windows vista

darealtulip

I run windows vista home primum 64 bit on my comp and it keeps freezing the first time I start up every morning, when I reset the problem is sometimes over. anybody else with this problem?? I have the system builder version. I installed it on my second pc and that has the same problem.

comp is build with:

amd triple core 8650
9500 gt gainward graph card
6 gb ddr2 6400 ram
1 terabyte hd from samsung
700 watt psu
and lots and lots of cooling 2x 12 cm fan and 2 8cm fans on the case

Slutmonkey57b

Keeps freezing when? During boot? Just after boot? a few minutes after? What kind of PSU is it - if it's a POS 30 quid job, that's a good candidate for what your problem is.

darealtulip

thanks for reply, I changed my psu because of this, it's a 700 watt X power. It freezes a few minutes after boot. strangly enough always the first time I start up, after reset it works normaly fine.

Do you think this is a hardware problem? if so I must have done the same thing twice coz it does it on the other comp aswell.
If it is a hardware problem should I try an other psu again or can it be something else?

It drives me nuts. Explorer seems to 'not respond' a lot aswell.

thanks again for the quick reply!

Slutmonkey57b

There could be a lot of reasons. Have you done an up to date virus scan? Did you just install a piece of software before it started? Are all the cables hooked up tightly?
Lots of things could be wrong.

kleefarr

Could be that you have too many programs starting up on booting.

Use CCLEANER and have a clear out. Check start up programs in the TOOLS menu and see how many you have.

darealtulip

kleefarr wrote: »

Could be that you have too many programs starting up on booting.

Use CCLEANER and have a clear out. Check start up programs in the TOOLS menu and see how many you have.

thanks, try that straight away, I have ccleaner but never looked on the start up programs, let you know later.

darealtulip

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

There could be a lot of reasons. Have you done an up to date virus scan? Did you just install a piece of software before it started? Are all the cables hooked up tightly?
Lots of things could be wrong.

It started after updates from vista and I had to put a lot right after that, and there were no restore points!

I have Avast virus protection and that updates a lot, had AVG before this but that clashed with utorrent.

I will check all the cables again.

My saterday is sorted:D

darealtulip

just checked the start up programs and there were a lot i didnt want to have as a start up program, let youse know if it worked!

Slutmonkey57b

If it started after a vista update, go to windows update and see which updates were installed. Then search technet and see if there's a Knowledge Base article about it. Does the machine just freeze with no error messages? Can you click on anything before it freezes? If you leave Task manager open at the processes tab where you can see it, you'll be able to see what's causing the freeze.

darealtulip

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

If it started after a vista update, go to windows update and see which updates were installed. Then search technet and see if there's a Knowledge Base article about it. Does the machine just freeze with no error messages? Can you click on anything before it freezes? If you leave Task manager open at the processes tab where you can see it, you'll be able to see what's causing the freeze.

good thinking, will try that aswell, I can do evrything before it freezes. so this is a very good idea, it indeed freezes with no error message nothing. just cant do a thing. in the history it says windows shut down unexpectedly.

not so unexpectedly for me coz it's every day:D

The Real B-man

Vista Ultimate 32bit freezes on the boot screen when i turn my dsl modem on at the same time :rolleyes:

darealtulip

The Real B-man wrote: »

Vista Ultimate 32bit freezes on the boot screen when i turn my dsl modem on at the same time :rolleyes:

mine when I turn my lights on. they are off all the time now:mad:

darealtulip

left the task manager running this morning and just before it froooze this was running. Anyone has any idea what is causing it or what I can take off the list. I already stopped a lot of start up programs(thanks kleefarr)

also a picture from my start up programms any sugestions?

kleefarr

Personally I would have deleted the items from the start up menu. (Not sure it would make any difference though).

Also, I wouldn't have both MSN messenger and Skype running at start up. Do you use them as soon as you log in?

CPU usage is still highish at 60% and that appears to be just the start up programs.

Also, check out what Slutmonkey57b suggested. It could be there is a know problem with the last update.

Have you done a registry cleanup with ccleaner and a defrag etc?

ttm

darealtulip wrote: »

mine when I turn my lights on. they are off all the time now:mad:

Then its more likely a hardware problem!

