Cpu fan and rear fan stops and starts

Hey guys! I'm in need of your super knowledge!

I've been searching for the answer for this issue with no avail.
I think I know what's the issue, but I need reassuring before I spend money stupidly.

First off, here's my spec:

AMD Phenom X4 9950 2.6ghz
MB DA061/087L
3GB DDR2 ram
PNY GeForce GT 440
SATA 320GB (internal)
External 2TB HDD USB
Edirol UA-25 USB
HIPRO PSU 250W

Now, my suspicion is that the PSU is not strong enough, since i've made a few upgrades to the pc. I had a AMD X3 2.7 CPU and no GPU card (it was using the onboard graphics).

I used a PSU calculator online (do not know how accurate they are) but it said minimum should be 267W and recommended was 316W.

Can a weak PSU run all this and only freaking out from time to time? Like last time this happened was a month ago, but then it stopped, and started freaking out again when the power went off at home with my pc on. It didn't want to start and I had to disconnect all power cables for a few minutes before it decided to turn back on.

Please share some of your wisdom with me as I do not want to spend cash on something that may not solve the issue in hand.

Thanks,
GPS

 

Well regardless of the symptoms change your psu just for safety and piece of mind that's a seriously under powered cheap psu.

A good rule of thumb when dealing with cheap psu's is 50% safety margin, your system can draw around 280 watts actual power consumption when the video card and cpu are under full load which is already more than the theorectical limit of your current power supply, so aim for a 500watt power supply there's very little extra cost between a 350w and 500w so it makes sense to spend the extra money.

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/amd_phenom_x4_9950_be_processor_tested,10.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GT_440/24.html

 

Hey Rikky, thanks for the reply.

Yeah, it is a cheap low life PSU, but it came already with the tower. This was the 1st time I bought a pre-built computer, all my previous ones were custom made by me, so I am not used to have mini sized crap as a computer. The thing is, I moved to London, and my flat in Portugal was victim of robbery, so my custom rig was stolen along with all the valuables I had. And here in London, I just bought the cheapest thing (3 years ago) I saw on pcworld, which was a refurbished desktop from PB. (iMedia A260UK, or however it's called)

Needless to say, these desktops are crap to upgrade cos the tower is so small, I have many restrictions.
Which brings me to the PSU's form factor. I've been doing some research, and apparently my PSU's form factor is something called mATX SFX. ANd further research has shown me that it's not only hard to find PSU's with those dimensions, but the ones available are not very powerful.

Keep in mind, my tower has a special housing/box thingy for the PSU, which dismantles if I want to do something in the motherboard. So it has to be that specific form factor. I found one relatively cheap mATX PSX PSU running at 400W, but I cannot find one more powerful. And some websites are so poor that they don't point out dimensions or form factor of the PSU.

Any ideas where I can find a 500w or more PSU within the mATX PSX form factor?

Cheers in advance.
GPS

 

Dump the case, you can get an ATX case for £10 or free from a computer store, car boot sale, computer fair.

matx stands for micro atx, you won't find a decent power supply in this form factor, here's a 500w generic one but we never recommend these they're not great and your cpu really needs a good power supply it has quite a high current draw.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/500w...us4pin-atx-12v-with-80mm-temp-control-fan-psu

 

What's the difference between the generics and the non-generics?

I don't think this rig deserves the time and patience to transfer all the hardware to a new tower. I was thinking about going back to my roots and build my own pc again, so the less hassle I have with this setup, the better.

I only bought a "new" processor for this rig because my old CPU's pins bent when I was trying to remove the heatsink. It was glued to the CPU and I forced it out too harsh..

This is the PSU I found, but it's 400W.
http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/300595976143?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&cbt=y

Do you reckon this is enough to keep my pc running for a couple of months, until I order the parts for a new custom rig? Or is the generic one still better than this one? I'm not really focusing in quality right now, I just want a pc that wont shut off everyday due to overheating until I get a new pc.

I also thought about buying a electric fan to cool it off, but it's about the same price of the PSU's discussed.

Thanks for helping out so far!
GPS

 

Most generics are mass produced in the same couple of Chinese factories, they use poor quality components, usually handle less than their rated spec, have few safety features such as over current protection, have poor stability through fluctuations in temperature and voltage, the list goes on.

Like everything you buy the cheap ones are cheap for a reason, the wattage is very rough guide with generics also they often lie so even though it says 400w it may only be able to handle that output for 20 secs before it over loads so it's only actually 300watt continuous.

Name brand power supply's is the closest we can get to ensuring the power supply is up to the task and more importantly safe, generics often don't have names printed on them because no one will put their name to such a product and there's no way of getting a manufacturers RMA.

Well no I wouldn't get a generic from an Ebay store and I don't think 400w is enough as I've said, get the generic 500w from scan since your in the uk, they're the cheapest, they're the only place I buy parts from, the customer service is second to none and they'll accept returns no quibble.

They usually only stock quality parts also so as generics go it will be a half decent generic and has more wattage headroom, it's also been manufactured for their store so it has to be half decent or they wouldn't put their name to it.

Good luck

 

Mate, you're awesome! Thank you for all the info and knowledge!

I will try the 500w one out.

Out of desperation, I disconnected my GPU and stored it in a AS bag in a box and tried to see if the fans would work. No avail. Apparently the CPU is a massive power hog?

Anyway, I'm buying the 500w one tomorrow when I wake up, as It's 6:30am and my brain is tired of looking at circuit boards and fans..

I will let you know how it turned out!

Thanks again for your patience.
GPS

 

No problem Yes it is quite power hungry, not exceptionally so though around 223watts total power consumption from the cpu alone during stress test, that's without a video card doing anything or extra cards or drives. For comparision I have an I7 930 that draws 216watts but has nearly double the performance, I have a 950watt corsair power supply but that's mainly to power my gtx 590.

If you find the power supply isn't the problem you still need one so the purchase won't be in vein your current power supply is dangerously under powered.

 

Hey.. I bought that PSU from scan.. now my rig is running with 500W.

The CPU fan still doesn't work. As I took it out, I noticed the fan wasn't rotating well enough when i spun it with my finger, it was rigid. So clearly something is wrong with the bearings of the fan and needs lube. Funny enough, the damn fan is a mystery to take it down, I don't know how to open the damn thing!

It's getting harder to find a CPU fan+heatsink that would fit my motherboard. I bought a few fans that claimed to fit AM2 mini towers, slim fit, universal... none of them would actually fit my mobo...

As a temp fix, I laid my tower horizontally and put one of my rear fans on top of the heat sink, blowing air through it. It is working so far, but it's keeping my CPU around 50 to 60oCelcius... It's not good....

Could you point me to a fan that will actually fit my mobo? This should be my mobo right here

Cheers!