do I need a new power supply?

[jules301h]

When I built my computer, I skimped on the power supply (its the one that came in the case, 450w rated crappy brand), my comp seems to act ok, but every once in awhile I'll get a blue screen. The 3.3v is always low, around 2.8-2.9 volts. My other voltages are pretty solid at 12.1 and 5.1. My first question is what is the 3.3v used for? I tried googling and couldn't find out. Second question is do I need a new power supply? I've had the comp awhile and now I want to upgrade, so I'm thinking of starting with the PS, then video card, then memory.

I have a 2.4C OC to 2.8, 512mb PC3200 Corsair
and a Ti-4200 running at ti-4400 speeds
a bunch of fans, two HD's, DVD drive and CDRW drive

Thanks in advance

 

[Navid]

How do you measure your voltages?
Please don't say you use a software utility!

 

[jules301h]

alright, guess its time to bust out the old multimeter.

 

[Navid]

Yes, it is better to use a multimeter. The software utilities do not have a good accuracy.

 

[daveybrat]

If you're planning on getting a better video card, then you'll definitely have to start out with a better power supply anyhow.