AMD 64 3200+ random reboot

[gossen19]

System setup: AMD Athlon 64 3200+
Kingston DDR 400mhz pc3200 512mb
Maxtor 160GB IDE
350W Q-Tec Low noise PSU.
MSI K8T Neo2 Fire S939

When I used an ATI Radeon 9800SE with a ordinary 4-pin molex connector as the one used to supply power to a IDE hardrive I hade an uptime in about 15-20 minutes before the monitor status light starts blinking yellow and screen goes off. The computer is still running when this happends but screen goes off and I must unplug the power cord to the monitor and restart the computer. I have tried an TFT monitor without any result.

But when I changed to a ATI Radeon 9700 Pro which only uses a small type Molex connector, looks like the one used for power supplying floppy drives I got an significant increased uptime. The uptime increased to 1-3 hours.

May this be a problem of the PSU beeing to weak? Or may the AGP slot be broken on the motherboard?

I must add that I´ve tried increasing the power to the CPU by 5,5% without success.
Tried increasing AGP voltage by 4-6% without success.
I`ve tried changing RAM Frequencys without success.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Him]

Ouch, no success in OCing? Is it overheating? Your rig sounds pretty unstable, thats what overheating does to it. Do you have artifacts on your screen before it crashes?

If you are going to OC, no matter how little, you should have at least a LITTLE bit of extra cooling.

 

[gossen19]

Ouch, no success in OCing? Is it overheating? Your rig sounds pretty unstable, thats what overheating does to it. Do you have artifacts on your screen before it crashes?

If you are going to OC, no matter how little, you should have at least a LITTLE bit of extra cooling.

Hi, no I don`t have any artifacts. I`ve had this problem ever since I bought it. I have even tried to decrease the system performance, setting it 1000mhz instead of 2000mhz without any success. My 350W PSU cost 28$ . It may be a piece of crap. What I need someone to help me deduce what this problem may be.
It`s feel stupid to waste 50-70 bucks on a antec 380W if instead the problem originates from a broken motherboard. And if it isn`t the motherboard, and I make a complaint about it and send it in I will be charged 70$ for a handling fee at the computer store.

Thanks in advance

 

[Him]

WOAH! I'm sorry, I didnt even look at your PSU. That is WAAAAAAAAAAYY to low! I would reccomend at LEAST 400W. I would advise you to go 500+ with that system though.

Now I am fairly certain it is your power, or lack thereof. I would say go with at least 500w, but you could probably get away with 400. Just to be safe, get a 500w+ psu.

 

[Alex81388]

You'll be fine with a 400watt.

Don't worry so much about the wattage as you should the current it provides.

Get something with AT THE ABSOLUTE MINIMUM OF 18A on the 12V rail.

 

[gossen19]

I will

I will get the Antec Performance SX1040 SOHO ATX, PP412XF, 400W , thank you both for your time and invaluable information. I will now try to find information on that tower, wether it`s PSU has 18A in the 12v rail. Thanks

 

[Him]

you are quite welcome. Good luck with your rig.