System instability

[dabnips]

I have recently built a computer but havn't had much experience with newer hardware (SATA, RAID etc.), however i have had 2 friends check the build and both gave it the "OK".

Specs:

Asus A8N32 - SLi Deluxe (BIOS 1009)
AMD 64 x2 4800+ (reference clocks)
2x 1GB G.Skill PC3200 (2-3-2-5 1T)
Powercolor ATI Radeon X1900XT-X (reference clocks)
2x 200GB Western Digital Caviar SE (RAID 0)
Seasonic S12 500W Silent PSU
Windows XP Pro (SP2)

The first problem is that when the power button is pressed to start the computer, occassionally it powers down after a matter of seconds, sometimes even before you can reach the BIOS. Once the Windows loading screen is reached, the system is perectly stable under heavy load.

The same power down problem occours when an IDE HDD (containing documents from my now unused computer) is connected, only this time the power down occours when files are being transfered from one drive to another.

The second problem is that the BIOS detects the drives in the RAID as the "Third IDE Master/Slave", there is no "Primary IDE Master/Slave" detected and the RAID is set as the first boot device.

I would be very appreciative of any help and comments/proposed solutions.

Thanks

 

[mdd1963]

Think Antec or OCZ....

all 500 watt PSUs are not created equally, and the 1900XTX is a power hunry beast...

If your rig is powering off after a few seconds, you are suffering from an inadequate power supply, most likely a marginal 12v rail amperage capability....

 

[doolittle]

The seasonic PS should be fine for that setup, IMO they make a high-quality PS and has a combined +12v @ 33A so as long as the PCIE connector is connected you are drawing power off both rails.

I would update the bios to the latest version 1103 and see what gives.

 

[drkspidr]

I had severe instability problems with my A8N32 as well, and what I found out is that while the BIOS will automatically detect speed and timing settings for your ram, it will not automatically set the ram voltage.

I would check the DDR VCORE and make sure that it matches your manufacturers recommendations.

Dark Spider