Time to buy a new PSU?!

[Mr_Bluntman]

Here's the specs:

Athlon 64 3700+ (Clawhammer - 2.4GHz, 1MB L2)
ECS nFORCE4 A754 Rev 1.0
1GB Corsair XMS3200 CL2
nVidia GeForce 6800 GT PCIe
2 x Optical drives (DVD-RW, DVD)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 160GB

The offending power supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817170016

Voltages taken out of BIOS:
3.3v --- 3.21
1.5v --- 1.45-.47
1.2v --- 1.18
12v --- 11.48-.51
5v --- 4.86-.89

Now I'm no expert when it comes to voltages and such but something tells me that the 12v rail is to blame for my issues...

I notice compared to a similar system I'm short about 10fps in Doom 3 (87.4fps vs what it should be - ~98 fps) at 1024x768 no AA & 8x AF. Could this performance lag be because of my cheap-arse PSU? Not to mention the system "acting funny" like system inresponsiveness (that's out of the ordinary) and such in Windows.

I've already taken the liberty of ordering something a bit more substantial in the 12v rail department (26A vs 16A) and has a PCIe connector built-in.

http://www.ultraproducts.com/product_details.php?cPath=59&pPath=369&productID=369

*NOTE* There are slight differences in the benchmarks so my whining may be irrelevant - their bench was done on a Socket 939 3700+ and not a 754. Mine has a 200MHz + 512K L2 advantage, but it's without the dual channel memory controller. Their 6800 GT was an AGP model and mine is (duh) a PCIe. But still it's always better to ask and be absolutely sure.

Anyone offering their two bits on this is welcome to.

 

[doolittle]

I calc'd your usage ~16A no wonder you were running the logisys at max - at least it didn't blow up on you, the cheapo psu's have a tendancy to do that... and not to mention they are most always labeled at peak/max so you have to slash 3/4 right off the top - so the 480w in reality can barely handle a 350w load. The rated 16A drops to 12A in real-world capacity!

The ultra v-series are not so bad, I have one that I got for free with a MIR and it is used on my test bench. Check out jonnyguru's V-series review he put's in on the load tester it is fine as long as you keep the power ~24A or less. With your <16A demand you should be fine.

 

[Newf]

Your garbage psu is almost 5% low on voltage.
Replacing it makes sense even if it is not causing your angst.
Before the new box arrives maybe a little Windows housecleaning is in order.
Download CCleaner (free)
http://www.ccleaner.com/
Run both the cleaner and issues routines.
Defrag your hard drive either using the Windows defrag or download a free trial of Diskeeper so you can fix any MFT and pagefile issues.
If you can return the new Ultra psu at no cost, get this instead:
FSP AX450-PN 450watt 12v:2x18a PSU 20+4pin $51+8 3/24/07
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104954
Just my 2 cents (not worth 2 bits)

 

[Mr_Bluntman]

Perhaps in the future I'll invest in a high quality modular PSU (Hiper comes to mind...) but right now I've got a shoestring buget and I'm getting the Ultra V for $30 off eBay...

 

[Jodym2]

And they were giving them away at Fryes after rebate. It's really nice to have a quality Power Supply. I recommend a Seasonic M12 I got the 500 Watt Model for only $125

 

[Newf]

And they were giving them away at Fryes after rebate. It's really nice to have a quality Power Supply. I recommend a Seasonic M12 I got the 500 Watt Model for only $125

Just sit right down here...
This will only take a minute.

 

[Mr_Bluntman]

Somebody snaffled it up before I got the chance to post up for it. Now I'm pretty much screwed for the next week...

I hope my machine don't blow up before then