Anyone know anything about computer troubleshooting?

[MacDaddy]

I have a computer which just randomly powers down. It will still power back up and be fine for surfing etc. But if I'm watching a video, at some point, it almost always powers down.

My cousin seems to think that 99% of the time this is a power supply (I only have a 400W in a pretty big gaming rig, intel quad core, 1GB vid card, etc.).

Just wanted to get other opinions before i undertake the task of moving up to a 600 or 650W power supply. Also, how difficult of a job is this to replace?

Thanks.

[rubisco43]

this is pretty good estimator of power supply required. even though your PSU says 400W, no power supply is 100% efficient, so you're probably not getting 400W. If it's a PSU that came with the case, it's probably even less effective. If your components are drawing close to 250-300W, it's probably your PSU.

it also could be a heating issue. some mobo's shut down if it senses too much heat.

[MacDaddy]

Is there a good program or something to download which shows how much power you are using?

[rubisco43]

damn, i forgot to provide you the link, haha.

http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1...ply+calculator

i use the newegg one, but i think pretty much any of them will give you a good estimate of what your components are using.

[Burns11]

What kind of computer is this? Is it an off the shelf system you added a video card to? What kind of PSU is it?

It certainly could be a power supply issue, could also commonly be a heat issue then there are more uncommon problems it could be. In the end, taxing a PSU isn't a really good idea, it will create more heat, fail and possibly take other components/data with it. You also don't have to spend $140+ either, even if it ends up not being the problem it would be a good idea to spend the $60 now for a more adequate power supply.

[MacDaddy]

The computer in question is a Gateway LX6810 desktop.

As far as the heating issue, i don't think that is it. The computer is never hot, anywhere on the tower or the back panel.

Anyway, I guess I'll try a new power supply and hope that fixes it. If it doesn't, then I have no idea.

Thanks for the responses.

[Burns11]

If you didn't add the video card yourself, if the thing is stock, the PSU wattage should be fine. It could be that the PSU is failing, assuming it's still under warranty make Gateway send you a new one.

Just because it's not "hot" on the outside of the tower or along the back vents doesn't mean it's not an overheating issue. Most likely though, it's a failing PSU.