Hardware How big a difference can a new PSU make?

[Harsky]

Been looking at my cousin's PC to see what needs updating. It had an old 8600GT card installed last year but recently when he tries to play one of his MMORPG the PC shuts down automatically. Would a new PSU make a world of difference or is it just more waste of money? I can remember that the PSU hasn't been upgraded in over 2 years so that's why I keep thinking it might be time to boost it a little.

 

[Diablo1123]

Depends on how many volts it is I think.
As far as I know, it shouldn't make a difference.

Might be something else, or the MMORPG itself. I used to get BSOD because my RAM was 800 MHz whemy motherboard only went up to 667 MHz.

 

[ZAFDeltaForce]

If your PC shuts down automatically, the problem may lie in your cousin's PC's cooling. Make sure the cooling is sufficient. Use bigger, more powerful fans if needed.

 

[Scorpei]

'random shutdown' sounds like a VERY undiagnosed problem

. Does it happen ONLY with that game, does it happen only when running the system to the max? First of all make sure you turn off reboot on bsod (though that might not be very helpfull yet). Then simply try to rule things out. See if the CPU itself is stable *run orthos or prime95 for a while* and mind the temperatures (speedfan / rivatuner). Try with a different PSU / gpu / etc. See if there is any artefacting.

Also it might be a good idea to open the thing up and see if maybe dust is clogging the cooling

.

Another thing, 'upgrading the PSU just because it hasn't been upgraded in 2 years' is a REALLY bad reason, it should work fine still. If you are really worried about the PSU not cutting it (though it previously working fine) start monitoring the voltages and see if they are really off spec.. It could be however that due to the extra strain on the system now that things start asking more; the voltages drop more then they used to (due to it being an underpowered PSU for the system). How much W is it anyway and what kind of hardware is he using it with?