Purchasing a new power supply

[oneworld25]

Hi all,

 

I have a a Gateway FX6710-01 that I purchased a little over two years ago. It has an ATI Radeon HD 4850. At first the game worked fine, but after a while the game started crashing with the computer shutting down. (Thanfully this happened after I was able to finish the main game). An internet search revealed that this was not uncommon problem and that a possible solution was to clean the computer case. So I did that, but the game still crashed. So I resigned myself to defeat for a while. Recently I downloaded, and it said that my GPU was running at extremely high temperatures. Right now it's running at 91 degrees Celsius and I only have Firefox and Spotify Open!! So I did some research and apparently the Gateway FX6710-01 comes shipped with a 400W power supply and the HD 4850 is supposed to have at least a 450W power supply! So it appears to me that perhaps a new power supply could solve some of the problems I'm having. Can someone recommend a good power supply for me?

 

Here are my specs:

2.67 gigahertz Intel Core2 Quad Q9400

6GB DDR2 Memory

750 GB hard drive

ATI Radeon HD 4850 Video Card

 

Would this power supply work well?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...al-_-17-171-060

 

And how hard are these things to install? I've never installed a new pc component before. (Other than memory on Macbook).

 

Thanks

[mkey82]

You have a cooling problem. You should make sure-

a) there is nothing blocking the GPU ventilator

b) there is nothing blocking the air flow on the back of your PC where the GPU pushes the hot air outward

c) that the GPU vent is running at high enough speed, it should probably be around 30% under load. You can minuplate the fan speed from the ATI control panel or use some third party tool like Ray Adams ATI try tools or Riva Tuner.

[yoječ]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817182066 - I'd go for this one. Extraordinary value for money.

 

HD4850 doesn't really need 450W, though. Anyway, I'd do what mkey said first.

[unc13bud]

if you have a hd4850 already installed with a pci-e power plug connected, chances are that you have a delta 400w for a power supply right? my gateway came with one. do you have anything other than the one hard drive and the optical? but as another poster said:

 

You have a cooling problem.

i have heard that some hd 4850 have cooling problems/the fan has to run at 100% = noise.

get a 120 mm fan and hook it to the front of the inside of the case, make sure to anchor it. see if this does not help?

the posts above mine gave better info about this, for cooling inside that case, you need a "pull-push" configuration. good luck.

 

[oneworld25]

if you have a hd4850 already installed with a pci-e power plug connected, chances are that you have a delta 400w for a power supply right? my gateway came with one. do you have anything other than the one hard drive and the optical? but as another poster said:

 

You have a cooling problem.

i have heard that some hd 4850 have cooling problems/the fan has to run at 100% = noise.

get a 120 mm fan and hook it to the front of the inside of the case, make sure to anchor it. see if this does not help?

the posts above mine gave better info about this, for cooling inside that case, you need a "pull-push" configuration. good luck.

Thanks for helping everybody. From what I've read online, the hd4850 does appear to have some sort of defect where it overheats. So I'd like to try your idea about getting a new fan. However, I'm a complete newbie when it comes to tinkering with PC hardware. What sort of fan should I buy? Are they hard to install? Is the fan you're suggesting I buy supposed to replace or supplement my current fan? What do you mean when you say I need a "pull-push configuration".

[leik oh em jeez!]

Generally 400w is enough for an HD4850. Your real problem is cooling. Might want to head to an office store and pick up a small can of compressed air, try to blow all the dust out of your graphics card. I usually take the covers off to clean mine, though you don't have to.

 

Fans aren't hard to install if you've already got a place to mount them. Even if there isn't a place to attach it, it's not hard to do if you've got a couple of twist ties and a pair of needle nose pliers. Just make sure you've got a flat surface to put it against with good ventilation, and make sure it's blowing the right way. Most fans some fans will have arrows indicating the direction of airflow, but as general rule, case fans blow towards the fan motor with the open side being intake.

Edited January 19, 2012 by leik oh em jeez!

[unc13bud]

 

What do you mean when you say I need a "pull-push configuration".

fans on one end of the pc PULLS in air. fans on the OTHER end of the PC PUSHES the hot air out.

search on youtube for videos like "install+120mm+fan"

i say to make sure to anchor it, cause last year i didn't - and the $5 dynex (yate loon) turned into a paperweight immediately - fan jumped around and broke a blade off)