Am I Blowing Power Supplies?

[GeekChick]

First build, 700 hrs. classroom experience..(whatever that's good for...)Got a pre-built setup with an AMD Athlon XP 3200 installed on a ASUS A7V600-X mobo in a fair quality case with a Rexpower PX-400 PSU (seems to be a piece of crap).

I added (all new) an ATI All-In-Wonder 9800 Pro 128MB DDR, Corsair VS1GB400C3 (x2), a WD 160GB 8MB Cache w/ Ultra ATA Controller Card, KHypermedia DVD+RW.

I recycled a Zip 100, a 3.5" floppy, a Toshiba DVD-ROM, a Maxtor HD (20GB or less). I have also attempted to use a Powerlink 400W PSU and a Dell 230W PSU. I tried the "starting from scratch" idea (http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=132409)
and had no success. The closest I came was getting a half turn from the fans when I jumped the pins the power switch connects to when I had the Powerlink PSU connected. I can't imagine that I've blown 3 PSUs. If I need a new PSU, what would be recommended? What else could be happening? What is the next logical step? All help/suggestions greatly appreciated!

[doubledragon5]

First off welcome to PCMECH..

Sounds like a power supply issue to me.. Never heard of that brand.. Always use a good quality psu when building any new pc.. Make sure you are grounding yourself out so as to not short out anything.. Here is a list of good and bad psu.. If you use a good one such as Antec, Enlight, Fortron and have the same problem, then I would suggest another MB..

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=98650

[Alaron]

Here is our updated list: http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=131195
Go with something from the Good list.

[GeekChick]

[QUOTE=doubledragon5]First off welcome to PCMECH..

Thanks for the greeting

[QUOTE=doubledragon5]Sounds like a power supply issue to me.. Never heard of that brand..

You've never heard of Powerlink or Rexpower? I'll have to look for
a new one and check that article. So you believe the problem is limited
to the power supply or is that the jumping off point?

[Panama Red]

Couple of things. What memory are you using? I know that Kingston PC3200, 2 x 512 Value Ram has a problem running on an NForce2 chipset but not sure on the via with a 400 fsb cpu.

That Dell power supply most likely has proprietary wiring. Hopefully you didn't damage the mobo when testing with it.

Have you tried the out-of-case test yet?

[jgis19]

I am sorry but even though those power supply's are thought to be of low quality I find it hard to believe that 3 psu's could be the cause. You didn't state whom the prebuilt was from,but that would be my first question as to quality of the motherboard. It's an Asus but also a VIA chipset. If it were me I would look at a good quality MOBO such as a ASUS A7N8X if you can find one.
The Nvidia Nforce2 chipset is much more stable than VIA.

[Cricket]

First build, 700 hrs. classroom experience..(whatever that's good for...)Got a pre-built setup with an AMD Athlon XP 3200 installed on a ASUS A7V600-X mobo in a fair quality case with a Rexpower PX-400 PSU (seems to be a piece of crap).What do you mean by "pre-built"? Is that a name brand computer or a standard ATX computer assembled by someone else (a builder)?I have also attempted to use a Powerlink 400W PSU and a Dell 230W PSU. I tried the "starting from scratch" idea (http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=132409)
and had no success. The closest I came was getting a half turn from the fans when I jumped the pins the power switch connects to when I had the Powerlink PSU connected. I can't imagine that I've blown 3 PSUs.Well, the TurboLink PSU isn't very good and the RexPower sounds like it's probably not very good either. The Dell PSU is pretty good quality but the wiring may not follow the standard ATX layout (proprietary configuration).What else could be happening? What is the next logical step?Are the motherboard and CPU brand new? What is the history of this computer and components?

:) Cricket

[flanzig1]

Soyo used RexPower in their barebones systems(have 2/1 supply went flakey).
I would double check that the HSU is fully clamped on.

[GeekChick]

Ok, I'll reply en masse...

Panama Red - The memory is Corsair VS1GB400C3 PC3200 DDR SDRAM (x 2). Hopefully the mobo wasn't damaged with the Dell PSU, but what can I do to find out? Not much I'm guessing...I have tried the out of the case test (as I previously posted) with no success. "The closest I came was getting a half turn out of the fans (CPU & GPU) when I jumped the the pins the power switch connects to when I had the Powerlink PSU connected."

The fact that the test didn't work with 3 PSUs makes me question if I've blown those or something else...The idea that the mobo was damaged has come up, but would the onboard light still come on?

jgis19 - The barebones kit (as I should be calling it) I believe came from either newegg or zipzoomfly. I'm leaning toward newegg. Unfortunately, it's been two years since it arrived and my memory's a little fuzzy. If/when I have to buy a new board, I will get one of those that you recommended. I like ASUS but haven't heard glowing reviews of VIA.

Cricket - By "pre-built", I mean barebones and it was purchased from either newegg or zipzoomfly. Pretty sure it was newegg. The Turbolink PSU was a piece of crap that came with the barebones kit, but the Powerlink came from another computer and was in good working condition when previously installed elsewhere. The Dell PSU was in working order when I inherited the Dell PC. I may well have fried the board with the Dell PSU, but again, what can I do to find out?

Mobo came to me w/ CPU already installed and in case (as barebones kit w/PSU) and is currently about 2 yrs old and has very little use. Everything under "I added (all new)" is about 2 years old also and new upon purchase. The Toshiba DVD-ROM is about 2 yrs old. Everything else under "I recycled" is estimated at 5 years old or older. How's that for history?

flanzig I have double checked the heat sink. (Or do you mean something else by HSU?)

Thanks to all for replies....

[flanzig1]

One last part of the out-of-case build, try turn on with just the PSU/mobo.CPU/heatsink. If all the fans spin, that points to video card/ram/HD/optical drive as possible problem parts.