PSU and degraded performance

[meteish]

I have never been one to spend obscene amounts on a power supply, I'm actually the opposite. I'd probably stick with a PSU until one day my computer doesn't boot or I get error messages saying power supply is insufficient.

So now that I've started playing BF3 I got to thinking. Specs are core i5 750, 4GB ddr3, MSI P55 mobo (the cheapest of the lot), and recently bought a 6950 1GB. As far as I could determine my i5 750 should not be a bottleneck when playing BF3 on high - ultra ?

Anyway, my main question is can a PSU that does not supply enough power to the system cause performance degradation, without any warning messages from whatever source telling me there isn't enough power to go around ? I have some generic 500W with a coolermaster sticker on it, I suspect it is not a properly CM manufactured one ?

In BF3 my friend with a GTX460, AMD T1055 something hexacore, and 4GB DDR3, can put graphics on ultra and it runs much smoother on his computer. On my computer I get heavy stuttering when outside, and when it happens I can see my hdd LED is burning solid.

Any input is appreciated

 

[JEDIYoda]

quick answer --- YES!!

 

[Don Corleone]

I have never been one to spend obscene amounts on a power supply, I'm actually the opposite. I'd probably stick with a PSU until one day my computer doesn't boot or I get error messages saying power supply is insufficient.

So now that I've started playing BF3 I got to thinking. Specs are core i5 750, 4GB ddr3, MSI P55 mobo (the cheapest of the lot), and recently bought a 6950 1GB. As far as I could determine my i5 750 should not be a bottleneck when playing BF3 on high - ultra ?

Anyway, my main question is can a PSU that does not supply enough power to the system cause performance degradation, without any warning messages from whatever source telling me there isn't enough power to go around ? I have some generic 500W with a coolermaster sticker on it, I suspect it is not a properly CM manufactured one ?

In BF3 my friend with a GTX460, AMD T1055 something hexacore, and 4GB DDR3, can put graphics on ultra and it runs much smoother on his computer. On my computer I get heavy stuttering when outside, and when it happens I can see my hdd LED is burning solid.

Any input is appreciated

The PSU is one component you don't want to skimp on, you're playing Russian Roulette with your whole system. Not only will performance degrade, it can fry your motherboard, cheap psu's don't last nearly as long as quality units, buy a good one.