Slow Computer, PSU problem?

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the555fallen

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My PC is 3 months old and it is driving me crazy I just formatted it and reinstalled Windows and everything is constantly freezing... I used to be able to listen to music, game and have a browser open with no impact now I feel like I'm using a single core...


AMD Phenom II X6 1055
M4A88TD-M/USB3
Kingston 4 Gb 1333MHz RAM
XFX Nvidia GTS 250 512 Mb
1Tb Seagate Sata6G i.e. Sata III
1Tb Seagate Sata II
Asus CD/DVD drive
Window 7 Home Premium 64 bit

I used to have a 650W PSU but went in for repairs at the moment im running off a 300W PSU, Would this drag my performance to the ground?

Also my Windows Experience Index is 5.9 because of my primary disk speed shouldn't SATA III make it higher?
 
Last edited:
5.9 is max for a standard drive, SATA3 is not gonna help with performance much, its the drive technology itself.

When you say constantly freezing, do you mean it cant be used again till a restart? Or it just slows down intermittently?
Freezing - Hardware problem, most likely the PSU problem you mentioned (300W is on the starvation side)
Slows down - Software issue, could be the drivers if its a fresh install.

Did you do the format as a consequence of the problems , or has it only started after the format?
 
Sounds like PSU problems to me. See you started another thread on the topic as well

the555fallen said:
The computer randomly crashes, on some occasions I get a BSOD but the BCCode varies everytime and on others the computer simply turns off. To be able to reboot the PSU switch must be turned off or power cable removed for a few seconds until the capacitors in the computer discharge (the led's in the mouse and on mobo only turn off after this happens). The computer is quite new purchased all components new 2 months ago.

I have eliminated RAM problems by running memtest on a different machine and tested fine. The mobo comes with an internal gfx card so I tested that the external gfx card wasnt the problem by swapping out. I can only think there is a problem with the capacitors or VRM in the mobo or a faulty PSU. What could be causing this?

Specs:
AMD Pheonom II x6 1055T
2 x 2Gb Kingston HyperX Blu 1600MHz DDR3 RAM
Corsair HX 650W PSU
XFX NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 512Mb
ASUS M4A88TD-M/USB3 Mobo
1 Tb Seagate HDD
Click to expand...

A 300W PSU would definitely not cut it with your system. Your CPU uses about 125W on full load by itself. I think your graphics card will use about 150W on full load. Add to that power needed for mobo/RAM/HDD/Fans/Other the 300W will buckle under full load. It will allow the PC to idle, but once you start actually using the PC, your components won't be supplied with enough power.

When PC components are not supplied with enough power, depending on which component, it will shut down completely. For example, if your HDD requires power it cannot get, it will not be able to read what it should -> BSOD. If your RAM does not have power to refresh -> BSOD. Depending on the CPU features, not enough power -> core shutdown -> slow computer. I could go on.

I doubt a broken mobo or CPU. I would suggest not using the 300W PSU anymore though, cause the lack of power to certain components that causes BSODs is definitely not good for your hardware. If you can't get your Corsair PSU fixed/replaced, at least try someone else's decent power supply to see if you still experience the same problems.
 
Also, as X-Gamer said, the 5.9 on HDD performance is limited by the actual speed of the rotating disk, not the SATA III link speed. I don't get why they even sell (the more expensive) SATA III disk drives. SATA III is only really beneficial with solid state drives.
 
No, a PSU will cause your PC to reboot or shutdown sporadically. It will not cause your PC to under perform.
 
Wyzak said:
No, a PSU will cause your PC to reboot or shutdown sporadically. It will not cause your PC to under perform.
Click to expand...

It will I've seen it happen to a friend of mine, most GPU's will under-perform if there isn't enough power available. That 300w simply isn't enough, maybe it it was 400w or 500w, the hard drive story is caused simply due to the fact that mechanical drives can only get to 5.9 on the Windows Experience Index, hard drives will never saturate a SATA II port.
 
Wyzak said:
No, a PSU will cause your PC to reboot or shutdown sporadically. It will not cause your PC to under perform.
Click to expand...

GPUs downclock themselves when the power supply is too weak. I've seen a friends 3d mark score increase when he unplugs case fans.
 
the555fallen said:
My PC is 3 months old and it is driving me crazy I just formatted it and reinstalled Windows and everything is constantly freezing... I used to be able to listen to music, game and have a browser open with no impact now I feel like I'm using a single core...


AMD Phenom II X6 1055
M4A88TD-M/USB3
Kingston 4 Gb 1333MHz RAM
XFX Nvidia GTS 250 512 Mb
1Tb Seagate Sata6G i.e. Sata III
1Tb Seagate Sata II
Asus CD/DVD drive
Window 7 Home Premium 64 bit

I used to have a 650W PSU but went in for repairs at the moment im running off a 300W PSU, Would this drag my performance to the ground?

Also my Windows Experience Index is 5.9 because of my primary disk speed shouldn't SATA III make it higher?
Click to expand...

The only thing that will increase your windows experience index is an SSD. Even a SATA2 one.
 
X-Gamer said:
... Did you do the format as a consequence of the problems , or has it only started after the format?
Click to expand...
No just wanted a fresh start again, it was way faster before the format and the only thing not in the PC is the PSU which I'm waiting for from the supplier...

So the 300W PSU wouldn't cause these problems?
 
Sounds like a Windows problem to me

Back everything vital up, wipe partition and re-install. Also take out and re-seat the memory
 
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