Power Supply Problem?

[Splime]

OK, so whenever I start playing a computer game that is 3D and has fairly good graphics, my computer will freeze and restart after 5-10 minutes. I've updated the BIOS and everything, but from what I've heard, this is a power supply problem. Is it a power supply problem? If so, how might I go about finding a good power supply for my computer?

Thanks.

If you need any specs, just post here and let me know. I'm not sure that specs are required for this problem though. (Though my video card is a GeForce 6600, 128 MB.)

 

[mdwh]

How powerful is your power supply? Specs could be helpful to know, in order to judge whether the computer is overloaded.

Have you tried updating graphics drivers?

(For a while, I had a PSU problem since upgrading my graphics card - though my symptoms were either the screen display corrupting, or the machine switching off altogether. It was a lot more likely to happen when displaying 3D graphics, as you say is the case for you, though it sometimes happened at other times. Fixed by getting a 400W PSU. No idea if this is the problem you're having though.)

 

[Splime]

Well, I have updated graphics drivers... I believe I have a 310W PSU... it may not be completely functional though...

 

[GVBN]

If it's one of those $20 power supplies then 310W could mean the peak output

Check your temperatures as well

 

[MarineCorps]

Well, I have updated graphics drivers... I believe I have a 310W PSU... it may not be completely functional though...

a 310W would not be sufficient regardless if it is working or not.

 

[GVBN]

310W is more than enough for Geforce 6600

 

[Splime]

OK, the psu has been upgraded to a 430W one, and...

...the problem persists. Great. Basically, about 5 minutes into a game of, say, Civilization IV, the computer freezes, and then restarts. Setting the screen-resolution made the crash come faster, also.

 

[Quintillus]

Perhaps one of the fans died. Playing a graphics-heavy game --> the computer freezing and restarting could indicate overheating. Increasing the resolution would increase the load on the graphics card. See if you can get a utility that measures GPU and CPU temperature.

Does the computer give any error message, blue screen of death, etc. when it restarts? That could be useful information in figuring out what exactly is wrong.

 

[Splime]

No BSOD. It just freezes, (and the mouse freezes too) and restarts.

 

[Splime]

Problem Solved: Got a new video card.

This question is now taken care of, so if the policy is that the thread gets locked afterwards, then go ahead and lock it.