I upgraded my computer to a new video card a couple months ago (to the one listed in my signature). I OC'd the heck out of it and it ran stable and flawlessly until a couple days ago. Below is a list of the symptoms and a more detailed spec of my computer:

Symptom 1:
While playing Goldeneye through Project64 my computer completely froze. No response to anything (Ctrl+Atl+Del included). I cold shutdown and restarted. It would not boot into XP (presumably my video card overclock) and therefore I had to boot into safemode and disable my overclock through Rivatuner. Booted back up and everything was fine.

Symptom 2 (yesterday):
Booting my computer displayed a box from nVidia's Forceware saying the video card was not receiving adequate power. It ran fine, but that makes me pretty nervous.

So I'm thinking I was overloading my PSU for the past month which caused some substantial degradation on it. Therefore the power supply's maximum load has decreased and can no longer keep up with the demand.

Sony RA710G
Pentium 4 3.2E (Socket 478)
4 x 512 Corsair VS
OEM TV tuner
Western Digital ATA HDDs (120 & 250)
2 opticals (DVD+-RW DL & DVD-rom)
eVGA 7600GS (was OC 605/441, now factory 400/350)
PSU - 400W (365W actual) Delta proprietary PSU

This computer was run 24/7 for about a year and has been in use ~2 years by me.

Did I underestimate the cap aging? Have I been underpowering my vid card? Help, I don't want to destory anything (esp HDDs). Please let me know what you think the issue is (or ask if you need more information).

It is possible that your PSU is starting to call it quits. Do you know what the Amp ratings for your PSU is? Check the label on the side of the PSU.

Sorry, I started this post at work, otherwise I would have included the PSU rail ratings. Here they are:

12V1 - 12A
12V2 - 12A

It is an AGP MB, so the video card is run off a peripheral connector (like old ATA HDDs and opticals).

Try taking some measurements from your PSU with a digital volt meter. Perhaps it will tell you if your output is lower than the recommended values.

Everest Ultimate and BIOS both reported values within acceptable limits.

Check your power connector(for the video card), if it comes loose the power warning will come up.

But it should not freeze(just black screened when i have video power disconnect, dont as how....)

I have seen PJ64 pause and need to hit alt a few times i think(i dont use it often)....Its not demanding or anything.....

If it keep happening then a new PSU may be in order....Look for 80+ models, they run cooler and quieter and save you power

Also note that Bios readings for voltage can be way off sometimes....

Get a new PSU, something from the first two tiers of the PSU sticky.

Something like this:

http://www.pcpower.com/power-suppl [...] 0-atx.html

Or This:

http://www.pcpower.com/power-suppl [...] ps12v.html

Nukemasters post regarding the 80+ refers to the PSU efficiency one that is 80% or more efficient is better.

Bad news: proprietary Sony BS PSU made by Delta. Otherwise I would have ordered a Enermax Liberty today.

Well, back off the overclocks and try to remove anything you are not using from the computer. Try to use as little power as you can. If you recently updated your drivers try rolling back. maybe there is a driver glitch....After all we are only talking PJ64 here

For all intents you should have enough power.....

EDIT___________________

Are you sure its proprietary for connectors? or is it just a odd shape?

There are different kinds of PSU's

Sometimes they look different but have the same connectors. that would mean you could transfer the computers parts to a new case with a standard psu....can you take a picture?

Seems similar to this....a little bigger(MATX vs this Flex ATX one)

If you can get in there and look at the connectors you may be in luck....

Nope, it's definitely proprietary. I put my GPU back to stock and removed the wireless card and one of my opticals. Hopefully that helps. What are the consequences of overloading a PSU? Catastrophic failure? Fried components? Total loss?

Anything can happen. Its not always the same. The only psu i ever overloaded(Antec 380 with a 8800GTX) just shut it self off(went for about 10 minutes)....But some can overvolt(if there voltage regulation/safety system sucks) and damage parts....in rare cases there can be total loss(all parts go squish).....Its a pain i know....

It sounds as if your PSU is killing itself, ableit slowly.
Would recommend buying another one.

OIC thats why ur name is nukemaster

I'll back up what nukemaster said about total loss. I've had the experience of having the computer suddenly stop while wisps of smoke rose from the case. Its smells bad and gets expensive fast.

One thing I've learned over the years is to not, repeat not, go cheap on a psu. A better quality psu might cost an extra $20 or so, but its far cheaper to get the better psu in the first place then to have to buy another psu becuase the first one wasn't good enough, or worse, to replace damaged parts because the cheaper one decided to throw a going away party and invite other parts with it.

Look over the psu tier list, go to jonnyguru and read some reviews, along with a few other websites if you want, and then decide on what psu to buy. I know I've never lost a psu since I started doing that.

Proprietary PSU. I don't think I can say that enough. Thanks for the help nukemaster. I may be considering moving out of my old case and into a new (read: good, non-proprietary) one.

If you do, just make sure that the plugs are the same....you don't want to blow the system.....old dells had there own connectors.....

Fingers still crossed....

What is proprietary about it, the size, or pinouts, or both?

Size. Pinouts and everything are the same as standard 24-pin ATX with 4-pin 12V.

What are the dimensions?

I can check when I get home (at work currently). I doesn't have mounting screws in the ba