| Squilliam said:
Thats with a Core i7 at 4Ghz. Im sorry but its an unlikely source of problems unless the PSU is a really crappy and cheap noname PSU. Its a good suggestion otherwise though. |
A 500W power supply has to split it's current between 3.3V, 5V and 12V. A video card using 150W of 12V power could certainly run out of power with a 500v supply, while the rest of the system is fine. You can't just add up total wattage and declare there is no problem.
If the vid card crashes when drawing it's maximum power, but works fine otherwise that does point to not enough current on the 12V rails. Or a flaky driver/directx install.
Take the cover off, and read the current rating for each of 3.3V,5V and 12 V. It's right there on the side of the PS. That tells you the balance of power the PSU can deliver. If the 12V amperage is less than 40A you are in trouble. Ideally a good 500W PS would have two 12V lines, each about 30A. That way the PCI-E connectors get their own current ,and the rest of the system gets a separate source. A single 12V 40A line is OK .
My antec 380W PS (Silent, in my HTPC) delivers 38A at 3.3V, 35A at 5V and 24A at 12V - ie not nearly enough current to power a high end video card. (Note the total wattage adds up to way more than 380W for various technical, philosphical and religous reasons).
Adjust windows settings (google it) so the BSOD does NOT auto reboot. Haven't used Xp in ages, but there is a setting you can set to tell windows not to auto reboot when a BSOD occurs. That way you can write down what is on the screen...so we have some idea what is going on here...
Trying to convince me the Wii is a real adult game machine 'if you play it right' is like trying to convince me Tofu tastes great 'if you just cook it right'
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