No such thing as a dumb question Right?

[Getback]

I just built a new system and had a terrible time getting it going. Finally, I switched Power supplies from another computer and it is now loading windows xp. Here's my question, On the Power switch cables, restart switch etc. How do I know wich wire is positive? I left the restart switch unplugged because I just wasn't sure. It has a yellow wire and a white wire. The MB shows which side is postive.

I'm going to test the new ps in my other machine just to make sure it's not the ps. The wiring in that machine is easy. Only can go in one way lol.

Anyway, once I get it in that machine I will know if was the ps or not.

If it helps this is an Abit MB P35 Pro.

Can use some guidance.

Thanks in advance.

[RedGiant]

Originally posted by Getback
I just built a new system and had a terrible time getting it going. Finally, I switched Power supplies from another computer and it is now loading windows xp. Here's my question, On the Power switch cables, restart switch etc. How do I know wich wire is positive? I left the restart switch unplugged because I just wasn't sure. It has a yellow wire and a white wire. The MB shows which side is postive.

I'm going to test the new ps in my other machine just to make sure it's not the ps. The wiring in that machine is easy. Only can go in one way lol.

Anyway, once I get it in that machine I will know if was the ps or not.

If it helps this is an Abit MB P35 Pro.

Can use some guidance.

Thanks in advance.

For the Reset button, it doesn't matter.  All that's gonna do is interrupt a particular circuit on the motherboard so it resets.  Doesn't matter how you put it on.  There is power going through it, but it's not something that's powered that requires a positive and negative such as a Hard Drive LED or something.

If I may ask, so you may avoid a possible catastrophe, what Processor, Videocard, and brand of powersupply(along with it's power rating) are you running?

Also, I am 100% sure we descended from Monkeys.  

[Fulmar]

IIRC, the white wire is negative.

[Getback]

Originally posted by RedGiant
For the Reset button, it doesn't matter.  All that's gonna do is interrupt a particular circuit on the motherboard so it resets.  Doesn't matter how you put it on.  There is power going through it, but it's not something that's powered that requires a positive and negative such as a Hard Drive LED or something.

If I may ask, so you may avoid a possible catastrophe, what Processor, Videocard, and brand of powersupply(along with it's power rating) are you running?

Also, I am 100% sure we descended from Monkeys.  

Originally the PS was a brand new CoolMax rated at 700 watts. I put a 4 month old Cooler Master in that is rated at 600 watts. The Cool Maxs actually fit it better. It had and 8 pin cable for the MB. The other one only has a 4 pin connection. The processor is a 3gig e8400 duo core intel and the video card is an ATI 512 mg 3850. It in theory should rock.
Let me know what you think.

[RedGiant]

Originally posted by Getback
Originally the PS was a brand new CoolMax rated at 700 watts. I put a 4 month old Cooler Master in that is rated at 600 watts. The Cool Maxs actually fit it better. It had and 8 pin cable for the MB. The other one only has a 4 pin connection. The processor is a 3gig e8400 duo core intel and the video card is an ATI 512 mg 3850. It in theory should rock.
Let me know what you think.

Well, the reason I asked (which I should have stated why in the first place),
is that I wanted to be certain that you were using a power supply that had a high enough rating as well as a decent brand.  CoolerMaster are pretty decent for the most part.  Some models a few years ago had some issues.  But recently, they've been putting out some pretty good stuff.  They are much better than these offbrand/crap PSUs such as Powerstar or Dynex that claim your getting a 650watt PSU for $25.00.  PSUs are where most people skimp when doing a build.  Some cases you buy nowadays include a PSU.  But it's usually junk unless you're going with an elite brand like Antec (which would obviously include there own brand power supplies).

Good PSUs cost good money.  Unfortunately, it's just the simple truch.  If you're not spending at least $50.00 (even that figure is a little low, but some places have better deals or rebates, so that figure can flex a little) for PSU, expect that PSU to burn out within a short time, and possibly even damage your computer.  Many "budget" power supply manufacturers are claiming their power supplies are putting out a certain wattage such as 600 watts.  When, they aren't designed to put out that much power for more than a few seconds.  It is a peak rating.  And some even lie about their peak rating.    Cooler-master is fairly safe and they've got a great warranty.  Three years I think.  You're in good hands.

As far as your system, I think it's pretty good.  3850 is a VERY nice card and they are not cheap by any means.  A true performer.  You've got a pretty good processor too.  As long as you've got at least 2 gigs of RAM (which I'm pretty sure that you do), you're golden.

[Getback]

Thanks Redgiant. Yes, I have 2 gigs of ram and may pull anoher gig from my other machine. Had it up and running tonight and it was sweet! That was even with onboard sound. I have 5.1 surround and the floor was vibrating from the power of the subwoofer.

Is it me, I think the onboard sound has better quality than my old audigy 2.
Also, when I squeezed the trigger there were not freezes like with the audigy.

I also figured you wanted to make sure about the adequacy of the power. That Cool Max was brand new and it failed to work. I'm sending it back and getting a replacement.

[RedGiant]

Originally posted by Getback
Thanks Redgiant. Yes, I have 2 gigs of ram and may pull anoher gig from my other machine. Had it up and running tonight and it was sweet! That was even with onboard sound. I have 5.1 surround and the floor was vibrating from the power of the subwoofer.

Is it me, I think the onboard sound has better quality than my old audigy 2.
Also, when I squeezed the trigger there were not freezes like with the audigy.

I also figured you wanted to make sure about the adequacy of the power. That Cool Max was brand new and it failed to work. I'm sending it back and getting a replacement.

Wow, I usually see the opposite happen with on board sound.  But, with newer systems, I think it's becoming less and less of a factor.  But hey!  If you're getting better success with onboard sound, so be it!  

Which PSU was bad?   The 700watt?  That sucks.  Coolmax is a really good brand.  And they have an excellent warranty as well.  I've never gone wrong with them.  They'll take care of you.  I'm sure you've done the whole RMA thing with them.  

As far as the ram is concerned:  You want to have the most amount, but having the least amount of sticks.  Having 2x1 gig sticks is better than having 4x512 sticks.  Also, you want to stick with the same brand, speed, etc.  Always use matched pairs for the best results.  The more memory you physically put in (the more sticks of memory you have installed), the looser your timings will get, and you may potential create some problems (windows stop errors, freeze ups, etc.)  If you do install another gig, I would run a benchmark (there are some pretty good free benchmarking tools out there) with and without that extra gig to see if there is a performance boost/lose and also to see if any problems have been created (which would be easily remedied by removing the extra gig).  Too be honest with you, 2 gigs is fine and I have never been able to notice any significant performance increase from 2 to 4 gigs.  In fact, I have seen decreases in systems that had more than 2 gigs.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

The problem with onboard sound is that they almost without exceptions drain your CPU time for sound calculations where separate soundcards do their own calculations. This gives you a several percent hit to your framerates using onboard sound.

I was amazed when I saw how much onboard sound affected my game speed. I saw it the first time years ago when I accidentally disabled all sound in my computer and noticed a game run smoothly where it used to lag before.