The motherboard needs a certain minimum voltage to work correctly and most (if not all??) have a circuit that monitors the voltages on the motherboard, if it drops below a certain limit the system just stops. The idea being its better to stop and loose data than continue processing with unknown errors. In most cases the voltage output of the PSU is about 5% plus or minus (do check that its not gospel) and the motherboards own voltage regulator circuitry can easily handle that variation, but I have come across some motherboards that will freeze just after bootup (normally as the video card kicks in) becasue they won't tolerate the standard +- 5% voltage regulation most PSU's have.

If its not hardware do you get the freeze up if you start from cold in Safe Mode, if it still freezes in Safe Mode I really would start to look at the hardware.

If my wild guess is correct then getting a better PSU may NOT solve the issue, as even cheap ones have good voltage regulation provided they are not stresses and it may be the motherboard that is the real issue. If you get to the stage where you think that it may be a hardware issue start by trying another graphics card one with a very low power consumption to rule out the power surge of the graphics card kicking in or doing some intense work.

Hopefully I'm wrong and you'll fing the app thats killing it

darealtulip

thanks TTM,

I have an old graph card I will try, Is there any reason why it only does it from the start (I put all the power off from the socket) on the first time? does that indecate someting?

ttm

Just one point about the lights, they are not CFL's are they? I don't know if its possible but I have read somewhere they can interfer with computers? Might be one of those "stories" but worth checking out.

What happens when the system freezes, does it totally freeze up? Does the mouse still work? Does the Num Lock light still go on an off with the num lock key? I'd tend to take a harder look at hardware if the mouse stops and num lock stops working - but that's just random guessing on my part

Software errors are normally captured by the OS (BSOD) and show up in the event log. Hardware errors rarely show up as a "consistant" error (eg bad memory often throws a BSOD but a different one each time) and all you see is "nothing" and eveything freezes or the system randomly reboots.

Also seen AV software which is working at the core of the system make things very unstable but thats rare.

The point I'm makeing about the graphics card is that it is one item in the system that makes big demands on the PSU so if it does something graphically intense it will draw more power and as this occurs the PSU voltage regulation hits its limits. The resultant voltage drop often only 0.2 of a volt can in very extreme cases make the mobo lock up. A different graphic card that has a lower power consumption would produce a lower voltage drop at full power and so may not create the conditions that cause the freeze.

I really am in the realms of very a rare senario but it might be worth rulling out rather than trouble shooting everything else and reaching a point of deperation.

Another question or two ? Are you reseting via the reset button or doing a cold reboot? Does a cold reboot casue the same issue and the reboot work OK?

ttm

Looking at your screen shots I'd kill the apps that require rundll32.exe to run.

The Nvida stuff that rundll32.exe is running is only needed for overclocking and for certain games so at least try starting up with those two disabled.

rundll32.exe really is one of the apps that needs looking at if its in startup, probablay predudice on my part but its often at the bottom of the pile when things go wrong.

ALSO just re read you last post and YES a cold start from the plug tends to indicate a hardware problem in fact as the part of the answer to one of my questions I'd say it definitely points at a hardware problem but where exactly is mainly guessing atm, so try the graphics card bit as you have one and let us know how you get on.

darealtulip

Thanks again TTM, I will rewire and put the other video card in and let you know tomorrow! the light are these

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=314330

iPlop

darealtulip wrote: »

thanks for reply, I changed my psu because of this, it's a 700 watt X power. It freezes a few minutes after boot. strangly enough always the first time I start up, after reset it works normaly fine.

Do you think this is a hardware problem? if so I must have done the same thing twice coz it does it on the other comp aswell.
If it is a hardware problem should I try an other psu again or can it be something else?

It drives me nuts. Explorer seems to 'not respond' a lot aswell.

thanks again for the quick reply!

Im havin' the same trouble and I have:

windows vista ultimate x64
core 2 quad q6600
8 gigs if ram
700watt psu

ttm

I don't think the cold cathode computer lights would make any difference apart from taking a bit more juice form the PSU and then not that much 6 watts for the pair suppose thats half an amp from the 12Volt supply or over an amp from the 5volt rail. I've never used them so what voltage do they run off 5V or 12V (or what colour wires are on the molex connection)?

Do you have a VOM (or borrow) that you can use to measure the PSU outputs? Even a 4.99euro lidl one is accurate enough (supprisingly).

Its the incandecent house energy saving house light replacements I was on about.

