I do know the PSU is fine for the system, But not a very good one. I am replacing it sometime during christmas, I also know these problems dont happen until after i login to windows.

[QUOTE=ElementalCreeds;38643571]I do know the PSU is fine for the system, But not a very good one. I am replacing it sometime during christmas, I also know these problems dont happen until after i login to windows.[/QUOTE] I wouldn't be so quick to rule it out, just take it into consideration. Look into PSU's a bit more, learn about the voltage channels, 500W is the combined output; meaning the 12v rail is not rated 500w. Remember the quality of the power be supplied to the components is important. I've met a decent amount of people who self built their computers and they seem to always skimp on power and run into problems in the long run. Regardless you really shouldn't skimp on something that the whole system relies on. Good luck.

[QUOTE=Ev1L Cracka;38644533]I wouldn't be so quick to rule it out, just take it into consideration. Look into PSU's a bit more, learn about the voltage channels, 500W is the combined output; meaning the 12v rail is not rated 500w. Remember the quality of the power be supplied to the components is important. I've met a decent amount of people who self built their computers and they seem to always skimp on power and run into problems in the long run. Regardless you really shouldn't skimp on something that the whole system relies on. Good luck.[/QUOTE] There is no set standard on how to measure power output of a PSU, every manufacturer does it differently. The label on the PSU should always be taken with a grain of salt in the best case, but on cheap Chinese wofat, all bets are off. PSUs like this: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817159062[/url] should be a crime to sell and manufacture. Shit manufacturers like this one (and many others) will build a PSU based on decades old designs and use inferior parts that won't get you anywhere near the labelled wattage without the unit catching on fire or exploding. Shit units like these usually cannot exceed 288W (often times much less) because they use wheatstone bridges of diodes for AC-DC conversion, instead of a bridge rectifier. That's only the beginning of problems with units like that. They usually omit important filtering stages and just use jumper bypass wires, resulting in bad DC rectification and backfeed of switching frequencies back into the mains that can disrupt other electronic devices. When the units fail (and they will), the wheatstone bridge diodes usually last and either the primary or secondary side of the PSU will burn/explode and often times send high voltage spikes through the DC side of the PSU and fry everything connected to it. Never be fooled by high wattage rating PSUs for sub $40, they're all fake and dangerous.

[QUOTE=bohb;38647899]There is no set standard on how to measure power output of a PSU, every manufacturer does it differently. The label on the PSU should always be taken with a grain of salt in the best case, but on cheap Chinese wofat, all bets are off. PSUs like this: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817159062[/url] should be a crime to sell and manufacture. Shit manufacturers like this one (and many others) will build a PSU based on decades old designs and use inferior parts that won't get you anywhere near the labelled wattage without the unit catching on fire or exploding. Shit units like these usually cannot exceed 288W (often times much less) because they use wheatstone bridges of diodes for AC-DC conversion, instead of a bridge rectifier. That's only the beginning of problems with units like that. They usually omit important filtering stages and just use jumper bypass wires, resulting in bad DC rectification and backfeed of switching frequencies back into the mains that can disrupt other electronic devices. When the units fail (and they will), the wheatstone bridge diodes usually last and either the primary or secondary side of the PSU will burn/explode and often times send high voltage spikes through the DC side of the PSU and fry everything connected to it. Never be fooled by high wattage rating PSUs for sub $40, they're all fake and dangerous.[/QUOTE] Volts X Amps = Watts, 12v * 25a = 300W, that would mean that 12v rail is rated 300w(Just an example). On the side of the PSU there will be the amperage of each output voltage channel. With a bit of math you can figure out the watts of each rail. Even though on most PSU's I've seen they all have already done the math for you. Older ones tend to only have the voltage and amperage output ratings(Volts X Amps = Watts). All energy is measure the same, I'm not sure what you were trying to state. It is very true that PSUs' tend to be rip offs so, it's best to check out the channel wattage, etc. Best of luck with your computer, hope this information is of use. [B]Edit:[/B] If you can show me a PSU that displays wattage that is not the combined output, that would be great, In most cases I think it's safe to say it's the combined output, other than that you should always check the output ratings and do some math to figure out how much power your components draw. [B]Edit 2:[/B] [url]http://itshootout.com/kuzals/maxtoppsu/psu2.jpg[/url] [B]Edit 3:[/B] Now that I think about it, why would any company display, anything other than the max combined output? If you think about it, that's technically the PSUs' max output(rating). Shine some light on why they'd do otherwise, I'm quite perplexed.

