Help With Dell Upgrade!

[idazedi]

About a year ago I bought a 8600 gt and my system was running pretty good I thought, until my computer started to freeze(for a good 10 seconds or so) randomly while I was gaming(light gaming) or just browsing the web.Could someone tell me if i need to upgrade to a better power supply?I have a Dell e510 and a 305 watt power supply.If you need anymore information to help me solve this problem feel free to ask. Thank you everyone in advance!

 

[Klon0pin]

Is your system free of spyware / adware? Is it dirty inside your case? A lot of dust can accumulate in a year. Do you update your graphic drivers? If so, do you remove the old graphic drivers?

I would do those things. And if you do those things already write back with more specific info.

 

[idazedi]

Is your system free of spyware / adware? Is it dirty inside your case? A lot of dust can accumulate in a year. Do you update your graphic drivers? If so, do you remove the old graphic drivers?

I would do those things. And if you do those things already write back with more specific info.

Considering i recently reformatted, I'm pretty sure my system is free of spyware/adware.I have also cleaned my case and my graphic drivers are up to date and my old ati drivers have been removed as well. I have a dell e510.2.66 Pentium D,1 gig of ram and a 8600 gt so I'm wondering if the power supply is giving enough power to all of my peripherals.Also my temperatures are extremely hot according the speedfan.(Idle 66 Celsius)Keep in my mind my power supply is only a 305 watt power supply.

 

[Klon0pin]

There could be a million dumb reasons that your computer is freezing. But you seem to think it has something to do with your PSU and GPU.

According to Nvidia's website your suposed to run a system with an 8600 with a minimum 350 watt PSU. Are you using a stock Dell 305 watt PSU? In that case that 305 watt number is total peak wattage across all rails (12v, 5v etc.) not sustainable power.

My motherboard lets me monitor my PSU voltages, but I'm guessing Dell wouldn't let a consumer do such a crazy thing. And you could get open up your case and use a voltmeter but...

Everytime anyone turns on a computer the PSU (and every other electrical component) gets weaker and weaker even if it's only .0000001 V per hour of use, it's the nature of electronics. Using a PSU that is stressed to it's max everytime you use it will make it weaker faster.

So I think it would be in your best intrest to buy a new PSU. Maybe it won't fix the problem, but maybe it will. And you can use it in a new system in the future if you plan to upgrade.

But make sure you buy a quality (at least "80 plus" rated) PSU.

Here is a list of recomendations:

http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/101922.aspx

 

[delluser1]

In that case that 305 watt number is total peak wattage across all rails (12v, 5v etc.) not sustainable power.

305w is the max sustainable output, not peak, which is part of the reason why Dell psu's are considered "underrated"

 

[idazedi]

alright so any atx psu(20pin i think) would work right?i was reading somewhere about dell needing a proprietary psu to power the motherboard is this true or false?

 

[o1die]

Newegg sells a pc power and cooling silencer 500w dell unit for $79.99. It's a good brand, but gets mixed reviews. I use antec but don't know if it will fit your dell. The dell forums might give you more options.

 

[idazedi]

Okay so i just bought this power supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008 and it booted up just fine except for the fact it said previous fan failed and low voltage im not sure exactly what is said but it happened during the ide configurations at the first boot up.I still had that one thing where i freeze for 7 seconds or so but it only happened once so far.Is this a good enough power supply?

 

[delluser1]

Is this a good enough power supply?

It's more than good enough.