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Date:      Mon, 7 May 2001 16:57:12 -0600 (MDT)
From:      Doug Russell <drussell@saturn-tech.com>
To:        Chris BeHanna <behanna@zbzoom.net>
Cc:        FreeBSD-Stable <stable@FreeBSD.ORG>
Subject:   Re: Lockups with -Stable on Athlon
Message-ID:  <Pine.BSF.4.21.0105071645030.99490-100000@beastie.saturn-tech.com>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.4.32.0105071515070.2823-100000@topperwein.dyndns.org>

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On Mon, 7 May 2001, Chris BeHanna wrote:

>     AMD specs a 400W power supply for a T-bird.  I don't know why the
> other OSes work fine, but I would not try much more in the

Actually, the sticker says:

"it is strongly recommended that at least a 200-watt ATX power supply be
used for this motherboard.  Make sure that your ATX power supply can
supply at least 20 amperes on the +5-volt lead and 10mA on the +5-volt
standby lead (+5VSB).  Your system may become unstable / unreliable and
may experience difficulty in powering up if your power supply is
inadequate."

In real life, the practical minimum is a GOOD QUALITY 250W supply.
Most $20 $250 supplies aren't going to cut it, which is what has led to
many people saying 300 or 400W is required.

You can't use one of the dinky 150W supplies that come in most name-brand
consumer PCs, even if it says it'll put out 18A on the +5.

Don't trust what your supply says on the ratings label, folks.  Use your
head.  I've seen 300W supplies (cheap ones) that can't actually put out
anywhere near that in clean, usable power, when you watch it on an
oscilliscope while testing.

I test power supplies with variable loads while watching on a digital
storage scope, with a trigger voltage set to take samples when the voltage
moves away from the voltage under test.

You'd be surprised how poorly many supplies fare.  (Even some pricey ones)
This is how I find acceptable models for our PCs and customer upgrades.
I find those that are reasonably priced, but actually perform well.

I've said this before several times on this list over the years...
There's NO SUBSTITUTE FOR QUALITY HARDWARE!
Especially things like the P/S!

If you search the mailing lists, you'll find numerous sinilar problems,
usually with a follow up that says, "Yup!  It was my power supply!"  :)

Later......						<Doug>


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