i5 upgrade, system not stable - help!

[robbiec]

Hi all,

My faithful X2 4200+ rig finally died so I picked up some new components;

* i5 750 2.66Ghz (stock cooler)
* Asus P7P55D (standard) mobo
* Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz/PC3-12800 Dominator i5 Memory Kit
CL8(8-8-8-24) 1.65V (CMD4GX3M2A1600C8)

The rest of the components remain the same;

* Thermaltake 480w PSU
* Thermaltake Tsunami Dream Case (2 large chassis fans and 1 side fan)
* XFX 8800 GTS 320Mb video card
* Samsung Spinpoint 1TB HDD

I've had problems with it occasionally locking up pretty much since I built it. I had the RAM timings set via the XMP profile (1600Mhz) but I figured that since the RAM is not on the ASUS confirmed compatibly list I'd set the BIOS back to Auto where the system sets it to 1333Mhz which I can live with if I have to. I also updated the BIOS firmware to the latest version.

This seems to have stopped it freezing but now I'm finding that it's completely cutting out / restarting when I put it though any kind of performance test (e.g. the COH performance test or HL2 Lost Coast video stress test). I've run prime95 for a shortwhile and it was OK, but the COH performance test will kill the machine everytime (pretty much at the same point in the performance test).

CPU temps are 40-45 idle with the stock cooler - which doesn’t seem unusual from what I've read elsewhere. So perhaps it's the PSU is not up to the job anymore?

I was planning on getting a better cooler and over clocking it at some point.. but at the mo I just want the thing to work reliably!

Any suggestions on what I should try next please?

Thanks in advance,
Rob.

 

[robbiec]

Thanks heaps guys.. any suggestions re a replacement?

 

[robbiec]

Nice one, thanks for that - looks like a decent bit of kit.

Any suggestions CPU cooler-wise?

 

[robbiec]

So I think it's down to a choice of 2 PSU's

Corsair 650w http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-008-CS

OCZ 700w http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-032-OC&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1098

The OCZ is more powerful and it's modular so seems the best option, however the Corsair said 52A on a single rail which (although I don't know what it actually means!) I gather is a good thing. I can't see the figures for the OCZ to compare the amps - can anyone help me make an informed choice?

THanks,
Rob.

 

[robbiec]

Cool, I went for the 600W OCZ in the end - along with a Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro rev 2 cooler.

Hope that sorts it out...!

 

[robbiec]

So how come this machine manages with only a 300W PSU?

http://www.meshcomputers.com/Default.aspx?PAGE=PRODUCTVIEWPAGE&USG=PRODUCT&ENT=PRODUCT&KEY=685630

 

[robbiec]

OK, cool thanks. Hope I didn't cut it fine going for 600w.. I have no plans to run SLI so I guess I'll be OK.

EDIT: Wow I just checked the stats on my 8800 power consumption... 250W under load - ouch.