I have a Apevia 500 watt Power Supply Unit in my computer that I built a few months ago. It worked fine then but now after I replaced the motherboad and the processor WITH THE SAME COMPONENTS, the PSU smells like its burning. The computer will still run its just that whenever I try to play any graphically demanding game, the computer will play it for a minute or two then the screen will flash a few times and then the whole computer shuts down. I am getting a new power supply soon anyways but I would still like to keep this one running. I also was wondering if switching the voltage on the side from 115V to 230v would do anything. thanks Jon.
Apevia MX-Pleasure full ATX case w/ 500 watt PSU
Nvidia Geforce EVGA 9800 GT Superclocked
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0
Asus P5N-D Nvida 750i SLI motherboard
Western Digital 150 HDD IDE 5400 RPM
2×1 GB Kingston Hyper-X 1066Mhz RAM
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1
DO NOT SWITCH THE VOLTAGE.
That switch is only there if you are using the PSU in a different country with different voltage on their power grid.
You need to replace the PSU. Apevia is a generic brand PSU anyhow. The problem is that it provides enough power for the system to run, but as soon as it is put under load the voltage sags and causes the computer to shut down.
I would not be surprised if the PSU was the reason you needed to replace the motherboard in the first place.
With that setup, you should be looking at least in the 600 watt range with a PSU from a QUALITY manufacturer. Sparkle, Cooler Master, Corsair, Antec are all good PSU mfrs and are not overpriced.
Remember, the PSU is the MOST IMPORTANT part of your system, NOT the least important. People always skimp on the PSU because they want to spend the extra $50 on a better video card.
It connects and powers all your expensive components, and can destroy those expensive components as well.