Myros

Hello, friends.

Okay, well, I had a P IV before, with a GeForce Fx5500, I ran FFXI with no problems at all!

I recently purchased a Core 2 Duo 2.4 ghz PC, 2 GB DDR II RAM, 320 GB HDD, Nvidia 7600GT Gfx card, WinXP Pro.

Obviously, the game looked much sweeter than what the FX5500 used to churn out..

But, I never really played the game for long enough. Three days ago, after joining a party, I experienced a long freeze.. and I mean ranging from 10-15 seconds. Mp3s started looping, mouse and keyboard weren't responding, and FFXI of course, was also unresponsive.

According to one of the party members, I had the Red Bubble of death over my head (disconnection icon). So, I decided to disconnect, exit playonline, and reconnect.

But, to no avail. The freeze would occur every 20-30 mins or so. Its ridiculously annoying! After joining the party, the freeze would occur even in a city / town, as well.

Okay, played yesterday for almost 6 hours, everything was fine, until I joined another Party . This time, the game locked up, and right after the lock-up, I decided to use NvidiaMonitor.

AFTER launching the Nvidia Monitor in the background, my PC started locking the game for 10-15 secs again every 15mins or so, but this time, my entire PC restarts (happened to me 3 times so far). Therefore, I decided to unscrew my PC case, and I think my 300W Power Supply is at fault here. Should I upgrade to a 350W-400W one? The box on my GFX card say "Minimum" requirements = 300W, but we're talking about a power supply here, kinda different from running on the "minimum" required GFX card which just results in grainy graphics...
I have two 12v lines, one says 12v1: 13a, and 12v2: 8a.

I would love to hear some comments, the shop from which I bought the GFX card is slightly far, so I would like to save myself the trip, if necessary.

A faulty card, or shabby power supply?

ebackhus

It's the PSU, you need a LEAST 26a on the +12v rail for PCI-Express cards.

__________________


-----------------------------
There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them.

Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

Myros

Much appreciated, Ebackhus, for the very fast and accurate reply.

Two more simple questions, if I may..

26a on the 12v can also run a 7900 GT? (In case I think of upgrading my GFX card later on).

And is what I heard right about the two volt rails (12v1 and 12v2) not creating a total when the two values are added?

Many thanks :D

dai

yes added together discount by 20-25% on avg.
the higher the wattage the bigger the discount
your better off with a corsair single rail

__________________

Myros

Hmm, okay, I will try finding a 450w/500w PSU. It IS possible to find a 24a+ capacity on a 'single' 12v rail, right? :D

(OOC, 7900GT requires 26a as well, right?)

dai

it probably is but why would you when you need a min of 26a
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

__________________

colep2003

I would go for at least a 500 watt if I were you because you need to think about expansion to your PC in the futer.

Until you replace the Power Supply only turn your PC on for short times to keep up its regular diet of power you have set up.

But dont run anything high powered. Minimal Web browsing.

But dont run any high powered 3D games...

Until you get it running properaly you could put your 5500 FX in if theres an port for it and use that to limit the use.

But under NO circumstances are you to play high powered games unless you tone down some of your stuff because you may risk fire and wear and tear to your parts if you don't.

Myros

@Dai: Read somewhere that 7600GT requires a minimum of 22a, but I guess I better go above the minimum, just in case, right? :)

And thanks for the link, but I don't live in the U.S.A :P I'm going to check with the shop I bought my P.C from if I can acquire a high quality PSU, right now, as a matter of fact. :)

@Colep: I agree, buddy. That's what I was thinking as well. In case I do need to upgrade to 7900GT or any 8series GFX card, I want to avoid upgrading my PSU AGAIN :P And dont worry, I've cut down totally on gaming, for now. At least until I purchase a new PSU! Unofrtunately, I cant plug my good ol' FX5500, its AGP, my current system is PCI :)

Thank you both, for your replies. It was most helpful :D I'll keep you updated once I purchase my new PSU (which is hopefully within this week!)

dai

Power Supply Information and Selection
i use the figure put out by nvidia 26a

__________________

Myros

Hello, guys. Bought a P.SU, 550W, 27A...

And wow... my game is STILL freezing. I'm guessing this damn GFX card is faulty.

dai

what brand is the psu

__________________

Myros

F tec, I think?
Had the highest watt I could find, plus it wasn't so cheap.

Has a 1 year warranty. It can't be THAT faulty, I mean the game was freezing at the same rate as the 300 watt PSU.

dai

F tec look on the label on the psu for the correct name and model

__________________

Myros

Okay, snapped a pic with my cellular phone, I attached it to this post.

Attached Images

DSC02292.JPG (211.7 KB, 5 views)

ebackhus

I think the PSU may still be at fault. I couldn't find any resources on it that were in any languages I can read/speak easily.... One close hit seemed to be a rebadged version of it selling for less than $30US. In short, it's rubbish.

__________________


-----------------------------
There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them.

Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

dai

for a 550w the amps are what you would find on a very low quality generic psu
i posted links earlier for you to compare i am dammed if i know where the post has gone
for a 550w you need to look at something like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...corsair%2b550w
it puts out 41a on the 12v line
probably costs an arm and a leg in your part of the world

__________________

Myros

Oh my God... 41a ???

Thats insane... it probably would cost an arm and a leg...

I guess I better keep this PSU until I purchase something decent. I just called a different store, he said he'd sell me a 600w PSU for ... umm, lets see... if we convert it.. $95??

I'll check it out, too bad I'm not very well informed of P.S.U brands.

dai

look at the brands listed in the sticky
Power Supply Information and Selection

__________________