New computer woes

[rb26dett]

My problem:

I recently purchased components and built myself a new system. It consists of the following parts:
1) MSI 865PE Neo2 Motherboard
2) Intel Pentium 4 2.6C 800 HT
3) 256 x2 PC-400 RAM (DDR config)
4) Western Digital WD-800JB
5) LG GCC 4480B DVD/CDRW
6) ATI AIW 9800 PRO
7) Windows XP Pro SP1a (Academic Version)

Now here's the problem - my computer is crashing like CRAZY. I updated the bios of the motherboard, the ram passed a couple of hours of http://www.memtest86.com/ with no problems. I updated the BIOS of the DVD/CDRW which costed me the drive since it reset during the flash (yes, that was a really stupid idea in retrospect. I should've known better. I'm lucky I didn't lose the mobo).

I have two suspects.
1) The power supply. Got it kind of cheaply. A www.realpcpower.com 450W 3 fan speed PSU. I wanted to borrow my roommate's PSU and hook it up to my computer but he won't let me (jerk). Anyone have had problems with these PSUs / success stories?

2) The ATI AIW 9800 Pro. This one I bought online from e-bay.com. It came in a retail box, everything sealed, looks to be in excellent conidition and functions 100%. However I suspect it because once XP after the crash said the crash was caused by the AIW driver. Error Message: STOP 0x000000EA THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER (Q293078).

Any ideas on what I should do now? I'm thinking i'll just buy a new power supply and hope for the best. Anyone know where I can source a good one hopefully online and hopefully in Canada (although the second one might be a little tough).

Thanks for listening!
Chris

 

[Crashman]

Most likely culprits are the power supply or RAM. But here's something different: Your card might be a 9800 non-pro, or even a 9800SE, reflashed as a 9800 Pro.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[rb26dett]

Interesting suggestion .. the card looks and is marked as a 9800 Pro. However ... I don't think they even sold non-pro AIWs did they ?

 

[Crashman]

I heard that Hercules had an AIW 9800SE, but I'm not sure if it's true.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[rb26dett]

Guess it's down to the ram/power supply. I think i'll just buy a new power supply.

A strange update though .. the thing NEVER crashes running games. Like Shattered Galaxy, Need for Speed Underground, Midnight Club 2. Runs stable and fast. Only gets strange when I'm kicking around in windows or watching TV with the AIW.

 

[rb26dett]

Seems my first time posting this didn't make it through. Well here's try #2.

Well I went out and bought a 'StarTech' 300W PSU with the intention of returning it if it didn't solve the problem. While swapping the two I noticed the '450W' unit weighed about 1/3 the StarTech. Hmmmmmmmm.
Guess what? System has been running stable for 24hours now, ripping / encoding stuff from the ATI TV tuner, playing DX9.0a games etc ...

Summery: Avoid www.realpcpower.com!

Thanks for all the help and ideas guys.