power supply for Intel Pentium 4 531

[gypsy3001]

I just bought an Intel Pentium 4 531 CPU and motherboard. Been having
some trouble with it. So I'm wondering if the CPU/Motherboard is
defective or if my 350W power supply is insufficient? What is the Power
requirement for the Intel Pentium 4 processors? I can't seem to find
this information anywhere on the web.

Chieh

 

[ducky]

I just bought an Intel Pentium 4 531 CPU and motherboard. Been having
some trouble with it. So I'm wondering if the CPU/Motherboard is
defective or if my 350W power supply is insufficient? What is the Power
requirement for the Intel Pentium 4 processors? I can't seem to find
this information anywhere on the web.

Chieh

if you are running out of wattage it isn't because of your chip. 350
isn't that much though so tell us:

how many fans do you have?
how man hard drives are you using?
how many optical drives are you using?
are you using a PCIE video card that requires powering?
how many disk drives are you using (floppy)?

can you provide more detail on the nature of the 'trouble' you have
been experiencing?

AR

 

[gypsy3001]

if you are running out of wattage it isn't because of your chip. 350

isn't that much though so tell us:

how many fans do you have?

1 on the CPU
1 on the case
1 in the power supply

how man hard drives are you using?

1 IDE

how many optical drives are you using?

1 CD-ROM
1 DVD+-R

are you using a PCIE video card that requires powering?

ATi Radeon Xpress 200 built-in to the motherboard

how many disk drives are you using (floppy)?
zero.

can you provide more detail on the nature of the 'trouble' you have
been experiencing?

Well, the computer will boot up fine I'd install my Windows XP on it.
Then I turn it off. Couple of hours later, I come back to turn it on
and there would be no BIOS screen. The computer seems to reset it self.
Or if it boots the hard drive, it would show different error messages,
such as corrupted installation. Last night it hung during Windows
install. Seem to be a variety of problems.

Chieh

 

[paulmd]

I just bought an Intel Pentium 4 531 CPU and motherboard. Been having
some trouble with it. So I'm wondering if the CPU/Motherboard is
defective or if my 350W power supply is insufficient? What is the Power
requirement for the Intel Pentium 4 processors? I can't seem to find
this information anywhere on the web.

Chieh

Are you using a PSU from a previous generation of computer? If so, you
may not have all the proper connections, there's often a 4 prong plug
on the motherboard.

 

[Tony Hill]

I just bought an Intel Pentium 4 531 CPU and motherboard. Been having
some trouble with it. So I'm wondering if the CPU/Motherboard is
defective or if my 350W power supply is insufficient? What is the Power
requirement for the Intel Pentium 4 processors? I can't seem to find
this information anywhere on the web.

With power supplies it's more a question of quality over quantity.
I've seen those P4 530 chips run on systems with 250W power supplies
with no trouble at all. On the other hand, there are plenty of
350-400W supplies that won't cut it. Unfortunately there is no easy
way to tell if the supply is up to the task or not. You might be able
to find some info at the power supply manufacturer's site, or possibly
the motherboard maker will have a list of known-good supplies. Other
than that though it is rather tough to tell.

 

[larry moe 'n curly]

1 IDE
1 CD-ROM
1 DVD+-R
ATi Radeon Xpress 200 built-in to the motherboard

Well, the computer will boot up fine I'd install my Windows XP on it.
Then I turn it off. Couple of hours later, I come back to turn it on
and there would be no BIOS screen. The computer seems to reset it self.
Or if it boots the hard drive, it would show different error messages,
such as corrupted installation. Last night it hung during Windows
install. Seem to be a variety of problems.

I would try running the computer with the side panel removed to cool it
down more, and then if it doesn't crash, the problem likely is the PSU.
I think a system like that will run fine from any good 250W PSU, maybe
even a 200W. How many watts can your 350W PSU put out? IOW, what
brand is it? Better yet, what's its UL certifcation number (Exxxxxx)
or CSA number (probably starts with "L")? If you have a digital
multimeter (even a $10 one with at last 3 1/2 digit display is fine),
measure the voltages. Voltage readings taken from the BIOS or a
software utility can't be trusted unless first verified with a meter.

 

[kony]

I just bought an Intel Pentium 4 531 CPU and motherboard. Been having
some trouble with it. So I'm wondering if the CPU/Motherboard is
defective or if my 350W power supply is insufficient? What is the Power
requirement for the Intel Pentium 4 processors? I can't seem to find
this information anywhere on the web.

First, is this a good brand, quality 350W PSU or a cheap
generic PSU? That matters as much as the wattage rating.

Next, what does the PSU label claim is the 12V amperage?

Based on the description you gave of the system in another
post, it is not a very demanding system, any reasonably good
350W PSU should suffice but there are plenty of not-so-good
350W PSU, especially some that came free-with-case.

