PSU suggestions

[Zewp]

I got an amazing deal for an Antec NeoEco 620w PSU over on Carbonite (R650), but now I wonder if the PSU was at fault after all.

Even with the new one, it doesn't boot if my HD6870 is intalled, it starts when I plug in a GTS450 or no GPU at all, but nothing on screen. The screen showed it booting up and going all the way to Windows once, but then I restarted the PC and installed a GPU and from there nothing on screen again.

Sigh.

 

[Bryn]

I got an amazing deal for an Antec NeoEco 620w PSU over on Carbonite (R650), but now I wonder if the PSU was at fault after all.

Even with the new one, it doesn't boot if my HD6870 is intalled, it starts when I plug in a GTS450 or no GPU at all, but nothing on screen. The screen showed it booting up and going all the way to Windows once, but then I restarted the PC and installed a GPU and from there nothing on screen again.

Sigh.

I had weird problems not dissimilar to yours when I bought my HD7970. PC was seldom able to boot correctly, I had mixed results when switching out certain components, performance was slow etc. All the issues went away when I upgraded my 500W PSU to a 700W one.

 

[Zewp]

Yeah, but 620w is way above what my PC needs. I could probably get away with running a 400w on this PC, so 620w is definitely overkill.

I breadboarded the motherboard to rule out any shorts in the case itself, but it gives me the same results. Reset the BIOS countless times, to no avail. Took out all the unnecessary hardware components leaving just the CPU and one stick of RAM, still nothing on screen.

The only thing I can think that this might be is a dead motherboard, but it doesn't make sense that from time to time it actually boots up. It might just be in the process of failing, or something. I bet if I replace it the PC will start up no problems. The issue is just getting a cheap LGA775 board. It's no use spending R500+ on a new one if I'm going to chuck it out in 2 months.

 

[Zewp]

Oh, and after I reinstalled everything in the case, at startup my keyboard lights flash once and that's it. Still nothing on the screen. It's a step up, but still not really helpful.

This isn't the first time I've experienced something like this with this mobo either. Usually if I reseat everything in the case it starts up, but it seems not this time.

 

[TheGrove]

Best thing I ever bought was the Corsair HX750.

4 years later and it's still going strong, not a days issue, works out cheaper to buy a quality psu that you don't need to replace yearly. Get it on a ups with decent protection and you will be good to go.

 

[Bryn]

Yeah, but 620w is way above what my PC needs. I could probably get away with running a 400w on this PC, so 620w is definitely overkill.

I breadboarded the motherboard to rule out any shorts in the case itself, but it gives me the same results. Reset the BIOS countless times, to no avail. Took out all the unnecessary hardware components leaving just the CPU and one stick of RAM, still nothing on screen.

The only thing I can think that this might be is a dead motherboard, but it doesn't make sense that from time to time it actually boots up. It might just be in the process of failing, or something. I bet if I replace it the PC will start up no problems. The issue is just getting a cheap LGA775 board. It's no use spending R500+ on a new one if I'm going to chuck it out in 2 months.

That doesn't mean your PSU isn't the problem though. Have you tried another one to rule it out? Try alternate the stick of RAM you use and the slot you put it in, if you haven't already.

If the problem isn't your PSU or RAM, chances are very likely that it's your motherboard. A faulty motherboard is still capable of showing fleeting signs of life.