Hello! I have recently upgraded my desktop with a new video card (HD 4870 1 GB GDDR5). When I use the video card (when I play games) my computer shuts down from time to time. It doesn' reboot, it just shuts down. The PSU is quite hot. My current specs are: PSU 400 W Biostar MCP6P-M2 mainboard 3 GB RAM 500 GB Samsung HDD Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 1gb GDDR5 vapor-x videocard I think I should buy a bigger PSU but I'm not sure. Maybe it's the mainboard. What do you think? And another question: do you think the motherboard and videocard combination is ok?

Your system creates heat build-up. Adding a better video probably pushed the PSU and created yet even more heat. The combo of such requires yet better cooling abilities and be sure the PSU is capable. The PSU itself is a an exhaust point to vent heat-up and its own heat. These together can overcome what was adequate before and needs better cooling. Either add more fan(s), vents to include a higher wattage PSU. A quick cure is to remove the side cover and check results. You an also place a small household fan to blow on the system and again check results. -----Willy

1st of all, you're asking in the wrong forum. These are hardware questions, not CPU/overclocking questions. 2nd, you didn't supply enough info. Just stating your PSU is 400W is fairly useless. What are the amperage specs? Is it a decent quality, name brand unit or a $15-20 generic cheapie? 3rd, did you check your CPU & system temp readings in the BIOS? An overheating CPU can also cause a system to shutdown.

Sorry for posting in the wrong forum. The PSU is POWERLINK and says 2 - 5 A at 220 V. I don't know the brand but I think it's junk. I checked the temp in BIOS immediately after a shutdown and the temp of the CPU was 68 oC (the shut down limit being set at 75 oC). I have already removed the lid of the chassis. That didn't stop the problem, the shutdowns just got rare. I haven't tried the household fan yet. I thought the culprit was the PSU because it becomes very very hot.

The PSU *may* be overheating, but the PSU fan also acts as an exhaust fan for the entire case. That means the hot case air is being sucked into the PSU & blown out the back. Considering the CPU temp was 68C & the shutdown temp is 75C, it's very possible the CPU is the problem. Removing the side panel generally doesn't help, in fact, it can sometimes make things worse because with the panel off, the case fans become useless. They need a closed environment to do their job. If you can, try positioning a small room fam so that it blows directly into the open case & see if that prevents the shutdowns. You still didn't provide enough info about the PSU. The amperage specs for the +3v, +5v & +12v rails should be on the label on the side of the PSU. Other than that, how many case cooling fans do you have & how are they arranged? Have you messed with the CPU cooling fan at all? Did you possibly bump it when you installed the new video card?

There are 2 columns: Voltage: 3,3V 5V 12V 24A 32A 16A Amperage: 12V 5V 0.8A 2A I'll try with a household fan as soon as I find one. I am pretty sure I haven't touched the CPU's cooling fan. Looking at it, it seems firmly in place. I have one cooling fan (from the CPU). The lid has a tube that fits above the fan so that the air from the CPU is evacuated outside the box. If it helps you, so far the system shuts down only when gaming.

it sounds like it could be that the heatsink on the processor could be positioned wrong. or it could be a problem with the thermal compound being old.