@Septic Leper is your problem the same? Cold boot then Windows freezes reset via reset swtich (ie warm reboot) and it works OK?

darealtulip

Septic Leper wrote: »

Im havin' the same trouble and I have:

windows vista ultimate x64
core 2 quad q6600
8 gigs if ram
700watt psu

does anyone else here run on x64? Just talked to someone in holland with the same problem.

just put out one of the run.dll as TTM suggested but cant switch of the other one. comp just crashed with the other video card aswell:(:(:(

darealtulip

ttm wrote: »

I don't think the cold cathode computer lights would make any difference apart from taking a bit more juice form the PSU and then not that much 6 watts for the pair suppose thats half an amp from the 12Volt supply or over an amp from the 5volt rail. I've never used them so what voltage do they run off 5V or 12V (or what colour wires are on the molex connection)?

Do you have a VOM (or borrow) that you can use to measure the PSU outputs? Even a 4.99euro lidl one is accurate enough (supprisingly).

Its the incandecent house energy saving house light replacements I was on about.

@Septic Leper is your problem the same? Cold boot then Windows freezes reset via reset swtich (ie warm reboot) and it works OK?

they are the black and yellow one. I do have a proper VOM meter here. Do you run on x64 yourself without a problem?

darealtulip

Just googled 'vista x64 freezes' and lots and lots of people with vista ultimate and home primium have the same problem.

literally 100's of 1000's of people wrote into forums about this.

http://www.google.com/search?q=windows+x64+vista+freezes&rls=com.microsoft:*:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7SKPB

I'm gonna try XP x64 on this setup and if that works The set up must be right? I'm right in thinking this or not?

ttm

darealtulip wrote: »

they are the black and yellow one. I do have a proper VOM meter here. Do you run on x64 yourself without a problem?

Sorry no x64 here, only 64 bit hardware I've used have been servers and 64 bit XP workstations and never had an issue.

The yellow cable is the 12V rail (black is the neutral)

http://pinouts.ru/Power/atx_v2_pinout.shtml

and interstingly the 12 Volt supply dispite all the others (5V,3.3V etc) is the one used via voltage regulators on the motherboard to power all the main components including the PSU. (Note older systems PIII and earlier relied heavily on the 5V supply newer systems suck most of the power via the 12V supply).

Now your 700Watt PSU will be (should be!) delivering in excess of 30amps (I'm guessing) for the 12Volt supply so something is very wrong if taking half an amp for a couple of cold cathode neon lights is causing a problem!

So if you can measuer the voltage between the yellow and black cables with and with out the lights plugged in then it would be intersting to see if there is a big voltage drop with them plugged in - might be a momentary drop while they start up to screw everything up, but if it is that it can happen a little to fast to measure. 12Volt rail should be supplying a minimum of 11.4Volts see http://www.formfactors.org/developer/specs/ATX12V_PSDG_2_2_public_br2.pdf when under load. Note voltages over 12.5volts are also bad news.

Now my point is that if the voltage drops below 11.4Volts even for a couple of milliseconds then there is a good chance that the system will freeze up. Ive tested hundreds of PSU's if not thousands and it is very rare for them to drop below this (old warn out ones do though).

ttm

darealtulip wrote: »

I'm gonna try XP x64 on this setup and if that works The set up must be right? I'm right in thinking this or not?

Love to hear the results, but if your looking for drivers then 64bit XP is one of those barren lands as manufacturers saw it as a bit of a dead end, I believe its more closely related to 64 bit Windows Server 2003 than to XP.

My guess is you'll have the same issues, hope not

darealtulip

ttm wrote: »

Love to hear the results, but if your looking for drivers then 64bit XP is one of those barren lands as manufacturers saw it as a bit of a dead end, I believe its more closely related to 64 bit Windows Server 2003 than to XP.

My guess is you'll have the same issues, hope not

it would be interesting to see, is that why they only instal the 32 bit version on all the new comps that they sell, i wonder.:eek:
Just when I saw that septic leper had the same problem I started googling and found a lot of people with the same problem. left a few message's on their threads aswell.
Now I'm getting my vom meter out and mesure and report back as soon as i can, gonna have food first though!:D

thanks for your very good suggestions and explanations (again)

AlmightyCushion

darealtulip wrote: »

it would be interesting to see, is that why they only instal the 32 bit version on all the new comps that they sell, i wonder.:eek:

I've seen quite a few oem pcs running vista 64bit.

darealtulip

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

I've seen quite a few oem pcs running vista 64bit.

and running without freezing? which version? I have the system buiders one home primium x64. Did you hear of any problems at your work place? It seems the ones that I read about were home primium or ultimate.

