Hd2900xt (60 degrees idle)

No, I think you got something else going on. The HD2900 isn't exactly a cool running card and your temps really aren't bad. Are they a little high? Maybe, temperatures change with each build though so your temps won't match anyone else's. Generally the only time you need to worry about your temps is when they start to get close or go past 100C. Do you have another GPU that you can test to see if it actually is the card causing problems? Same goes for the PSU.

Sorry to say you're proably right and that your power supply may be causing the issue. My temps are basically the same as yours thanks to the latest 7.8 and 7.9 Cat.s which causes a 5-10c spike in Idle temps. Although load temps appear to be the same. Anyway, as I said my temps are the same as yours and my card is working just fine. Found a link to your power supply and it appears to have just a single 24a +12v rail. I also don't know anything regarding the quality of this PSU either.

http://www.vesalia.de/e_lcpower550wsw.htm

If you do not have access to another rig to try the card in or a different power supply, I would suggest getting something with a little more juice on the +12v line. Here is a link to a outstanding Corsair power supply. Notice it has the same wattage as your, but with considerable more power on the +12v rail. So it's not always about the watts......

41a +12v rail .....$99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

This list of Certified Power Supplies for HD 2900 XT Single Card Operation may also be of some help........
http://ati.amd.com/products/certified/powersupplies.htm...

My HIS HD2900XT runs 36-42*C idle and 62*C on full load, never seen it reach any higher. Not sure if the HIS has a much better cooler then the other brands or if I really lucked out, either way I need to overclock this baby one of these days since I seem to have alot of headroom.
Can you list you PSU or the amount of amps under your 12V rail?
James

Are you talking to me or decfocused? He stated his power supply was a
Psu LC Power 550w which I looked up. It has 24a on a single +12v rail unless they make another 550w unit. Mines is in my sig, an Enermax Liberty 620w with 36a sustained/continuous on the combined +12v rails. I use to idle at 51-52c until the latest Cat Drivers and now it's 58c-60c depending on the enviornment which is usually pretty warm.

My idle numbers are usually 55c-60c. Just a thought but check out ati tool and see what your fan speed is running at. If you don't mind quite a bit of noise coming from your case then perhaps you should increase the speed the fan spins at when it kicks in to 3D mode. You can have it go at different speeds for different temperatures (by default the fan doesn't spin nearly as fast as it can).

I have a 2900xt and had some of the very same issues. It runs at 60c idle but thats not the problem. I also had a 550w Antec NeoHE(a pretty good psu), that was the problem. Got a 700w and all problems went away. 550w is just not enough to power the card

Hi guys, thx for all the good advices, and think i understand my issue now. Will try buying the thermaltake 250w video card power supply, and if that doesent solve it, i gotta invest in a better power supply.

Thx again, will post if successful  

I don't doubt what you're saying but I'm very suprised. The Antec NeoHE 550w is actually one of the three 550w PSU's on the recommended list for single card operation and 550w is what ATI recommends or 750w for Crossfire. Of course you also need a strong +12v rail as well.

http://ati.amd.com/products/Radeonhd2900/requirements.h...

Bought the Thermaltake 250w video power supply. Solved all of my issues, and cheaper than buying a new power supply  

Thx guys