Asus A8N-SLI Mobo Problems

[MakeYourslf2012]

hey guys,

im new to this site and also new to pc building. i started researching for parts for the computer that i eventually built about 7 months ago and now she's up and running with just a slight problem.

im using the Asus A8N-SLI Delux motherboard with the MSI 6600GT card (hopfully able to upgrade to 2 this summer). i also have a gig of Crucial PC-3200, AMD athlon 64 3200+, a 120 gb SATA Westerndigital HDD, and a 550 watt PS.

I assembled it about 3 months ago and it was running great. As time passes by the system likes to totally restart more and more. one time in a half our it restarted by itself 3 time and i cant figure out the problem. ive ran several virus scans with McAfee, Ad-Adware Spyware protection and i also have 2 enabled firewalls - everything came up clean. now im starting to think that its a problem with the hardware.

the computer usually restarts when i exit a big application like iTunes or any PC Games.

do any of you guys have thoughts on what could be the problem?
please get back to me...i appreciate it.

thank you
-MakeYourslf2012

[WhatsThisBoxFor?]

What is the temperature of the processor like? If it is too hot it can cause restarts.
Also, which brand is the PSU? A weak or dying PSU can also cause restarts, but as long as this is a good brand it should not be causing any problems.

Make sure you have restart on error turned off under My Computer properties, although if this was causing problems then you would probably see a blue screen flash up before the restart.

[MakeYourslf2012]

the temperature of the whole system always stays under 46C and the cpu is mostly under 36C.

I was also thinking that my power supply might have been the problem. the main connector is a 20 pin and the motherboard main power is a 24 pin. i had to use the adapter that came with the PSU. Before i bought the mother board, i was doing some researching and others said they have had problems with the 20 to 24 pin adapters with the A8N-SLI mobo but none like i am having with my computer randomly restarting.

the PSU is the CoolMax ATX 500 Watt Powersupply with a 140 mm fan and costs around $80 (i would have gone with a much better one but i was on a tight budget). i know this brand is not the most well known, do you think that might be the problem?

also, i checked under my computer and thier wasnt a "properties" selection so i right clicked on the icon on the desktop and looked the those properties. there wasnt anything about "restart on error" or even "restarting" in general


thank you
-MakeYourslf2012

[Staren]

You could get a better known PSU name for less then $80. Without anything else to go on, sounds like the power supply is starting to slip. I would be warry of any PSU that says 500watts and is that cheap. ThermalTake makes some good high output PSUs. OCZ looks like a big name with these newer ones as well.

[glc]

You need to save up about $170 if you ever plan on using SLI - that's the cheapest SLI certified power supply made. Your Coolmax is a known bad brand.

http://www.xoxide.com/silverstone-ze...-650w-psu.html

You can take a chance on this one - it's not Nvidia certified but it's a quality unit:

http://www.xoxide.com/enermax-whispe...-535w-psu.html

[David M]

There are only 4 PSU's certified to work for SLI by Nvidia. The Enermax is the best value for the dollar. Why chance an expensive rig on a PSU thats not certified to work?

http://www.slizone.com/content/slizone/build.html

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=130924

[regans cortina]

Definately your power supply. I got the same problem , and upgraded to an enermax noisetaker 600 watt sli ready. never restarted once since i fitted it.

[glc]

If you want to play the SLI game, you just cannot cut corners - especially with the power supply. There is no such thing as a "budget" SLI build.