Abras
October 27th, 2008, 06:07 AM
Hi,
So I bought this off-the-shelf computer over a year ago (I believe it's called the HP Pavilion a6110n) and everything was going just fine with it until a couple of months ago, when it started to overheat now and then. I soon noticed that 3D games were the main culprits. Literally two to five minutes after starting any 3D game the power supply fan will get really loud and the whole computer will shut off a few minutes after that (which I assume is a safety feature put in by the manufacturers to keep users from completely frying their computers).
I didn't get too upset, though, since everything worked just fine besides that little aforementioned problem. I did give the computer's insides a good once over with a can of compressed air but that had no major effect.
But now that I have a little extra cash I'd like to fix the problem before it gets out of hand. So I started doing some Web research and I eventually got the feeling that it may be the power supply that's causing all the trouble.
I read on one forum (I can't remember which, sorry) about a scenario that seemed to fit my situation. Apparently, a power supply that is weaker than it should be (ie provides less power than or just barely more than what the other components need) will be forced to work harder than it normally would, eventually resulting in the breakdown of both itself and the other components.
This also fits in with the fact that this particular computer model is supposedly great value for the price, which leads me to believe that HP skimped on a few of the parts, namely the power supply. Thus, the computer works great as long as you don't push it too hard, but I guess I demand more from my computer than most people. BTW, you can find the computer's specs here (http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ca/en/ho/WF06b/12132708-12133156-12133158-12133158-12133158-80230663-80443628.html).
And while the power supply is not listed there, I read on the side that it is a "Bestec Model: ATX-250-12Z."
So what do you think? Do I need a new power supply? If so, which one? I read that while voltage is important the brand is too. If it's not the power supply or you have no way of guessing, what should I do?
I hope I've given you enough information. If not, don't be shy with that "Reply" button!
Anyways thanks in advance,
Abras
PS Just in case there were any thoughts on the contrary, yes this computer has Ubuntu 8.04 on it.
So I bought this off-the-shelf computer over a year ago (I believe it's called the HP Pavilion a6110n) and everything was going just fine with it until a couple of months ago, when it started to overheat now and then. I soon noticed that 3D games were the main culprits. Literally two to five minutes after starting any 3D game the power supply fan will get really loud and the whole computer will shut off a few minutes after that (which I assume is a safety feature put in by the manufacturers to keep users from completely frying their computers).
I didn't get too upset, though, since everything worked just fine besides that little aforementioned problem. I did give the computer's insides a good once over with a can of compressed air but that had no major effect.
But now that I have a little extra cash I'd like to fix the problem before it gets out of hand. So I started doing some Web research and I eventually got the feeling that it may be the power supply that's causing all the trouble.
I read on one forum (I can't remember which, sorry) about a scenario that seemed to fit my situation. Apparently, a power supply that is weaker than it should be (ie provides less power than or just barely more than what the other components need) will be forced to work harder than it normally would, eventually resulting in the breakdown of both itself and the other components.
This also fits in with the fact that this particular computer model is supposedly great value for the price, which leads me to believe that HP skimped on a few of the parts, namely the power supply. Thus, the computer works great as long as you don't push it too hard, but I guess I demand more from my computer than most people. BTW, you can find the computer's specs here (http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ca/en/ho/WF06b/12132708-12133156-12133158-12133158-12133158-80230663-80443628.html).
And while the power supply is not listed there, I read on the side that it is a "Bestec Model: ATX-250-12Z."
So what do you think? Do I need a new power supply? If so, which one? I read that while voltage is important the brand is too. If it's not the power supply or you have no way of guessing, what should I do?
I hope I've given you enough information. If not, don't be shy with that "Reply" button!
Anyways thanks in advance,
Abras
PS Just in case there were any thoughts on the contrary, yes this computer has Ubuntu 8.04 on it.