AlmightyCushion

darealtulip wrote: »

and running without freezing? which version? I have the system buiders one home primium x64. Did you hear of any problems at your work place? It seems the ones that I read about were home primium or ultimate.

Yup, all running fine as far as I can tell. The ones I've seen are running home premium. A lot of people on boards have vista 64bit and seem to be quite satisfied with it.

darealtulip

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

Yup, all running fine as far as I can tell. The ones I've seen are running home premium. A lot of people on boards have vista 64bit and seem to be quite satisfied with it.

I am surprised, most people I know dont like vista to much and only have it because it came with their comp. I personaly still have one comp on xp and one on vista. Dont really think vista is an improvement except ofcourse that you can upgrade without installing every thing again.

Ok off topic!!!

I found a lot of people with the same problem, and a lot with no problem what so ever and I would like to find out what is different in the once that dont.

Any idea?

iPlop

darealtulip wrote: »

I am surprised, most people I know dont like vista to much and only have it because it came with their comp. I personaly still have one comp on xp and one on vista. Dont really think vista is an improvement except ofcourse that you can upgrade without installing every thing again.

Ok off topic!!!

I found a lot of people with the same problem, and a lot with no problem what so ever and I would like to find out what is different in the once that dont.

Any idea?

I cant wait to get rid of vista 64 it's rubbish I have xp 64 and im gonna install during the week.If you are used to all the other versions of windows back as far as 3.1 ,it's all the same.Vista turns your employees into retards and they have to learn all over again.The company I work for abandoned vista as it was taking employees too long to find stuff on their PC's and office 2007 is a nightmare to navigate through,where is file and print in exel --gone ,it's now alt + f on a sitewide mail to employees.Microsoft know they messed up with the launch of win 7 so quick ,xp was / is around for 9 years

AlmightyCushion

Septic Leper wrote: »

.Microsoft know they messed up with the launch of win 7 so quick ,xp was / is around for 9 years

I'd hardly call 3 years quick. Compared to the release schedule between xp and vista it is but not compared to other releases. And it's still only about 7 years since xp was released.

iPlop

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

I'd hardly call 3 years quick. Compared to the release schedule between xp and vista it is but not compared to other releases. And it's still only about 7 years since xp was released.

Iv' had xp on my old build since 2000

AlmightyCushion

Septic Leper wrote: »

Iv' had xp on my old build since 2000

That must have been a beta you were running in 2000 (if at all) as xp wasn't released until late 2001. This detracts from the point I was trying to make. 3 years isn't quick, especially considering that it was only about 1.5/2 years between xp and 2000/ME.

ttm

Septic Leper wrote: »

Iv' had xp on my old build since 2000

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

That must have been a beta you were running in 2000 (if at all) as xp wasn't released until late 2001. This detracts from the point I was trying to make. 3 years isn't quick, especially considering that it was only about 1.5/2 years between xp and 2000/ME.

The point with XP IMHO is the Microsoft always intended to release another version not long after ME/2000. The plan was that for the millenium they would have a business and home OS that used the same kernel, ME came about when they realised they couldn't develop the products in time.

Whereas there were no immideate plans to follow up Vista so quickly with a new OS untill Vista got a bad reputation.

Bottom line is Vista isn't selling as well as expected so the next product line has been developed early.

Anyway after the usual off topic arguments over black is white I'm looking forward to hearing how darealtulip gets on with his 64 bit XP install or if he finds the fix for his Vista install. ditto Septic Leper

And on darealtulip comment on having both XP and Vista systems, I also have both OS's setup and running my better PC has Vista but I hardly use it and do most of my work on a 5-6yo XP system which does eveything I need.

eoferrall

darealtulip wrote: »

does anyone else here run on x64?

Hi I have Vista x64 Ultimate and it does not freeze up on me. I built the computer myself during the summer (had one or two issues which the good people here helped my quickly remedy!) I can't help you much on the issue you are encountering though as my knowledge is fairly low!

darealtulip

ttm wrote: »

The point with XP IMHO is the Microsoft always intended to release another version not long after ME/2000. The plan was that for the millenium they would have a business and home OS that used the same kernel, ME came about when they realised they couldn't develop the products in time.

Whereas there were no immideate plans to follow up Vista so quickly with a new OS untill Vista got a bad reputation.

Bottom line is Vista isn't selling as well as expected so the next product line has been developed early.

