HELP PLEASE. is my Power supply good enough?

iTz DiBByy x

Solid State Member
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ok so i have a 480 watt psu which is strong enough to start my pc etc
(my pc:
AMD Phenom II X4 955 black edition at 3.20GHz
4GB RAM
GA-880GMA-USB3 motherboard
1 x 1tb hitachi hdd ide
1x maxtor 160GB hdd ide
Zotac GTX460 AMP edition)

my problem is that when i play games at full graphics (and they dont lag)
my pc will cut out and restart after about 10mins depending on how demanding the game is.
my question is is my 480 watt psu strong enough or should i get a 550 - 650 watt one? and if the psu isnt the problem is the problem over heating? and if it is over heating how would i go about fixing this problem? thanks in advance
 
Please use proper grammar. Trying to read your post made me think I'm dyslexic.

It sounds like more of an overheating issue. Check the fan on the graphics card, make sure it spins freely. Clean all of the dust out of the computer, especially on the HSF for the processor and the graphics card. What kind of case do you have? Adding more fans couldn't hurt.

The PSU should be enough to power that rig. You can head on over to this web site and plug in your computer's specs and see exactly how much PSU you need.

eXtreme Power Supply Calculator
 
Two items, I found the post fine in the grammar department - not everyone here will have Oxford educations. :p

Secondly, if the PC is cutting off like that, there are two possibilities. First is the power supply - you said 480 watts, but not what brand it was. If it's a cheap brand (i.e. <$40) then it won't do enough to keep your PC running at its rated wattage (which are often rated under "ideal" circumstances which is how they get away with rating it sometimes)

The other problem could be bad memory - if you need a good testing program, there's a great utility CD that includes everyone's favorite - "MemTest x86" - you can download it by itself, just google it, or use Hirens Boot CD - the program is included on the first menu of the boot disc. You can download Hirens from: Download Hiren
 
Please use proper grammar. Trying to read your post made me think I'm dyslexic.

It sounds like more of an overheating issue. Check the fan on the graphics card, make sure it spins freely. Clean all of the dust out of the computer, especially on the HSF for the processor and the graphics card. What kind of case do you have? Adding more fans couldn't hurt.

The PSU should be enough to power that rig. You can head on over to this web site and plug in your computer's specs and see exactly how much PSU you need.

eXtreme Power Supply Calculator

Thanks for the advice, i had already cleaned out the dust and yes it helped but only by a few minuets, the pc still cuts out it just takes a little more time. I took a look at the site but i'm only 16 i don't know what half (and by half i mean not much but still enough to confuse me) the jibberish on their means or wether i have it or not.
 
Two items, I found the post fine in the grammar department - not everyone here will have Oxford educations. :p

Secondly, if the PC is cutting off like that, there are two possibilities. First is the power supply - you said 480 watts, but not what brand it was. If it's a cheap brand (i.e. <$40) then it won't do enough to keep your PC running at its rated wattage (which are often rated under "ideal" circumstances which is how they get away with rating it sometimes)

The other problem could be bad memory - if you need a good testing program, there's a great utility CD that includes everyone's favorite - "MemTest x86" - you can download it by itself, just google it, or use Hirens Boot CD - the program is included on the first menu of the boot disc. You can download Hirens from: Download Hiren

Thanks for the advice, I cant remember what brand it is i will have to take a look but i do know that the recomended wattage for the gfx card is 450 watts. I also know that it is at least half decent because it starts my pc and can play games to a certain extent where as i tried both a 600 and 550 watt psu (not at the same time, even though i know its possible)
and neither of them could start my pc (black screen, all l.e.d's on all fans at 100%) and both of them were made by EZcool, i think we can safely say that EZcool are terrible although to give some credit i know that the 550 watt psu was at least 10 years old and so i would think that the 600 watt one wouldnt be much younger if at all. On to my next point 'MemTest x86' is this for 32 bit only (i assume because of the x86) i dont remember if i pointed out that im running windows 7 home premium 64-bit, and if it is for 32-bit will it make a difference?
 
Memtest86 runs in its own environment outside Windows and works on 64-bit systems, not that it matters because you only have 4GB of RAM. It is capable of testing more than 4GB however.
 
Could be your psu going out? it may start up fine and run internet programs fine but when under load, the psu could be frying out. Is there any fizzing or noise in general coming from the psu?
 
Could be your psu going out? it may start up fine and run internet programs fine but when under load, the psu could be frying out. Is there any fizzing or noise in general coming from the psu?
not that i know of, difficult to hear over the fan on the graphics card.
 
Could be your psu going out? it may start up fine and run internet programs fine but when under load, the psu could be frying out. Is there any fizzing or noise in general coming from the psu?
not that i know of, difficult to hear over the fan on the graphics card.

On that note after buying Battlefield 3 yesterday and playing it for a couple hours (on high and no lag without any crashes) the game has blown my power supply, I just hope it hasnt taken the rest of my pc with it. :/
off to maplins tomorrow to get a new one and maybe apply for a job there.
 
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