new psu required for existing system

[HeathenAsparagus]

Athlon64 s939 3500+
abit av8 mobo
wd 250gb hdd
nvidia 6800gt agp
nec cdrw drive

several problems experienced during high load (high load only)
i believe this to be a power supply issue, and therefore will be getting a replacement psu

should an antec 430W psu be enough ?

 

[weskurtz81]

Yes,

The PSU you currently own should be more than enough for the system. What exactly are the problems which you are experiencing? What programs? Gaming and non gaming issues? Have you tried running memtest 86 and prime 95? These are questions we need answered.

thanks
wes

 

[avarice]

Your issues may (or may not) be related to your PSU. For the direct answer - is the antec good - yes, for your build 400W is pleanty - 430, 450W is fine as well. I would not go any higher unless you are slowly building out a new system from any new purchases.

In addition to MEMTEST, and PRIME - you need to check out your thermal situation, clean out any dust, and make sure you have a good amount of airflow. Then check your temps, and make sure they are 'normal'.

One thing you may want to try - is to underclock your video card. I had to do this to my 7600GT to figure out if it was failing as a result of a thermal condition. The GPU wasn't getting too hot, but other components on the card were - and that caused system failure. Download the coolbits regestry hack, and slide your GPU and Memory frequencies about halfway down the scale. Test in a situation that would normally cause a failure. If it fails, then the problem is likely somewhere else. If it doesn't fail (and this was the ONLY change you made) then the problem is with your video card - or less likely with the power that is being given to your video card.

Give it a shot - and let us know what you find. Give us your temps and other figures.

Also - if you could give a full list of specs - PSU, Case, Ect....that might help as well.


Cheers.

 

[HeathenAsparagus]

the antec is not my current psu
the current psu is a HEC 300W that came with the case - 6a21 compucase

these problems only started occuring recently,
after approx 2 years of no problems what so ever.

the reason i believe this to be a psu issue is the following "effects":
high load 3d games hanging, returning to normal for a bit, then hanging again
had similar problems 10 years ago with a voodoo2 and a 200W psu
and 5 years ago with a geforce2gts and a 300W psu
all seemed to be psu issues.

full specs of the machine:

Athlon 64 s939 3500+
Abit AV8 3rd eye (kt800)
2x512mb corsair c2 ddr400
pny geforce6800gt agp
wd 250gb 7200rpm sata2 hdd
HEC\Compucase 6A21 with original 300W PSU
nec cdrw (ide)
sony FDD
Hercules GameTheater XP

 

[waylander]

Either PSU or heat but ya that 300w generic psu should be replaced regardless