Random system freezes after installing Xonar DSX.

[tripler234]

Hi there, I don't know if this is the right section for system issues, so if it is not I apologize in advance.

My system is a pre-built Acer Aspire X1420 that I've been adding components to, and recently I decided to add an Asus Xonar DSX sound card. The card fits fine in the case (barely), and the driver install went smoothly enough. However, soon after installing the system began to experience random freezes, during which all audio that was playing would cease, and the system would be totally unresponsive.

I researched the issue, and installed the Uni Xonar drivers from This Page in order to rectify the problem. Installing the Uni drivers seemed to correct the problem, however, now the freezes occur only when the system is under load (when I'm playing CS:GO). The fan on my GPU still reduces it's speed as the core temperature drops, which makes me believe that some software must be functioning somewhere, but I could be wrong about that.

I've tried to narrow the problem down as far as I could, and I've come to the following possibilities: 1). The sound card or its drivers are simply incompatible with my system.

Or: 2). My system's PSU (which is a measly 220w) is being overloaded when the system is under load.

So my question is, how can I go about diagnosing which of these possibilities (or any additional ones) is the actual problem?

Here are the specs on the system:
Windows 8 Pro with Media Center
AMD Athlon II X4 645 (3.1ghz)
8GB DDR3
500GB 7200rpm HDD
AMD Radon HD 6670 1GB
and the aforementioned Xonar DSX and 220w PSU.

 

[nahndavid]

I think you need a new PSU.. maybe one with at least 500~600w.

 

[tripler234]

For anyone who might have a similar problem in the future, this problem was caused by a faulty PCI-E x1 slot on my motherboard.