3-1/2 year old PC has taken to turning itself off. It does seem warm, so I am guessing it is overheating. I do clean my PCs, and this one was not bad when I opened the case. I cleaned it anyway, it continues, sometimes running several hours. In the case I have: a small fan mounted on the rear of the case, a smaller fan that appears to be over the motherboard/processor, and both of these seem to be spinning fine. Power supply is up top, rear, with one fan which SEEMS to be blowing out of the case, but also seems weak to me (i.e, I have a difficult time even telling it is blowing...but it is). I replaced the PS about 18 months ago as the last one started making bad noises.
My questions:
Based on the above info do any of you with PC building experience think it is NOT the power supply fan that is the problem?
If I need a new PS, is there any downside to going for a higher wattage? Should I get one with multiple fans? What's the deal with 20, 20+4, and 24 pin? (current PS is 380w, PC has an Athlon 2200+ processor, 2 hard drives, DVD bay, DVD/CD etc. writer, and 3.5" floppy....so not a lot of power requirements)
Thank you for any and all input.
My questions:
Based on the above info do any of you with PC building experience think it is NOT the power supply fan that is the problem?
If I need a new PS, is there any downside to going for a higher wattage? Should I get one with multiple fans? What's the deal with 20, 20+4, and 24 pin? (current PS is 380w, PC has an Athlon 2200+ processor, 2 hard drives, DVD bay, DVD/CD etc. writer, and 3.5" floppy....so not a lot of power requirements)
Thank you for any and all input.