Game freezes ingame sometimes..

[lukey177]

Hey guys i bought a new computer a while ago.. And i had to buy a graphics card because the graphics were terrible (on-board card) so i bought a 9800GT.

And i read in this thread http://www.techsupportforum.com/gami...t-freezes.html about it, and was wondering if i needed to upgrade my PSU??

System Information

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q8200 @ 2.33GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.3GHz
Memory: 3582MB RAM
Hard Drive: 320 GB
Video Card:NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT
PSU: Thermaltake 430watts


Is that good enough or will i need to upgrade.. And if i do can someone please tell me a good price for a PSU that would run this fine. In Brisbane aswell :)

[Lord Sirian]

Hi lukey177.

Yes you will definitely need an upgraded PSU, 430 Watts isn't nearly enough to run a 9800GT on.

You should be using at least a good quality 650 Watt like this one.

Now since you're in Australia, you won't be able to get products from Newegg, so you'll probably have to buy from your nearest computer store. This will be a bit more expensive than from Newegg, but probably less hassle. You should just ask for a 650 Watt PSU from one of the quality brands listed in this thread.

Please note, any old PSU will not do. You should read at least some of the info listed in the thread linked to above, and remember, the PSU you buy must be one of the brands listed in that thread, otherwise you are basically wasting your money.

[5NIPER_WOLF]

As posted above, your PSU will not do, a PCI-E card requires at least a 600W PSU, and then you have to factor in capasitor aging, future proofing and general reliability (such as from power surges)

[drummingpariah]

A bad PSU will not cause freezing, it will shut down if overloaded. An overheating north bridge, cpu, or gpu will cause freezing, but often in different ways. Most of the time, they will cause a BSOD (blue screen of death) if there's a software/driver malfunction (normally caused by bleeding-edge video card drivers or an overheating video card). Other times the application will hang (you can check this with a CTRL+ALT+DEL to bring up the task manager... if it comes up, the hardware and operating system are fine and you may want to check your RAM or hard drive).

On the subject on the PSU, wattage ratings are set by manufacturers and really don't mean much. Kind of like a guitar amplifier or an engine dyno sheet, the end number isn't really an indication of how the component performs. What you really want is a dual-12v-rail (or more) psu. If your thermaltake already meets that requirement, it should be perfectly suited for your power demands. Feel free to disagree with me on this point, power supply advice seems to have become something of a black art in the past few years, with misinformation streaming about. Not many people who give advice actually understand how electronic fundamentals work, so I'd hesitate to take advice from any online forum (myself included) on the matter. Take my advice for what you think it's worth, and if you're looking at a power supply upgrade, make sure you know WHY it would benefit you so you can make sure you get what you actually need... not just the [big number]Watts one.

For what it's worth, I'm running a "350w" triple 12v-rail psu with a dual dual-core opteron and single 8800GTX setup and including hard drives, it pulls no more than 275w at full tilt (3d rendering in Blender). Your consumption should be slightly less since the graphics cards are comparably powerful (electronically speaking, within 10watts of each other) and your processor is much more efficient than mine are. I totally and completely agree with Sirian on buying a decent brand. Power supply inconsistency is a common reason for heat fluctuation and other components failing, so it's worth your money just to preserve the rest of your computer.

*edit: sorry about the book. I meant for it to be a short little "my $0.02"

[lukey177]

Ok i will look around for a good PSU that will run the card..

I have found 2 on a australian site..

http://www.mwave.com.au/newAU/mwaveA...Y&sku=34040078
http://www.mwave.com.au/newAU/mwaveA...Y&sku=34040400

would they be good enough?

[RockmasteR]

get the Corsair 650W it's one of the best PSUs out there:
http://www.mwave.com.au/newAU/mwaveA...1&sku=34040232

[lukey177]

If i decide to buy that one.

I dont know how to install it into my computer so how much would it cost to get someone to do it for me?

[5NIPER_WOLF]

It probably would, but it's easy to install, just put it in the bracket, and plug everything in, you can probably find a tutorial online.

[lukey177]

true might look around..