Anyway after the usual off topic arguments over black is white I'm looking forward to hearing how darealtulip gets on with his 64 bit XP install or if he finds the fix for his Vista install. ditto Septic Leper

And on darealtulip comment on having both XP and Vista systems, I also have both OS's setup and running my better PC has Vista but I hardly use it and do most of my work on a 5-6yo XP system which does eveything I need.

I will try this week and let you know how I got on, I left my VOM meter on, so empty battery:mad: I live in a small village so need to go out to get one. Will let you know as soon as I have done it all.

eoferrall wrote: »

Hi I have Vista x64 Ultimate and it does not freeze up on me. I built the computer myself during the summer (had one or two issues which the good people here helped my quickly remedy!) I can't help you much on the issue you are encountering though as my knowledge is fairly low!

Glad to know that there are people out there with a good working one, gives me hope, do you have a AMD or intel?

Auvers

darealtulip wrote: »

Glad to know that there are people out there with a good working one, gives me hope, do you have a AMD or intel?

I have been using Vista 64 since it launched and its perfect bar a few teeding problems which were sorted by MS since SP1, all this about XP being better is bullsh1t.

I think users who say this must need to upgrade there P3 with 512MBs and get with the times

oh Dareal my rig is a Intel Q9550, 4GBs

darealtulip

Auvers wrote: »

I have been using Vista 64 since it launched and its perfect bar a few teeding problems which were sorted by MS since SP1, all this about XP being better is bullsh1t.

I think users who say this must need to upgrade there P3 with 512MBs and get with the times

oh Dareal my rig is a Intel Q9550, 4GBs

i had my ultimate working good for a year, then sp1 came and buggerd everything up. since then I have had lots of problems and now got it down to freezing every 'cold' start. bought home primium because of all this.

Vista has better thing like the search etc. but I found lots of people on the net who just like me still have this problem. Most of them with new builds. now I dont know why alot of people dont have these problem but a lot do.
I dont prefer xp as such but if my comp works better on it I will return and wait till windows 7

Now the question is maybe; does any one has a good working AMD based comp with x64? just try to find out if it is maybe intel or AMD related.

eoferrall

darealtulip wrote: »

Glad to know that there are people out there with a good working one, gives me hope, do you have a AMD or intel?

Have AMD processor ... phenom X3 8650 to be exact, and a gigabyte GA-MA790X-DS4 mobo so nothing too mental or high performance...but runs crysis quite nicely!:D

darealtulip wrote: »

Now the question is maybe; does any one has a good working AMD based comp with x64? just try to find out if it is maybe intel or AMD related.

Well there you go I have a working computer for the last 7 or so months on amd based architecture and X64 Ultimate. Does that help you narrow it down?! probably messes your theory up does it!?

astrofool

ttm wrote: »

Whereas there were no immideate plans to follow up Vista so quickly with a new OS untill Vista got a bad reputation.

Bottom line is Vista isn't selling as well as expected so the next product line has been developed early.

Windows 7 development started before Vista was even released. MS were always going to move back to a 2-3 year OS refresh, like what they had during the 90's (along with a higher stock price). Vista took so long because the XP kernel became too fragile as development continued, there was a further 2 year delay to Vista as they went back to basics (2003 sp1 kernel), and built everything up using components. Behind the scenes, and in the kernel, Vista is a quantum leap over XP, unfortunately the UI lagged behind (you can see it wasn't finished, by some area's having a nice Vista UI, and then defaulting to the XP panel for other area's).

Windows 7 uses the same kernel, tweaked for performance, and with a new UI on top of it. (and a fixed UAC).

AlmightyCushion

astrofool wrote: »

Windows 7 uses the same kernel, tweaked for performance, and with a new UI on top of it. (and a fixed UAC).

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I really hope Microsoft don't screw up 7. The beta is fantastic.

darealtulip

eoferrall wrote: »

Have AMD processor ... phenom X3 8650 to be exact, and a gigabyte GA-MA790X-DS4 mobo so nothing too mental or high performance...but runs crysis quite nicely!:D



Well there you go I have a working computer for the last 7 or so months on amd based architecture and X64 Ultimate. Does that help you narrow it down?! probably messes your theory up does it!?

Yep afraid so!! same processor as me, can we swap comp??:D I am really just quessing. Already found that out yesterday, two friend in holland have same processor aswell. one has no problems with vista and the otherone does. same version of vista aswell. Instead of getting clearrer and norrowing down it gets more muddled up!

