PSU issues?

THEpiGUY

Daemon Poster
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598
I believe I'm having trouble with my power supply...I'd like someone to verify that it's the problem before I buy a better one.

Alright, first off, my computer tends to shut off about 1 in every 3 or 4 times that I play games (mainly CS:S, BF2, and Garry's Mod 9 :p ). I have many power-consuming products: ASUS A8N32 board, (1)7800GT, see sig for rest. I also have my computer overclocked a little; had to put the CPU at 1.5 volts to get up to 2800MHz (as opposed to ~1.4v). When my computer is idle though, I don't think it's ever cut off, though occasionally it will cut off while I'm using the internet.

The only other thing that I considered was the NB temperature. As of right now, I don't have anything to monitor it. I think that my board cuts off if it gets too high, but I don't think that that's the problem. If anyone knows of any software that allows me to monitor it, I would greatly appreciate it if you will tell me. I'm using PC Probe right now to monitor CPU/MB temps, which are doing fine.
Feel free to let me know if I had left any of the parts out of my sig that you need to know about.
Any and all help is appreciated.
 
I bet it is your PSU. I bet that PSU came in your case, did it not? If not, Raidmax is still not a good company for PSU's. A good PSU for you would be this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817711002

It is expensive, but it's very high quality. It is the upgraded version of what I have. Mine is a bit weak on the rails, so you might want to get this one instead. Wait for a second opinion, but I'm pretty sure it is the PSU.
 
alright, but instead of the 520W Powerstream, I was actually thinking about getting the 600W Powerstream from a different retailer. I plan on doing SLI and RAID 0 soon, and I don't want to have to buy a new one (after upgrading) any time soon. Still, if you think this is too much, let me know. And yes, it is what came with the Raidmax case.
 
yeah i would bet its your powersupply as well. go with what jamxx said, ive heard aot of good stuff about OCZ powerstream altho i belive you cant get them in Britain for some crappy reason!
 
I wasn't aware there was a 600 watt version of the Powerstream. If you are going to go SLI, you might want to get that, just in case. I'm sure you'd be fine with that one though, but if it is in your budget that's what I would do. Is it SLI approved? That's always a nice bonus when you buy a power supply and you're trying to go SLI.
 
Almost all OCZ are SLI approved. OCZ is a great company for power supplies. Antec is not bad either, thats what im getting for my new PC.
 
For the record, the Modstream series of OCZ (which is what I have) isn't SLI approved. But, you are right, that Powerstream is. As I said, though, it definitely doesn't hurt to have those extra watts floating around. ;)
 
Alright, thanks very much everyone...
Just a few questions, these may be more of just overclocking questions rather than PSU questions... (sorry to bump the topic)
Will getting a new PSU help me overclock my CPU(Athlon 4000+) a little more? I had to bump the CPU's voltage up to 1.45V to get up to 2.8GHz, and have tried up to 1.55V or 1.6V trying to get it up to just 2.9, with failure to reach even that. I was shooting for 3GHz. It restarts my computer usually before the Windows loading screen comes up, sometimes while it's up. Maybe I'm just greedy :D , but I'd like to get a little more out of it...

If it's a problem with my CPU's voltage, would getting it up to 3GHz be impossible without frying my CPU?

I've also noticed a blue screen occasionally when windows is loading and it restarts, looks like the "beginning physical dump of memory" screen, but I could be wrong because it goes by so fast. Would this be a problem with my RAM?

If anyone could help, I'd greatly appreciate it...maybe I just have terrible stepping :(
 
The OCZ PS 520 is better than the 600W version. Why? Because it is single rail. The PS600 will crap out earlier than the 520W version under heaving overclocking and CF. Seriously, i highly doubt its the PS. You need to up the Vcore to its stable. Thats why you get random restarts. The PS520 is one of the best psus out there.

EDIT: AFAIK, KAB3E are the best 3700+ steppings out there. What cooling do you have? If you are on air, no more than 1.55V 24/7 If on water 1.6 subambient you can go higher. 3Ghz for SDs are harder than venices. I would suggest you drop your multiplier and raise the FSB. The 11x multiplier on the 4000+ is just way tooo high.
 
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