Do I need a new power supply? Random Crashes

[tehmicro]

After installing a new video card 2 months ago (Radeon 9250 PCI 256 MB), every time I played a video game with high graphics requirements (Brothers in Arms, Star Wars Empire at War, BF2), the computer would suddenly restart, and when I logged back in I would get an error message that just read "Windows has recovered from a serious error, send an error report". However, this does not occur when not playing games. Does this mean I need a new power supply? Here are my system specs (the computer is only like 6 months old):

HP Pavilion Windows XP SP2
Intel Celeron D 3.06 Ghz
512 RAM
160 GB Seagate Hard Drive
250 Watt Power supply
The video card I installed was Radeon 9250 PCI 256 MB, i previously had an integrated Intel card

Thanks in advance.

 

[Rik]

250watts isn't a lot, but if its like the older hp pavilion then you may have trouble finding a better psu that will fit.

As an example, i am running an amd 1.668ghz processor with a 450watt psu and I'm a little worried that its close to the minimum.

The other problem with the pavilion is that there isnt a lot of room in there, not good for heat issues.

 

[N3051M]

unfortunately i have to agree to rik.. the 9250 will suck alot of juice when its on load.. usualy minimum with those cards should be at least 330w, 150w for the card, 100w for the cpu, the rest of it for other components. However, this is the bare minimum.. it should be about 400 realy (if you want to be able to go full cpu&gpu load)...

use a psu calculator here to get the bare minimum, then add 50w for headroom..
http://extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp

remeber that good quality psu's will have abouts 85-91% efficiency and will last very long when you take care of it, cheapos rate about the 60-87%, and decreases exponentialy with age and heat..

 

[tehmicro]

450 watts?

Well my computer is always really quiet, I've never felt the case get warm, and HDDLIfe Pro says that my hard drive has never overheated...I'm thinking of getting a 450 Watt power supply - how do I know if it will fit in my computer's tower or not? Thanks for the help.

 

[N3051M]

well the only real way to make sure its 100% fits is to pull it out and bring it with you to the shops...

but i think there are standard sizes for PSUs. mainly ATX, MicroATX, Desktop, notebook etc.. find out which one it takes and you're set to go..

but from what rik says if its true, it may be a custom made or an old model...

 

[Rik]

Ive had a good search and cant find any useful info about pavilion psu's, i know the old ones have a small psu thats really difficult to find a replacement for.

Taking the psu with you as N3150M suggests is really the only way to make sure you get one that not only fits, but has the right plugs on it too.

Either that or take some pictures of the back and insides and post them up, even webcam stills may be enough to be able to determine psu type.

Hope that helps, Rik.