Is it possible a 550w PSU isn't enough to stably power my PC setup?
My PC crashes regularly when pushed with 3D, the gfx card is brand new and has the latest drivers. (tried official his driver, and ati x1950 driver)
It cannot complete 'Video Card Stability Test' without rebooting. The faq for that recommended checking power supply and cpu temp.
The 550w PSU is new, but a cheap £20 one, maybe too unstable a supply? (sumvision/sumevision?)
CPU temp is 45-50°C idle, is this a little hot?
Tried running the stability test offline with no other programs running, yet it still crashes.
p4 3ghz
his ati x1950pro agp 512mb
1.5gb ram
asrock 775vm800 mobo
trust soundcard
kworld dvb-t100 digi tv tuner
sony dvd burner
sweex card reader
120gb + 80gb hd
cpu + case fan
Would this make a good PSU replacement?
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=468732
700W EZCool Infinity SLi pPFC Low Noise ATX v2.2 Dual +12v Rails EPS12v 2.1 SATA/PCIE Ready 12cm Fan
550W should be plenty for your system, but I think you're on the right track with it being unstable. As they say, it's not the size of the wave, it's the motion of the ocean.
As far as the PSU you are looking at, it's hard to tell without seeing all the specs. The site doesn't seem to tell you what the current is on each rail. For your system I think you want something with around 18A-20A (or higher) on the 12v rail. Here's a link to a low cost & popular PSU here in the States. I'm not sure if it's available in the UK, but it should give you an idea of what to look for. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153023
Before you buy something, see if you can adjust voltages in your BIOS. Try increasing your AGP voltage from 1.5v to 1.6v. Try the same thing on your memory, 2.5v to 2.6. Sometimes a little extra voltage is enough to compensate for some minor instability. On second though, £20 seems awful cheap for a PSU (around $10 US). If the CPU is the brain of your system, then the power supply is the heart.
CPU temp seems a little high, but I'm more experienced with AMD processors, so I'm not sure what is typical for a P4. Keep in mind that the readings through the BIOS and sensor chip can be quite erroneous. For example, my system shows 24 deg C at idle with the fans turned down in a 20 deg C room. I doubt my air cooling is that efficient. If I update the BIOS to the next version up, the same temp jumps by 12 deg C which is probably more accurate.
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