Hello folks,

I need some help with a new system that I purchased. These are the specs:

P4 3.0ghz prescott chip 1MG cache
-
-DVD/CDRW burner
-floppy
-512RAM
-64MB AGP Invidia grahpics card (Now)

The problem is this, my nephew has been using this system for 3 months and we had no problems. Now out of no where the computer started shuting down when in the middle of something, usually playing nhl 2003.

So I took it back to the store and they replaced the power supply from 350w to a 400w heavy duty one. It worked for a few days and then the same problem came back.

I took it back to them and they then said it is probably the video card. So I had a 128MB ATI 9200se saphire card in the computer at the time. So I was told the card was taking too much power from the powersupply. So I was given a 64MB Nvidea card and the system worked great, for a few days. Now the computer does not shut down as often but I still have problems with it.

If anyone can help that would be great. Thanks so much.

There are a few factors that can contribute to this. The PSU, even though rated at that high wattage, does not always operate at that level. I know from experience that the lower end ´cheaper´PSUs are horrible and usually can never match a good brand name´s performance.

Also, if this crash is happening during the game, it may be that the computer is overheating. How many fans do you have? How hot is it running?

I should have mentioned this first but check to see if you have any viruses or anything contributing to the problem. My friend had a similar issue and it was due to viruses.

Check the RAM as well, swap it out with something that you know works.

Good luck.

Well i have a a fan on the cpu and I have a dual fan power supply. I am in the process of reinstalling windows xp without service pack 2 and hopefully that fixes the problem. My nephew is a little uptight because he can't play the one guy we bought this system for. Thanks for ur post so far.

Cheers!