coastie65: Hey Audrey, I hate to say this, but your choice of PSU's hasn't been good. Those things tend to use cheap components such as capacitors and such. You would do much better with Corsair, Seasonic, or Antec to name a few.

jlibster: Thanks Coastie65 for helping me understand why Audrey had so many problems. I didn't assume the quality of the PSU's as I'm not in Germany and never saw/hear of them whichI thought was odd as I research a fair number of PSU's. I kept quiet, I strongly suspected what you have said out loud about the capacitors (common corner cutting area of cheap PSU's). I learned after my first year building machines that the PSU is the most important part not to skimp on; the cases I order for my very first set had these "el cheapo" power supplies included. thought a power supply was a power supply...until many of them came back with burned out PSU's within 12-24 months (I give 2 year warranties). I replaced them all with no fuss as it wasn't the buyer's fault, but it was costly. That really reinforced the point, that a little extra cost early can prevent a LOT of pain later.

jlibster: Thanks Coastie65 for helping me understand why Audrey had so many problems. I didn't assume the quality of the PSU's as I'm not in Germany and never saw/hear of them whichI thought was odd as I research a fair number of PSU's. I kept quiet, I strongly suspected what you have said out loud about the capacitors (common corner cutting area of cheap PSU's). I learned after my first year building machines that the PSU is the most important part not to skimp on; the cases I order for my very first set had these "el cheapo" power supplies included. thought a power supply was a power supply...until many of them came back with burned out PSU's within 12-24 months (I give 2 year warranties). I replaced them all with no fuss as it wasn't the buyer's fault, but it was costly. That really reinforced the point, that a little extra cost early can prevent a LOT of pain later.
jlibster: you don't download Trolls after the patch! The Trolls DLC is already included!! If you are getting an error, you need to clear out registry entries that tell the downloader to get file. suggest you export your saves, uninstall Witcher 2, manually remove all directories and registry entries and then reinstall with no Internet, then install the patch. Everying should work well after that. I have an 8 point list of instructions in another forum that outlines for noobies exactly how to do a completely CLEAN reinstall of witcher 2 and patch which I've been told works without a hitch. I'll post it again here:

If you are nervous with removing exact values try this (backup/export your save first if you have any):
1. Uninstall Witcher 2.
2. delete any witcher 2 folders in "program files" (may be under GOG) the uninstaller left behind.
3. Edit the registry and remove these two registry folders:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\CD Projekt RED\The Witcher 2
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\CD Projekt RED\The Witcher 2 (if this exists)
4. disconnect your computer from the Internet (this prevents any autoupdates by the autoinstaller)
5. Reinstall Witcher 2
6. install the 1.1 patch manually
7. reconnect the Internet to your computer.
8. Play......
jlibster:

AudreyWinter: I don't agree with that. Just because those brands are not common in your part of the world, doesn't mean they are bad. Those are not standard PSU's, but quality brands. Sure, I'd like to have a Seasonic, but those are extremely pricey over here, they cost a third more in € than you pay in $. And that doesn't even guarantee they are better. AudreyWinter: 648W of 700W on the +12V rails enough? I thought it was.
Go find test reports and then prove me wrong.
And I know that a lot of gamers are quite wasteful with their power consumption, as long as everything runs high end, but I can't and won't afford that, so high energy efficency is also a huge factor. AudreyWinter: Eeek, that would NOT be fine, the PSU's still new.
As I said in the last post right above, there's no scorching, but other issues, not the PSU. But thanks anyway for your interest and comments.

AudreyWinter: Whoa, hold your horses! Why it true, when he assumes, but what I know, is not? I don't buy crappy PSU's, I buy quality stuff. Again I say: find test reports and prove me wrong.

