could a dying power supply give me intermitant crashes?

[thomsbrain]

Hey guys.
Been running a rig for a year as follows. C566@952, Abit SE6, 512 MB Crucial, 2 HDs (one 7200 RPM, one 5400), cdrw, dvd, 2 nics, 2 sound, video, fans, the works. I've had this on a Sparkle 300 watt power supply. I swapped the loud fan in the PSU out when I got it, in favor of a quieter one (but it blows way less air).

So everything was fine, but now I get intermitent hardware freezes. I'm guessing it's either the CPU or the PSU. I should note that my case is insulated for sound, and the PSU gets very hot to the touch under heavy use (which is all the time, because I rip dvds and run seti and stuff). Clocking the CPU back down to normal and returning it's voltage down seemed to (maybe) help for a few days but then it was back to the crashing. CPU temps are only like 85-90 F, it's got a big heatsink and ASII.

So I know this could be a symptom of a dying CPU, but what I'm wondering is, is it also possible that the PSU, under the strain of a maxed out system running at 100% 24/7, with inadequate cooling, could begin to fail in such a way that it would continue to function, but would begin to give increasingly frequent system locks?

thanks in advance.

 

[Sachmho]

yes

 

[ObiDon]

When was the last time you opened up the case and looked inside? It could also be a symptom of an incredibly dirty CPU heatsink/fan unit. Especially if you have extra intake or exhaust fans.

 

[rjcoolpix880]

Absolutely! My generic PSU just died. Near the end of its life my computer crashed 3 times in one week. And by crash i mean that the only way to get it working again was to frormat and reinstall windows! I bought a new enermax PSU and have the exact same hardware in it and is hasnt had the problem anymore.

 

[Chad]

Sure can... it has literally happened to me before.

 

[Instan00dles]

My friends has a pos psu and his system hard locks a few times everyday. I put my psu in his computer and it ran fine for a few days, so a dying psu can give you those problems.

 

[thomsbrain]

Thanks for the advice guys, sounds like this could definetely be the PSU. Sounds like it's time for me to bid goodbye to the undercooled and loud Sparkle 300 and say hello to a nice fresh Antec True Power 430 or 550 from Newegg.

ObiDon, yeah, the heatsink was actually the first thing I checked. It was a little dirty, but not too bad, I'd seen worse, and my temps were barely above ambient (gotta love those old FC-PGA processors for heat). edit: I also use intake filters on the fans to keep the fluff out.

 

[SP33Demon]

I would recommend buying the Antec True Power 550 for $95 shipped HERE!

Killer deal, I'm going to get it as soon as I get paid (be sure to use the VISA $10, I think the original $10 off coupon expired. Oh yeah, and Ebates for another 2% off )

~Rob

 

[thomsbrain]

Awesome deal on the Antec, I ordered one and put in a request to cancel my order with Newegg. Thank god Newegg's customer service is so good, hopefully they'll be great again and I won't have a problem.