Attn Computer Savvy People, Please Help!

[dontpunkme]

My comp was built with the following:

Antec SLK3700AMB Value Line Solution Series ATX Super Midtower Case with 350W SmartPower ATX 12V Power Supply for Intel and AMD systems

GIGABYTE GA-K8NS NF3 250 CHIPSET FOR ATHLON64 754-PIN CPU DDR400 AGP8X PLATFORM W/ AUDIO, USB2.0, & LAN

AMD ATHLON 64 3200+ (2.2GHz) 754-PIN 512KB L2 CACHE 64-BIT PROCESSOR

MAXTOR 200GB 7200RPM SATA150 8MB BUFFER - OEM DRIVE ONLY (6Y200M0)

Kingston PC3200 512MB 400MHz DDR System Memory - Mfg#: KVR400X64C3A/512

EVGA GEFORCE 6600 GT 128MB DDR3 AGP8X W/ CRT, TVO, & DVI

SAMSUNG (BEIGE) TS-H552B DVD±R/RW WRITING DVD-R DOUBLE LAYER 2.4x DRIVE

Hope this helps

 

[Aeson]

I'd upgrade the powersupply ASAP. That might help but could require more. Make sure your not over heating. How many fans do you have in there?

 

[The_lurkeR]

I'd upgrade the powersupply ASAP. That might help but could require more. Make sure your not over heating. How many fans do you have in there?

Whoa slow down... that power supply is a good brand and plenty sufficient for the components he has listed. Now that isn't to say it couldn't be faulty.

Here's a nice web page where you can calculate the peak total wattages of your PC's components. He's well within range.

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp

dontpunkme did you build the PC yourself, or store bought? And did you check/clean out the case yet?

 

[Aeson]

I ran diskcheckup and it said the disk was ok.

 

[Aeson]

Whoa slow down... that power supply is a good brand and plenty sufficient for the components he has listed. Now that isn't to say it couldn't be faulty.

Here's a nice web page where you can calculate the peak total wattages of your PC's components. He's well within range.

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp

dontpunkme did you build the PC yourself, or store bought? And did you check/clean out the case yet?

I could be premature but I tend to like overkill. I would have gone with a 450 or 500. That way if he is still having a heat problem then adding more fans or other cooling would be easier.

 

[The_lurkeR]

On a similar subject my parents computer starts fine and works ok for awhile. After runing awhile if they start any app it will take forever if at all to begin. I can't seem to figure it out. I think it could be a memorey leak. It is a 2.5 ghtz with 512k memory and winXP. Any thoughts?

Sounds like a memory leak in a program or a bad driver perhaps. It could also be the drive like Psionicist said also.

First thing would be to check for a virus or spyware.

What programs are running on bootup? (Can be checked with msconfig started from the command prompt, check the 'startup' tab) Perhaps turn off some non-essential ones to see if the problem goes away.

When the machine is at it's slow point, can you check the task manager and see what's running? Are there any processes with an excessive amount of memory?

 

[Aeson]

Sounds like a memory leak in a program or a bad driver perhaps. It could also be the drive like Psionicist said also.

First thing would be to check for a virus or spyware.

What programs are running on bootup? (Can be checked with msconfig started from the command prompt, check the 'startup' tab) Perhaps turn off some non-essential ones to see if the problem goes away.

When the machine is at it's slow point, can you check the task manager and see what's running? Are there any processes with an excessive amount of memory?

I thought about virus and spyware the other day and checked, ok on that front. I'll need to check again but no unusual programs running. It when its idle it seems to be using very few resources. When it slows I can click on taskmanager and it might come up or it comes up 2 hours later.

I left this out and should have brought it up earlier. This PC was damaged by lightning last year. I replaced almost everything. The only things kept was the memory, CPU, DVD/CD burner and PS. Everything else was replaced.

 

[drothgery]

I could be premature but I tend to like overkill. I would have gone with a 450 or 500. That way if he is still having a heat problem then adding more fans or other cooling would be easier.

I don't do the DIY PC thing despite hanging out on hardware sites a lot (it's my belief that you don't save enough money by DIYing for it to be worth it unless you're canibalizing a lot of components from your old box, and if you can do that, you probably didn't need to upgrade), but I've read that a good 350W power supply is probably better than a low-end 450W one; my PC is a stock Dell Dimension with what the spec sheet says is a 300 W power supply, and it's supporting a CPU that draws more power (3.2 GHz P4), roughly the same video card (6600GT, different brand), the same amount of memory, a smaller hard drive (120GB), and two optical drives (a DVD and DVD writer) without problems.

 

[dontpunkme]

My computer was a DIY built for me by a friend of mine, who is very good with computers. Unfortunately, he moved about 4 states away for work and is next to impossible to reach. The computer is cooled by 2 fans plus the mini fan on the video card. The system doesn't run hot, my tower is cool to the touch. He stress tested it with 3d Mark when he first built it and it ran smooth. Running Prime 95 as we speak and so far its passing every test. I also replaced the power cord I was using in case that was the problem. I've got my fingers crossed that the power cord was the real problem (the one I was using was from my old Dell 5100 series).