Give it more power, Scotty!

Hey team -- I need your help! I'm having some problems with my newly built computer. Following are the specs (System One):

- Gigabyte GA-7VRXP motherboard (VIA KT333 chipset)
- MSI GeForce4 Ti4400
- AMD Athlon XP 2000+
- 512 MB pc2100 266 Mhz DDR-RAM (CAS 2.5)
- Maxtor ATA133 7200 RPM 40GB hard drive
- LG 24x10x40 CD-RW
- Sound Blaster Audigy Gamer
- 300 watt Antec PSU

Now, on top of all this I have two 80x80 mm case fans and a Thermaltake Volcano 7 HSF. In other words, cooling isn't a problem. However, when running 3DMark2001 or any rather intensive 3D game/application my system consistantly locks up, forcing me to hard reboot. I have a hunch that my 300 watt power supply can't handle all those hydro-hungry components and the video card is freaking when it doesn't get all the voltage it needs, resulting in a lock-up. How did I come to this as-of-yet untested conclusion? Read on..

I have a second computer that contains all my old components. Following are the specs for this system (System Two):

- ECS K7S5A motherboard (SiS 735 chipset)
- Inno3D GeForce2 MX200
- AMD Athlon XP 1600+
- 256 MB pc133 SD-RAM
- Quantum Fireball 7200 RPM 20 GB hard drive
- Sony 52x CD-ROM
- Sound Blaster Live! Value
- 300 watt OEM PSU (came with the cheap case)

This system includes an AMD approved HSF and no case fans. As you can tell, this second system would require much less power to run because of the lack of case fans, a slower HSF, slower RAM, much less powerful video card and an older motherboard. Now, I used this computer in conjunction with my newer one to run a series of tests to make sure none of my components in either system were faulty. Following are my test results:

- 2000+, GA-7VRXP, GF4 -- freezing in 3D apps
- 2000+, GA-7VRXP, GF2 -- worked
- 2000+, ECS K7S5A, GF4 -- worked
- 2000+, ECS K7S5A, GF2 -- worked
- 1600+, GA-7VRXP, GF4 -- worked
- 1600+, GA-7VRXP, GF2 -- worked
- 1600+, ECS K7S5A, GF4 -- worked
- 1600+, ECS K7S5A, GF2 -- worked

I figure it's fairly obvious that the configuration that isn't working is the most power hungry of them all. I'm going to buy a new PSU (350 watt at least) and see if that fixes anything. The only other thing I could think that the problem might be is an overheating northbridge on the motherboard. Handling all the transfers for a blazing fast processor, RAM and video card on one little chip with only a passive heatsink seems like it could cause a problem. Some manufacturers included a little fan on the northbridge because of this exact problem, but my good friends here at Toms Hardware said the Gigabyte GA-7VRXP didn't suffer from this heat-related quandary.

I figured I would post this here in case anyone else had any ideas. If you do, reply. If not, don't. Simple!

Thanks crew!

I haven't run the "2000+, GA-7VRXP, GF4" configuration on both PSUs because I figured that if it didn't work on an Antec 300w PSU it sure as hell wasn't going to work on a 300w OEM PSU. However, it's worth a shot. Thanks for the suggestion -- I'll try it tonight.

RE: quality PSU -- If I get a new power supply it's going to be Enermax or Antec as I've read that they're the best of the best.

Thanks!

And you're testing these configs with the case open, correct? What was the temp reading on your motherboard? (Nice choices on some of those components by the way, but why not PC2700 or at least CL2?)

<font color=green> $1,300 for new PC + $150 for OC cooling = I get fragged smoother in RTCW</font color=green>