Asus P5N 32E-sli boot problems

[Gman15]

Hi guys.
about 2 months ago i put together the following:

Asus P5N32E-Sli 680i mb
C2d E6600
Kingston Hyper X 2x1gig ddr800(4-4-4-12)
His x1900Xt 256mb with Zalman cooler
Huntkey 500w psu
Creative Audigy 4
Winfast Xpert tv tuner card
Seagate 80 gig Sata2(with ncq)
Gensat Menoceros tower with 240mm Side fan
2x120mm Zalman case fans
Logitech 3dpro joystick and momo wheel
Microsoft kb and mouse
Samsung monitor
Logitech z5300 5.1 speakers

my question is this,is the psu sufficient,as im having issues booting the pc of late,my 12v rail is always below 12v,as i run Everest when gaming or just using the pc in general.In the beginning it was fine,but about a month back it started refusing to boot up,it would power on,but not boot.Also,i cant multitask as well as i used to,so im assuming the psu is just not strong enough.when it does this,the only way to get it to boot is to clear cmos,but thats a real schlepp.any ideas or advice greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance.

[Meridian]

I'd be reluctant to run one with less than 550W, but that's me (mine uses an Antec 650W). Have you increased the overclock in the last couple of months? Added any hardware? I know mine sometimes struggles to cold boot when it's near the ragged edge, but will warm boot without issue.


M

[Gman15]

yip,i have been running about a 20% oc on the cpu,but even if i default the settings,sometimes it just wont cold boot.I know Asus recommends 550 Watt minimum psu,and so do Ati for the Gcard,so it seems im gonna have to get a stronger psu,i ran 3dmark 2005 last nite,the 12v rail never once went over 12v,and i think thats not a good thing.I had this same psu in a nf4,and it was fine,but these goodies need more juice,im also running the latest bios,1002,so ill monitor it for 2weeks b4 i go that route.

Thanks Meridian.

[Meridian]

Belated reply...


The fact that the 12V rail never hits 12V isn't that important: AFAIK the ATX spec says it must be 12V +/- 10% (the other rails must by +/-5% IIRC). My Antec never hits 12V either (11.71V ATM), but what matters is how it stands up under load. If it dips a lot, you're scr*wed, but if it holds up you're fine, even if it's running at 11.50V. Remember that all the onboard electronics have their own regulator, so they'll drag it up to 12V. But if the rail keeps dipping, then components will be unstable.


M