[QUOTE=Ev1L Cracka;38654401]Even though on most PSU's I've seen they all have already done the math for you. Older ones tend to only have the voltage and amperage output ratings(Volts X Amps = Watts). All energy is measure the same, I'm not sure what you were trying to state. It is very true that PSUs' tend to be rip offs so, it's best to check out the channel wattage, etc.[/QUOTE] The point I'm trying to make is never trust the label on the PSU. The model of PSU I posted above outright lies about the amount of power it can output. The components used in it are not rated for 500W of power output and will burn long before you ever get close to that load. [QUOTE=Ev1L Cracka;38654401][B]Edit:[/B] If you can show me a PSU that displays wattage that is not the combined output, that would be great, In most cases I think it's safe to say it's the combined output, other than that you should always check the output ratings and do some math to figure out how much power your components draw.[/QUOTE] You can never know the combined output of a PSU because they never tell you the absolute limits of the PSU. All PSUs are de-rated and have artificial caps on the amount of power they're allowed to deliver before they shut down (good ones) or burn/explode (bad ones.) [QUOTE=Ev1L Cracka;38654401][B]Edit 2:[/B] [url]http://itshootout.com/kuzals/maxtoppsu/psu2.jpg[/url] [B]Edit 3:[/B] Now that I think about it, why would any company display, anything other than the combined output? If you think about it, that's technically the PSUs' max output(rating). Shine some light on why they'd do otherwise, I'm quite perplexed.[/QUOTE] See, this is why I tell you that you can't trust the label. The label gives you all of these volt/amperage ratings but quite clearly says "450W MAX" below it. If you add up all of the individual voltages, you get 552.5W. This is clearly a shit PSU because they can't get their story straight and likely are using cheap components that will explode long before you ever reach either one of these ratings.

[QUOTE=bohb;38655433]The point I'm trying to make is never trust the label on the PSU. The model of PSU I posted above outright lies about the amount of power it can output. The components used in it are not rated for 500W of power output and will burn long before you ever get close to that load. You can never know the combined output of a PSU because they never tell you the absolute limits of the PSU. All PSUs are de-rated and have artificial caps on the amount of power they're allowed to deliver before they shut down (good ones) or burn/explode (bad ones.) See, this is why I tell you that you can't trust the label. The label gives you all of these volt/amperage ratings but quite clearly says "450W MAX" below it. If you add up all of the individual voltages, you get 552.5W. This is clearly a shit PSU because they can't get their story straight and likely are using cheap components that will explode long before you ever reach either one of these ratings.[/QUOTE] Yeah I'm aware cheap power supplies are very overrated(Literally), and use cheap parts(To much power drawn = failure, overload, and can very possibly harm your components). But I just thought you were saying the labeled title max output didn't always represent(Has to represent something.) combined output, which is does regardless of the power supply not being able to handle it or not(It's good information that cheap power supplies are almost never rated at what they say though, don't get me wrong, everyone should know this.).(If all PSUs' don't output there advertised ratings, then I'm pretty sure, you can file a lawsuit, if it's not able to output the advertised specifications(Pretty sure you can get them for false advertisement.), I don't see how you wouldn't be able to sue.) What an interesting subject.(I'm not backing up cheap PSUs')(So if your statement of all PSUs' don't output their max output, then they all can be sued with proof supplied, Seems a bit reckless if you ask me. Only way I see otherwise, would be a disclaimer or statement saying that the PSUs' won't ever output their advertised rating.)(So if what you say is true, it would be funny to invest, test, and sue after proving so. You might get lucky and get some cash, hah, maybe not but I find that very humorous. ) End story; kids, don't skimp on your PSU, it's what feeds power to all of your components and is one of the most important parts of a good machine, I'm sure this thread will be of use to many new builders that have no clue what they're doing. OP: Your amperage/wattages. CPU 77W, 6.41Amps MAX GPU, not sure what brand you have but one says 400W minimum, it's hard to say what it takes but, if you where to do it this way: 400W(Yeah i.d.k bout this)+77w+Fans/HDs I believe it's either just cutting it or barely enough. Which isn't recommended. Regardless of it being enough power, I think it's time to step it up, don't skimp and you could use it in your next build. It may or may not be your PSU, but it's worth a try.

I see PSU all the time whose max output is less than the combined max outputs of all rails( [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030[/url] all rails combined (accounting for the 5v and 3.3v not exceeding 130w) is 613 and the max output is 520), and really bohb knows his PSU and you don't need to teach him Ohm's law.

[QUOTE=Shadaez;38656837]I see PSU all the time whose max output is less than the combined max outputs of all rails( [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030[/url] all rails combined (accounting for the 5v and 3.3v not exceeding 130w) is 613 and the max output is 520), and really bohb knows his PSU and you don't need to teach him Ohm's law.[/QUOTE] Ohm's law is for calculating resistance in a circuit, and I wasn't teaching him anything, I was displaying how I got the information for the OP(Original Post). We weren't talking about bohb's PSU either. Like I said before it's the max combined output(There is no way it represents nothing). Regardless of your math of the voltage channels. It really depends what you consider 'max'. The max power it can output before failing, or the max ratings on the specifications. Well at this point me replying would be completely pointless(If you reply, because this will just go around in circles.). Good luck with your computer OP, hopefully it's easily corrected with a quality PSU.

If anyone could suggest me a nice modular power supply i will be picking it up this month. Nothing over 850 will be good. Also ill be picking up a card with it but i can handle that myself. Thanks

[QUOTE=ElementalCreeds;38662966]If anyone could suggest me a nice modular power supply i will be picking it up this month. Nothing over 850 will be good. Also ill be picking up a card with it but i can handle that myself. Thanks[/QUOTE] You should really try to shop around yourself(Maybe do a bit of googling about power supplies.), and read feedback of the product you want to purchase, etc. BTW I noticed in the feed backs of the Cosair products, many people have had them fail on them, etc. Regardless here are a few: 750w [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139030[/url] 650w [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341051[/url] 750w [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341052[/url] 850w [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015[/url] It's always a gamble. :suicide: