Socket 939

[Schneider879]

So, my friend has been have tons of troubles with his computer as of late. When he plays certain video games the screen will get tons of artifacts and lock up. He took it to a computer place and they told him his psu was "too powerful" for his setup. So, basically his computer kept getting artifacts and we aren't sure whether it's the video card or the motherboard at this point so he wants to replace both. I picked out a video card for him. He wants to keep most of his current setup which is a 939 amd 3700+ and 2 gigs of ram. So, my question to you is should I push him to get a new processor along with the motherboard or are there any good 939 motherboards that could fully support his video card?

 

[o1die]

No power supply or motherboard will cause artifacts. That's from a weak video card or bad video driver. Check your power supply label, and try your old motherboard with the new video card. The 8800 gts needs a power supply with at least 24 amps on each 12v rail, whether the power supply has one or two 12v rails. Your cpu is more than adequate.

 

[manimal]

OMG anyone that says a psu is too powerful and causes artifacts must be talking out theirs backside. Tell us exactly what kind of PSU it is, as o1die stated the 8800gts needs more amperage than your run of the mill card and would behave in that manner if it was underpowered. Use drivercleaner pro-the free one-and remove all traces of the earlier driver and if the problem persists do a complete format and install of everything including all the mainboard drivers.

Have him check his pc for dust as well cause that could be causing him some issues. If the fan on his old card is starting to go or is full of dust it would overheat and give artifacts. Replacing a 939 motherboard for another is bad idea. Its probably his graphics card that is dying.