Ablate
10-08-2007, 12:38 PM
So I'm assembling this rig using a Sonata 3 case from Antec, which has the Earthwatts 500 PSU included with it. It's a very undemanding rig, with 1 HDD, 1 DVD, an old 9800 pro and that's about it. I had all the cables and such routed really nicely, and get everything installed. Turn it on, posts fine, get to the autodetect stage, and it wont fucking find the 160 gig drive. The drive was working 15 minutes earlier when I removed it from my other case, so I knew it wasn't jacked.
Swap out IDE cable: No effect
Check jumpers: all proper
Swap IDE and Power cables with DVD drive: no effect
Switch back power cables, but forgot to plug in DVD: HDD works
Put HDD on it's own 12v Rail, put DVD on another: broken again
Bust out my Fluke meter: 5V Line - 4.2V 12V Line - 10.1V[
Tried about every variation of hookups possible, while measuring the 12V and 5V for fluctuations, they never spiked or dipped.
So I dug out an old 350W with less 12V amps total, than the Earthwatts has on one fuckin' rail. The entire system boots and runs like a champ. So now since the case + PSU was a bundle, I need to tear everything apart to return this shitbox for a new one. Love to know how shit like that passes QA. I guess I'm lucky it wasn't a fireworks display instead of just rock bottom voltages. People wonder why the hell I became a chef, it's because pots and pans and shit are far more resilient than computer parts when it comes to being hurled into concrete walls.
Swap out IDE cable: No effect
Check jumpers: all proper
Swap IDE and Power cables with DVD drive: no effect
Switch back power cables, but forgot to plug in DVD: HDD works
Put HDD on it's own 12v Rail, put DVD on another: broken again
Bust out my Fluke meter: 5V Line - 4.2V 12V Line - 10.1V[
Tried about every variation of hookups possible, while measuring the 12V and 5V for fluctuations, they never spiked or dipped.
So I dug out an old 350W with less 12V amps total, than the Earthwatts has on one fuckin' rail. The entire system boots and runs like a champ. So now since the case + PSU was a bundle, I need to tear everything apart to return this shitbox for a new one. Love to know how shit like that passes QA. I guess I'm lucky it wasn't a fireworks display instead of just rock bottom voltages. People wonder why the hell I became a chef, it's because pots and pans and shit are far more resilient than computer parts when it comes to being hurled into concrete walls.