More Problems... sigh plz help

[Ares6735]

Well I have been having problems with my PC for like 3 weeks now and I believed I had the PSU nailed down as the problem, but alas I am having AGP or Mobo probs.

Here is my post yesterday:

Ok, so I am quite sure that my PSU is causing my problems that have plagued me for the last few weeks, but I want to confirm it with some experts and if so I would like a recomendation of the new one I should buy....

So here goes, I recently switched cases and installed a watercooling system after which my Windows was not performing right and I had frequent freezing, restarts, random BIOS recoverys and crashes even on or before the POST test. Well I think I burned out my Mobo with all the restarts because I am a moron and have never had PSU problems before. However, now I am thinking it was the PSU all along. Anyway, I bought a new Mobo and when I booted up it began to work, but Windows was messed up and I had to re-install. Durring this time I had many periods where the PSU would stop working, I would have random shutdowns and I had to switch it on and off to get it to work again. In addition I reinstalled Windows like 6 times and formatted my Hard drives, thinking they were the source the the Windows problem, but now I am thinking that the PSU was messing with the Hard drives and causing file corruption.

Finally, today I went back to work trying to fix the problems and Windows went into its problem where I couldnt boot up after installing programs after a fresh format and re-install of windows. So i went into the recovery console to check the disks as recommended, midway into checking my second one my video went wierd and I smelled a funny smell, so I immediately cut power and opened up my case. I pulled out the video card and it had a residue on the connector area. So i believed that my old video card had burned out. So, I put in my newer one that had been having driver issues, which I am hoping I can attribute to the PSU... anyways I started up and everything came up fine and I though "good, my memory, HDs and Mobo are all ok" and I went to try to check the disks again and I smelled the smell again, so I cut power and stuck my nose up to the PSU and I smelled it, then the vid card... and the smell was stronger near the PSU, so I think the PSU is going bad, its overloaded or it is damaged from the move somehow....

My system specs:
3.4 Ghz CPU
1 Gb PC3200 RAM
3 Hard drives: 30 GB IDE, 80 GB IDE, and a 250 GB SATA
DVD-ROM Drive
DVD Burner Drive
7800GS Nvidia Vid Card
4 Fans:2 80mm Case fans,1 secondary radiator fan, 1 PCI Slot fan
Artic Water Cooling System (Cpu and Vga block)

Suspect PSU: Thermaltake 420 Watt PSU
Spare PSU: 350 Watt PSU
New PSU: IDK? If you know good wattage and brand tell me!

Right now I am hoping to god that the PSU is just bad and I can simply buy a new one, power up and have everything run all right again. Otherwise I am at my whits end again and I may just pack up and give it to Geek Squad to fix... at my whits end!

PS: I also would like to know if my video card driver problem could be piled in with all the other stuff... See when I put in the 7800GS and ran the system (when it would boot succesfully) I could only use VGA drivers because Nvidia ones would crash my system and then not allow me to boot unless I booted to VGA drivers.

What should my course of action be now? (Lol my room smells really bad now, that worries me)

So I went and got a 500W PSU and connected everything, booted up, and all was fine for the same amount of time as it used to run fine... sigh.... the video cuts out after like 6 or 7 minutes and I smell something and cut power. Then I take out my Video Card and smell it... but the smell is really not on the card or the Agp slot or anything anymore... but there is orange residue on the card and the slot itself, now the AGP slot is also orange, so what is it melting? Why the **** would it just decide, hey lets melt today!? So I cleaned all the residue off, made sure it wasnt in the slot or anywhere else... then i reinserted the card and booted up. EXACT same result, runs for a few minutes and as I get to starting up my Windows install the video cuts out and I smell something funky so I cut the power. WTF is going on with this AGP slot, the board seems fine, so why is the slot like melting? I have a feeling everyone is gonna tell me to just return the Mobo and put in a new one (big hassle for a kid with a broken leg), and I will accept that if you guys say so, but is there any other cause that I might check to stop this "Melting Fit" so that I can just get my PC running and start re-installing all my software?

Thanks for the help and sorry for such a long post, I am just really frustrated with all of this... for three weeks I have been replacing this and that, from Vid card, to Mobo, to PSU... I just want this to work, If thise doesnt work can I just take the PC and the faulty Mobo back to Fry's (where I got the mobo) and have them put a new one in and make sure it is working, because I am just to tired of this... and I need an alternative....?

 

[WorldIndustries]

Thermaltakes are NOT a good brand of PSU, contrary to belief. They fail frequently and randomly. It's obvious there's something wrong with your PSU because of the random shutdowns and whatnot.

So I reccomend you replace your PSU first! And then if there is anything else wrong, go from there. It's less important to treat the symptoms than the source of these symptoms!

 

[Ares6735]

I did replace the PSU with a 500W... but now my AGP slot is the problem, that is the problem now...

 

[Ares6735]

Well I am thoroughly sick of this and I am just going to pack it up and drive it back to Fry's to get an exchange (hopefully). I don't know if my dad can dig up a reciept... I hope so, anyone know what their customer service is like?

PS: If the AGP slot was faulty to begin with, could that have caused my "infinite driver loop" error?