Power supply problems?

[pakman56]

hey guys, im a total n00b, so could you help me out

2.4 gig p4
512 megs ddr
asus pro mobo
ati radeon 8500 series (64 MEg)

what happened was when i built my comp, i dont think my power supply was powerful enough. so now whenever i play games (cs 1.6) my comp shuts down and restarts. it happens moslty when i play the game. I was wondering is there a cheaper way to upgrade my powersupply, or fix the problem.

if you know what to do, could you really simplify it out to me, i dont get stuff to easily...tahnks guys

 

[bolinp78]

how big is your power supply..?

 

[pakman56]

350 watts

 

[bolinp78]

thats kinda wierd... with that vid card 350 should be enough.. im not sure. I run a 500 watt power supply w/ 128 meg chip / 3.2 ghz intel processor and i have 7 case fans lol.. shrug

 

[pakman56]

could you think of anything else whcih could cuase the shutdowns...again it only happens when i play cs(counter-strike)

 

[ekÆsine]

it could be the power supply. was a it a generic PSU you got bundled with a cheap $50 case? give us the make/ model of it. you can find it on the side of the power suppy in text.

can you describe the symptoms more, is the computer restarting on you as soon as you start the game up or does it take a few minutes of playing before it restarts? is there any other situataions where the computer becomes unstable or restarts on you?

if it does it right when you start up the game that is probably due to a driver/ software issue. if it takes a while that could mean the video card or power supply is overheating/ overloaded.

as far as drivers go i don't know anything about which drivers/ updates you should have for that radeon card or the counterstrike game. but please list the driver version anyways

if someone is familair with this video card/ game we would appreciate any advice

 

[pakman56]

the only game i play is cs, so id ont really know...it happens about 10 minutes plus into it. it used to happen on hot days over the summer quite a bit. the case was like a 58 buck enermax.

 

[ekÆsine]

i think your problem is being caused by a combination of weak/ low-quality (translation: cheap) power supply and the fact that the hot temperatures are also putting a greater load on that power supply than normal.

the reason i think this is because you said it is happening after 10 or more minutes and also on hot days. what you can do is get more case fans to dissapate the heat and a better power supply. overheated components can cause your computer to be unstable or at least decrease its performance.

a higher quality power supply can usually withstand heat better and is less prone to instability. you should plan on spending 50-100 for a good 400 watt or higher power supply. 80mm case fans are relatively cheap, if your case doesn't have room for case fans think about getting another case with better cooling.

a temporary fix for you problem is take off the side panels and have a house fan blowing air over the components. messy wiring and blocked airways can also cause your pc to overheat.

if your home is hotter than normal room temperatures than thats the biggest problem, especially if you have no air conditioning in the room where the computer is at. i'd say anything 85-90 degrees fareheit or hotter is hotter than normal for a room

 

[pakman56]

yea, i got one fan, i havent gotten around to adding more in...