You need to more thoroughly describe the exact problems you
are having. Inspect the system for loose cables, cards,
etc, check the temps and voltages, run Memtest86+ and
Prime95's Torture Test for a few hours each.

 

[Hackworth]

Well, the computer will boot up fine I'd install my Windows XP on it.
Then I turn it off. Couple of hours later, I come back to turn it on
and there would be no BIOS screen. The computer seems to reset it self.
Or if it boots the hard drive, it would show different error messages,
such as corrupted installation. Last night it hung during Windows
install. Seem to be a variety of problems.

That sure sounds like a crappy power supply to me. At least that would be my
first guess.

 

[George Macdonald]

I just bought an Intel Pentium 4 531 CPU and motherboard. Been having
some trouble with it. So I'm wondering if the CPU/Motherboard is
defective or if my 350W power supply is insufficient? What is the Power
requirement for the Intel Pentium 4 processors? I can't seem to find
this information anywhere on the web.

So what kind of case+P/S did you put the new mbrd+CPU in? If it's from a
previous system, the P/S may not have enough oomph and the case may not
have sufficient ventilation. What does it say on the P/S label for 12V
amps and does it have 12V1 & 12V2 ratings. Depending on video card draw, a
newish 350W P/S would be fine; an older one, say >2-3 years old, maybe not.
You could compare the specs of your P/S with what's currently available at
www.newegg.com.

Other than that get memtest86+ from www.memtest.org to make sure your
memory is up to scratch.

 

[gypsy3001]

even a 200W. How many watts can your 350W PSU put out?

At first I was confused by this question. I thought a 350W power supply
can put out 350 watts. So I read the labey on the power supply and
there is one line that says:

+5V, +3.3V combined max. output: 130W

Is this significant?

IOW, what brand is it?

It's a Antec SP-350. It's brand new, never been used before.

Better yet, what's its UL certifcation number (Exxxxxx)

E161451
What does it mean?

or CSA number (probably starts with "L")? If you have a digital

I don't see a CSA number.

Chieh

 

[gypsy3001]

First, is this a good brand, quality 350W PSU or a cheap

generic PSU? That matters as much as the wattage rating.

I'm not sure. It's an Antec SP-350 . . .

Next, what does the PSU label claim is the 12V amperage?

here are the voltage ratings on the label:

AC Input: 115V/8A;230V/5A;60Hz/50Hz

DC Output: +5V +3.3V +12V1 +12V2 -12V +5V SB
Max. 21A 22A 10A 15A 0.3A 2.0A
Min. 0.5A 0.5A 1.0A 1.0A 0A 0A

+5V, +3.3V combined max. output: 130W

You need to more thoroughly describe the exact problems you
are having. Inspect the system for loose cables, cards,
etc, check the temps and voltages, run Memtest86+ and
Prime95's Torture Test for a few hours each.

I can't really run either test at this point, because I can't get the
system stable enough to even install an OS. But I will try those tests
if anything ever installs.

Chieh

 

[The little lost angel]

+5V, +3.3V combined max. output: 130W
Is this significant?

Not really, most PSU are divided into 5V/3.3V and 12V output
capabilities. The 350 refers to the total of these, usually fudging a
little by throwing in the -V and VSB output.

It's a Antec SP-350. It's brand new, never been used before.

It's a decent PSU that shouldn't have problem powering your system.
Unless you got a dud

I would suggest you run some basic tests like memtest86 to determine
if the memory subsystem is at least working fine. It could be a flaky
board since you have problems booting up. It would of course be best
if you can get another PSU and a stick of RAM to swap in and test.

 

[kony]

I'm not sure. It's an Antec SP-350 . . .


here are the voltage ratings on the label:

AC Input: 115V/8A;230V/5A;60Hz/50Hz

DC Output: +5V +3.3V +12V1 +12V2 -12V +5V SB
Max. 21A 22A 10A 15A 0.3A 2.0A
Min. 0.5A 0.5A 1.0A 1.0A 0A 0A

+5V, +3.3V combined max. output: 130W

If the PSU is working properly it should be able to power
the parts you'd mentioned. I presume you do have the 12V
4-pin connector plugged into the board.

I can't really run either test at this point, because I can't get the
system stable enough to even install an OS. But I will try those tests
if anything ever installs.

Chieh

Don't bother trying to install the OS if you suspect it's
instable, you might succeed installing the OS but then if
the OS files are corrupt, you just have to fix the hardware
and start over installing OS again.

Turn on the system and leave it sitting in the bios hardware
monitor page, noting the temps and voltages. Also measure
with a multimeter.

Run Memtest86+ for a few hours too. You still have not
really described exactly what is happening with this
system, what the exact signs are it is not right. Does it
lock up, reboot, turn off (and if turn off, can you press
front botton to turn it on or must you unplug from AC for a
couple minutes?) ?