can a psu limit overclocking?

[Batman5177]

hi all, i have an antec 250w psu, running a xp2100 @ 2.185ghz @ 1.725v.

the 3.3v+5v = 130w
3.3v around 3.36
5v around 4.8
12v around 11.8

aside from being a riduculously low powered psu, it's running very stable at that speed with a nforce2 mobo, 512mb pc2700, 2 hard drives, 2 optical drives, radeon 9700 pro, sb live, nic, and 8 panaflo fans.

since it's 100% stable (never crashed in prime), would i benefit at all upgrading to a more powerful psu? could i overclock the cpu more?

 

[Duvie]

Heck yes!!! Are those voltages as seen in an idle state??? The key to pSU and ocing and clean and continuos power, no drops or spikes....The 5v rail could be low if that is idle as it likely will drop under heavy prime95 load and then you should follow the +/-5% rule....That would mean that under the +5v rail you shouldn't see a 4.75v and you are relatively close to that now....

Prime95 stresses the cpu and mobo system but wont do the vid card, that ati radeon 9700pro is a power hog and I would be interested in seeing you run prime95 in conjunction with a 3dmark or gaming program. Use as many devices and components as possible for an extended period and see if the pSU starts dropping. If itpasses that then you can't argue with stability....

As for your ocing now.....Have you just stopped or have you hit the wall???

 

[Batman5177]

hey, thanks for the reply.

the voltages i posted are stable under prime95.

there's no question that the machine is stable, i game for hours on end without a crash.

i'm stuck at 2185ghz @ 1.725v core, i cant get any more fsb or multiplier without prime crashing, even at 1.85v core.

i'm wondering if it's just the cpu's limit, or is it the psu not supplying enuff power to go over that.

 

[Dack76]

If it ain't broke don't fix it. Although i'm not sure how long that PS can keep up...hehehe...😛

 

[Regs]

Whoops - Sorry edit edit

 

[bgeh]

if i am correct, ATi recommends at least a 300 watt PSU to go with the Radeon 9700 Pro

 

[savx]

Absolutely! I was trying to OC and 1800+ w/ generic 300W psu (amd/intel approved) and hit a barrier at 1.8GHz. replaced it w/ true 380W antec and I was able to go higher at default voltage, but now I am dealing w/ higher temps 😉