Also, why is it true, what another one says, after I say something completely different? I already said that the PSU problems seem to be the symptom, not the cause. But of course I will only be able to confirm that, after I changed the other parts.

coastie65: Hi. I wasn't passing judgement per se on the Hdds, but from my experience it pointed to inferior components and a failing Hdd. If you say the thing is fine, then that is Ok, as you seem to know your way around these things, I was just offering some thoughts. I didn't mean for that to sound as if I was being critical, and having looked at my post, I suppose it could be taken that way. For that I offer my apologies. As I said, it seems that you know your way around these things. As for me, I moderate at pcworld.com and I use the same user name and avatar over there and work with this kind of thing dailey ( when not chasing after Spammers and Trolls ). You are right, I am not familiar with the brands over there. I tried to find some German stores online to see what they offered, but didn't get far. It would have been a bit difficult as my German is not so good any more due to lack of usuage for so long ( my Aunt was born and raised in Frankfurt ). What I was referring to on the +12v rails was not the wattage but the amps. Although a card may specify 18a on the +12v rail. that doesn't mean it wil hold up when things get intense. I prefer to have at least 25a on the +12v rail as it will do well with most, if not all cards ( I have 72a with the PSU in here, which is a bit of overkill ). Anyay, again, I offer my apologies and I hope you get your problem solved and back into the game soon.

AudreyWinter: It's all okay. :) Although we never spoke about hdd's before (abbr. for harddisc for me)? Those are good, don't jinx them! ;)
PSU amps: 30 per +12V. I don't know too much about the energy part of the issue, but I do read tests and compare things.

I guess the thing that got me was you telling me with such conviction that I bought crap, without any information about my crap. And then that kind of conviction gets others on the wagon as well, haha. But it's sorted out, I guess.

I'm not so good at German anymore as well, since I use English all day. ;)
Anyway, I'll see about that cooler and fan business tomorrow and hope that I'll soon have a real computer again (glad for the notebook though, so I'm not cut off from the world, heh).

Or not sorted out....
I don't want to check you out, I check my crap out.

AudreyWinter: I don't agree with that. Just because those brands are not common in your part of the world, doesn't mean they are bad. Those are not standard PSU's, but quality brands. Sure, I'd like to have a Seasonic, but those are extremely pricey over here, they cost a third more in € than you pay in $. And that doesn't even guarantee they are better. AudreyWinter: 648W of 700W on the +12V rails enough? I thought it was.
Go find test reports and then prove me wrong.
And I know that a lot of gamers are quite wasteful with their power consumption, as long as everything runs high end, but I can't and won't afford that, so high energy efficency is also a huge factor. AudreyWinter: Eeek, that would NOT be fine, the PSU's still new.
As I said in the last post right above, there's no scorching, but other issues, not the PSU. But thanks anyway for your interest and comments.

AudreyWinter: Whoa, hold your horses! Why it true, when he assumes, but what I know, is not? I don't buy crappy PSU's, I buy quality stuff. Again I say: find test reports and prove me wrong.

Also, why is it true, what another one says, after I say something completely different? I already said that the PSU problems seem to be the symptom, not the cause. But of course I will only be able to confirm that, after I changed the other parts.

jlibster: Anyway, I just think if you are going to make an expensive gaming system you may as well go top grade on the PSU.

jlibster: One Question? Do you have a voltage regulator (or UPS with AVR) on your computer? I've traced a number of quality power supplies going dead (but protecting the MB and connected parts) as a result of brownouts. You may be familiar with the term. If your building lights dim or flicker frequently, your building power is not entirely stable. Some UPS devices have AVR (automatic voltage regulars) in them but many do not. A voltage regulator is between $30-50 USD. I keep all my computers and electronics behind one. (I keep 3 such regulators) Few times a week the alarms go off when people turn on air conditioners or electric heaters. I credit these for keeping my LCD TV, Stereo and computers safe and give an extra warranty on my computers with Proof of posession of an AVR.

AudreyWinter: Misunderstanding? I am not currently building a system, I'm trying to fix my "old" system, but without any money on my hands. So I take what I can get for a reasonable price and I am still convinced that I could do much worse than that Xigmatec with 85% efficiency. And this was an emergency purchase, too. It's a different thing when I plan on something, I do want a modular Seasonic someday, but not now. Now I want to fix the damn thing and I hereby declare that the PSU is NOT the cause of my current predicament. ;)

AudreyWinter: Well, we usually don't use such power hungry contraptions like electric heaters and AC over here, so power is pretty stable and as for the little flickers, even my PSU should be able to handle that (has five kinds of safeties regarding voltage fluctuations). And my plug strip has a few of it's own, not a full UPS, though.

coastie65: [...]I may be missing something somewhere in your posts. I am aware of the smells, but not any performance issues you may have had. [...]

jlibster: I've found power strips useless unless you are struck by a bolt of lightening or just need more sockets.