Can a lousy power supply hinder cpu performance?

lexdave1 · 11-04-2004, 08:07 AM

I have a fresh install of Win XP home edition SP1, on a newly reformated hard drive. I am running an AMD Athalon 1.2 ghz processor on a PC Chips mainboard (M810L), 512mb PC133 ram, a 30gb system drive, and a 120gb storage drive (both 7200rpm),and a Sound blaster Live! 24bit sound card. I am noticing that the cpu monitor is showing 75% usage during simple mp3 playback in Win Media Player. The cpu monitor will show up to 100% usage during playback of 2 or 3 wav files simultaneosly in sound editing programs like Nuendo or Protools.
When the monitor shows anywhere from 85%-100% usage, the sound stutters, making it unlistenable. My system is well within the minimum specs. for these programs. Is it possible that the 300w power supply that came with my case is just not cutting it? I have plenty of cooling for the case, ram, and cpu. I have swapped out ram with other known good chip. Nothing seems to make a difference. Any ideas?

**jcline** · 11-04-2004, 08:12 AM

I would troubleshoot possible virus or spyware issues first...check out the security section of this forum.

**johnwill** · 11-04-2004, 08:12 AM

While a quality P/S is always a good idea, I don't think the P/S is the issue here...

lexdave1 · 11-04-2004, 08:22 AM

I run virus and spyware checks often, but this problem has been occuring from the day the system was new. After my reformat, and fresh os install, the audio programs are the oly things on the pc. Could this be a "data transfer from the hard drives" issue? How would that get cleared up?

ScubaDiverVideo · 11-04-2004, 12:40 PM

I don't know what version of Protools your using, but for LE 6.7 you don't meet those system requirements. I would say you meet the minimum at best for any such software. The MP3 usage is normal at 75 -85% CPU. But with wav files, those are way bigger and make a much larger demand on your system.

You should make sure no other programs are running, including virus check. Set Windows virtual memory to 1mb (2x your system memory) and to its own partition. Also, you could lower your sampling rate of the SB live to improve performance.

11-04-2004, 08:07 AM	#1 (permalink)
lexdave1 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 6 OS: xp home	Can a lousy power supply hinder cpu performance? I have a fresh install of Win XP home edition SP1, on a newly reformated hard drive. I am running an AMD Athalon 1.2 ghz processor on a PC Chips mainboard (M810L), 512mb PC133 ram, a 30gb system drive, and a 120gb storage drive (both 7200rpm),and a Sound blaster Live! 24bit sound card. I am noticing that the cpu monitor is showing 75% usage during simple mp3 playback in Win Media Player. The cpu monitor will show up to 100% usage during playback of 2 or 3 wav files simultaneosly in sound editing programs like Nuendo or Protools. When the monitor shows anywhere from 85%-100% usage, the sound stutters, making it unlistenable. My system is well within the minimum specs. for these programs. Is it possible that the 300w power supply that came with my case is just not cutting it? I have plenty of cooling for the case, ram, and cpu. I have swapped out ram with other known good chip. Nothing seems to make a difference. Any ideas?

11-04-2004, 08:12 AM	#3 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,874 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	While a quality P/S is always a good idea, I don't think the P/S is the issue here... __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

11-04-2004, 12:40 PM	#5 (permalink)
ScubaDiverVideo Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Monterey and San Jose, CA Posts: 73 OS: XPPro Sp2	I don't know what version of Protools your using, but for LE 6.7 you don't meet those system requirements. I would say you meet the minimum at best for any such software. The MP3 usage is normal at 75 -85% CPU. But with wav files, those are way bigger and make a much larger demand on your system. You should make sure no other programs are running, including virus check. Set Windows virtual memory to 1mb (2x your system memory) and to its own partition. Also, you could lower your sampling rate of the SB live to improve performance. __________________ Scuba Divers do it deeper. But at 160 feet, know one can hear you scream P4 3.2E Asus P4C800-E Dlxe 2GB Kingston DDR PC3200 Antec Truepower 550w 2 WD 36gb Raptors on Intel SATA in Mobile Rack 1 WD 250 SATA on Intel SATA for AV Capture 2 WD 200gb SATA Raid0 for AV Storage 2 WD 160 GB PATA Raid0 media storage 2 WD 160 GB PATA Pri_IDE Programs, DATA, Export Sony DVD RW Dual Layer Sec_IDE Sony DVD Rom Sec_IDE ATI Radeon 9800Pro 128mb Matrox RTX100

11-04-2004, 08:12 AM	#2 (permalink)
jcline Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: MI Posts: 856 OS: Windows XP Pro	I would troubleshoot possible virus or spyware issues first...check out the security section of this forum.

11-04-2004, 08:22 AM	#4 (permalink)
lexdave1 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 6 OS: xp home	I run virus and spyware checks often, but this problem has been occuring from the day the system was new. After my reformat, and fresh os install, the audio programs are the oly things on the pc. Could this be a "data transfer from the hard drives" issue? How would that get cleared up?