Comp Locking up....Grrrr

[dreammachine]

I'm having a problem. I'll start with my computer setup as I have an idea of what might be the cause of my grief.

3.2 GHz P4 Prescott
Intel MB D875PBZ
1 GB Kingston ValueRAM
80 GB WD SATA HD (pri)
200 GB Maxtor SATA HD (sec)
CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive
DVD-ROM drive
Floppy
BFG GeForce 6800 Ultra OC
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Gamer
2 120MM Fans
480 Watt PS
Antec P160 Case

It seems that when I start to play a game (WoW mostly) or anything that makes the computer work a little it locks up on me. I can always create the problem when doing a chkdisk on the second hard drive. My thought is that this is caused by not having a large enough power supply. Does anybody else have any ideas? I'm at a loss and have tried a few things.

If this is a power supply problem, does anybody have an idea for a really good one? I know it has to be larger and I have been looking at a modular version but am unsure.

Any and all thoughts are appreciated. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[ttimbo75]

if your psu is antec as well as the case, i recon you should be fine. Id be checking your ram to be on the safe side. Ive heard nasty things of late with kingston :-( Corsair seems to be more stable. Try memtest86 - its a diognostic program that checks your ram.

 

[dreammachine]

I suppose the whole unit is about 1.5 years old now (few upgrades here and there) so hopefully memory is not the problem. It wouldnt hurt though because that means I can upgrade to 2 GB instead. The wife can't turn me down if I can't run without it.

The psu is Antec, a truepower 480 I believe. I'm not sure right off hand, it's in the truck at the moment fixing to go on a road trip.

 

[compso]

Doesn't hurt to have a backup PSU. After reading (MaxPC) a review/labtest of the modular PSU units aren't as tough as the temp rises. I would get PC Power & Cooling at the high end or Antec to save a buck.

You should un-overclock (?) while troubleshooting/diagnosing.

Run memtest86.

Get a Belkin UPS. I just bought a UPS from Best Buy and it was branded by the Geek Squad and it did seem small, nice looking, quality and fair priced.

Do all these things and report back oooK?

 

[dreammachine]

Ok, I'm thinking that the problem has been found. I'm still going to run the memtest when I get everything hooked back up but I don't think that is the root of my problem. While at a LAN party yesterday, I had to shutdown my computer and unpulg my extra hard drive and cdrom drive. My video card started reporting that I did not have enough power to run the hardware. I'm thinking now that my psu is starting to die. I'll start browsing newegg.com and sweet-talking the wife to see what I can get. Thanks for the help.