TerrorFirmer

ttm wrote: »

Sorry no x64 here, only 64 bit hardware I've used have been servers and 64 bit XP workstations and never had an issue.

The yellow cable is the 12V rail (black is the neutral)

http://pinouts.ru/Power/atx_v2_pinout.shtml

and interstingly the 12 Volt supply dispite all the others (5V,3.3V etc) is the one used via voltage regulators on the motherboard to power all the main components including the PSU. (Note older systems PIII and earlier relied heavily on the 5V supply newer systems suck most of the power via the 12V supply).

Now your 700Watt PSU will be (should be!) delivering in excess of 30amps (I'm guessing) for the 12Volt supply so something is very wrong if taking half an amp for a couple of cold cathode neon lights is causing a problem!

So if you can measuer the voltage between the yellow and black cables with and with out the lights plugged in then it would be intersting to see if there is a big voltage drop with them plugged in - might be a momentary drop while they start up to screw everything up, but if it is that it can happen a little to fast to measure. 12Volt rail should be supplying a minimum of 11.4Volts see http://www.formfactors.org/developer/specs/ATX12V_PSDG_2_2_public_br2.pdf when under load. Note voltages over 12.5volts are also bad news.

Now my point is that if the voltage drops below 11.4Volts even for a couple of milliseconds then there is a good chance that the system will freeze up. Ive tested hundreds of PSU's if not thousands and it is very rare for them to drop below this (old warn out ones do though).

Actually the problem may very well be the PSU, in the first post he mentions that he's using a 700W X-Power Supply. These supplies are notoriously horrendous, with brutal efficiency (last review I checked had them at between 50-60%) and have a pathetically weak 12v rating (think 20a last time I checked). Now, I am assuming that we're speaking about the 700W Generic red boxed X-Power supply, the Gamer edition X-Power PSU's are actually made by HEC and are fine - if its the later supply you have then never mind, but if its the former then yeah it's entirely likely it IS the PSU. A 300w Corsair or PC P&C PSU would be actually better then that POS.

Interestingly and coincidentally enough I built a machine for my girlfriend using older parts and with the sole cathode turned on (its a clear case), XP locks up within about 10 seconds of booting. When turned off the machine boots flawlessly

darealtulip

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Actually the problem may very well be the PSU, in the first post he mentions that he's using a 700W X-Power Supply. These supplies are notoriously horrendous, with brutal efficiency (last review I checked had them at between 50-60%) and have a pathetically weak 12v rating (think 20a last time I checked). Now, I am assuming that we're speaking about the 700W Generic red boxed X-Power supply, the Gamer edition X-Power PSU's are actually made by HEC and are fine - if its the later supply you have then never mind, but if its the former then yeah it's entirely likely it IS the PSU. A 300w Corsair or PC P&C PSU would be actually better then that POS.

Interestingly and coincidentally enough I built a machine for my girlfriend using older parts and with the sole cathode turned on (its a clear case), XP locks up within about 10 seconds of booting. When turned off the machine boots flawlessly

thanks for that, I have a 400 watt psu laying about so I will put that in aswell in the weekend. Lots to do and try!! keep suggestions coming!!!

AlmightyCushion

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Actually the problem may very well be the PSU, in the first post he mentions that he's using a 700W X-Power Supply. These supplies are notoriously horrendous, with brutal efficiency (last review I checked had them at between 50-60%) and have a pathetically weak 12v rating (think 20a last time I checked).

Holy crap. 50% efficiency. That's crazy.

iPlop

partioned hard drive today and put windows 7 64 bit on ,This is fantastic back to basics.Easy to use from the start ,i really like it.Anyone could get a 30 min lesson on how to use a PC with this--unlike vista;)

iPlop

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

Holy crap. 50% efficiency. That's crazy.

OMG Im' using a 700 watt psu!

eoferrall

Septic Leper wrote: »

OMG Im' using a 700 watt psu!

Trend Perhaps!? both have 700W PSU...mines a 550W corsair...wonder when Darealtulip posts regarding the change of PSU what he will say.

This is good stuff, I always assumed bigger the PSU the better never realised that the quality would be so poor in some!:eek:

iPlop

Mine is a ez-cool 700 watt psu




http://www.amazon.co.uk/EZCool-Tornado-Super-Silent-700W/dp/B0014DHXQ6/ref=sr_1_3/276-2004011-4490840?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1232478410&sr=8-3