Gaming GPU problems, or PSU?

[hatredg0d]

hello every one,
i have just built a new system, the first few times i booted my Asus motherboard told me there were power surges. i was a little worried, but after further research i discovered Asus support recommends to just shut it off. so no worrys there, installed xp and all drivers. Used the computer for a good 2 days, Played a decent amount of GTA4. it was running great. so i decided to try windows 7 out on it, after installing the VGA driver it would give me a BSOD at login every time. after more research, an apparent known problem (but not normally on boot) with that driver. after all this, i decided to ditch windows 7, stick with xp.
And this is where my problems started.it would just restart when i tryed booting xp, so i ended up just reinstalling windows xp on it. it worked fine untill, i try loading gta, it would restart... problem got worse after reinstalling windows again (thought maybe the drivers got messed up or something, cuz i couldnt get it out of 16bit mode, with dirvers) now it reboots when i go to the asus page to try to upgrade drivers, or when i try opening a picture... not wanting to deal with at the time being, i made it dual boot with Ubuntu. what also worked great at first. untill i installed the GPU driver for it.... after restarting, open the Nvida control panel thing, display goes all crazy, turns into patterns.. this is when i stiped using this computer. i dont want to break it.. its all brands new.
I'm worried it may be the PSU because of the MB telling me it was surging. when i check the volts in the bios, they seem to be pretty unsteady, but staying close to the +/- 5%. other times i checked it was stable as could be.
im worried it may be the GPU because of the restarting when opening GTA4, and having problems on 3 OS's after driver install. i just find it weird it worked fine before installing windows 7.
A friend told me to check the ram, i will be doing a memtest tonight.
a few more notes: i know its not over heating, good airflow, wire-management. A positive case pressure (3in:2out), good Cpu cooler, cold room temp. the power supply seems to be of low quality but,
heres a link to the PSU: http://www.xoxide.com/logisys-550w-pcix-clear.html
GPU:http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=o7FrMH9W00nDL1Ml
MB:http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=ef0qgvMIwOUagAVl
And ram:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098

if u need any other stats/pics/whatever please ask.

Any and all help will be appreciated.

 

[Cermage]

The power supply is just fine for what you've got. I'd do a clean format, removing xp and ubuntu. And reinstalling 7/xp. Grab your graphics drivers from the nvidia site, not the asus page and see how it goes then. If it still freezes up, try the graphics card in another computer, and see if it does the same. If so you've got a faulty card. If not I'd test other components. The surges might have just damaged something.

 

[Elritha]

I would say the graphics card could be at fault. It's very strange it locks up the moment you install drivers for it, and also the display going weird.

Try and swap the graphics card into another computer to test if possible.

 

[SonyUSA]

The power supply in the link its a junker power supply. You shouldn't put something so cheap in a gaming PC. Sure, it says 550w, but that's MAX output (peak). You want a power supply that has STEADY 500/550w. Look for something around the $80 price range, Antec preferably.

 

[hatredg0d]

i completely forgot, but the GPU software gives off errors at boot, even with latest versions installed. heres a pic:

Spoiler

Moments after saving this pic onto the flashdrive, it visually glitched out, and reboot.

Here is an example of the glitching i took a yesterday:

Spoiler

and here is the computer we are talking about here:

Spoiler

power supply cheapness noticed. will be getting a knew one sooner then latter. are the voltages made to be fluxuating in the bios? or should they be steady?

 

[SonyUSA]

A minor fluctuation is acceptable, either none to .1 or .2 is normal, but certainly not anything above 1.0+

GPU.exe ... I don't think is related to your actual graphic card, I think that SmartDoctor is causing that problem, I suggest uninstalling it if you can. I don't know of any graphic card that uses a process called "gpu.exe" so it may just be a gimmick used by that program.

 

[hatredg0d]

ya, it is used by that program, thats the program that monitors the temp and stuff of the gpu... and iv tryed it without it, same problems, but that app error is crazy. lol.

my ram voltages are set to auto in the bios, BTW, i know they need 1.9, but i cant tell what they are getting with auto, so should i just set it myself, or is auto good.

 

[SonyUSA]

That power supply looks iffy anyway, I would recommend replacing it first and then go from there. It will benefit to have a better one in their in general anyways.

 

[Joe88]

im not surprised

that psu is horrible
dont just buy a psu because it has kewl lights and is clear

almost always, these psu's some of the worst quality
you never see companies like corsair, and PC power and cooling have psu cases like that

 

[hatredg0d]

i was running OCCT, i saw my vcore volts drop to .05 for about 1.5 seconds, a notification came up saying there are signs of trouble. soon after if froze and reset. i was running the GPU OCCT.

EDIT: i pulled out the video card. and everything works fine.. but i was doing some more stress testing, and witnessed my vcore surge to 3.0 volts! during the same tests i also witnessed my 12V rail dropping to below acceptable limits. along with the 5V rail.... so obviously i need a better power supply. i shouldn't have cheeped out. but overall i have had no crashing using the On-board video. so does this mean, that both are bad?

 

[hatredg0d]

...bump...

 

[nitrostemp]

psu looks nice but you should get a psu that as atleast 750-1000 for stable volts

 

[hatredg0d]

i was thinking this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...mory-_-17139012

 

[Joe88]

looks great

you can save $30 if you get the TX ver + free shipping (about $36 inc shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817139005
+
use promo code EMCYNNS32 to save another $10 to make the savings $46 now
there is also the $20 MIR on top of everything else so final price would be $69.99

 

[Athlon-pv]

Btw never ever spend any money on anything but a brand PSU that has been atleast been steady and recommended by reputable websites.

http://www.overclockers.com.au/wiki/Power_..._Power_Supplies