Today I purchased F.E.A.R, and i must say it was well worth the $40.00, but I'm not here to write a review. I'm concerned about my hardware. I was playing the game, all settings "auto detected" with a little tweaking. I was about an hour into the game, when spontaneously my system just decides it does not want to stay on anymore, and completly shuts off, does not restart, it just dies, as in no power. I was not even in an intense part of the game either, I was walking causualy through one of the levels admiring the scenery, no action, no gun fights nothing that would sqeeze the life out of my computer the way it did. This is not an over heating(50*c wheather), a driver, nor a game issue, becuase this has happened once before. I believe I triped a fail safe shut down mechanism in my PSU. My PSU manuel states that if amps at the 12+ rail drop below ~11.4v~ it will automatically shut off. I think this is what happened. I searched through my event log and found nothing. Any ideas?? any way to log my amparge during gameplay? Thess are my exact PSU specs: Thermaltake Silent PurePower 420W +3.3V@30A; +5V@40A; -5V@0.3A; +12V@18A; -12V@0.8A; +5VSB@2A --prescott, 2.8ghz @ 3.6ghz --intel i865-pe chipset --1gig 512x2 in dual config --PNY 128mb 6800 16x1,5vp --3 HDD (two IDE, one sata) --numerous fans, none fighting eachother --one dvd/cd burner combo drive --crappy 5.1 Mad Dog sound card

i think my friend had the similar problem too let me ask him. 3.2GHZ Intel Pentium EE 840 1GB Dual-channel DDR2-533 RAM Asus P5ND2-SLI Deluxe mobo 2 EVGA E-Geforce 7800GTX Creative Soundblaster X-Fi 550W PSU

According to this site: http://www.3dcool.com/PWC.php My Recommended Minimum Power Supply is 522 Watts. And according to this site: http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/Power_Supply_Calculator.php?cmd=INTEL My Recommended Minimum Power Supply is 388 Watts. Provided all devices are running at peak utilization of cource. What about amps, they dont take into account amps, under volting and such? I have a new HDD I just got (hacked my old DVR) and i'm wondering if my rig even has enough juice to run it? --prescott, 2.8ghz @ 3.6ghz --intel i865-pe chipset --1gig 512x2 in dual config --PNY 128mb 6800 16x1,5vp

After further investigation I found that my PWM mosfets are indeed getting extremely hot 61*c+ during intense number crunching. Running 3dmarko5 and Pcmark04 at the same time to get my cpu to 100% utilization, while I monitored temps and volts with everest. Everest reported my +12v rail staying at a consistent 11.61v through out the duration of the burn in, then when my CPU is idle it fluctuates between 11.76v~11.87v. Cpu, Gpu temps were nominal. I think I need a new PSU, that or take out some of my fans? --prescott, 2.8ghz @ 3.6ghz --intel i865-pe chipset --1gig 512x2 in dual config --PNY 128mb 6800 16x1,5vp

Interesting that you list the chipset but not the make/model of the board? Does it have a 20-pin or 24-pin ATX connector? The Thermaltake 420W PSU is a good one, but it may not meet up to your requirements. Your problem is you're concentrating on wattage when you should be looking at amperage. The P4 Prescott dissipates 100W or more, & being that your's is overclocked, it's probably more. For easy math, let's say 120W...that means it needs 10A from the +12v rail. Each HDD pulls 2.0A & each optical drive pulls 1.0A...each fans pulls 0.25A. The motherboard itself pulls some power from the +12v rail too & if your video card is the type that has to be connected to the PSU, you're well over the limit. My guess is you need a new PSU...one with a 24-pin ATX plug (if your board supports it) & split +12v rails. http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=10862 http://www.overclockers.com/tips00613/ http://www.firingsquad.com/guides/power_supply/default.asp ASUS A7N8X-X Athlon XP 1800+ 8.5 x 200MHz 1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7 Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB WinME/WinXP Pro SP2

Sorry, my board is the Abit is7-e model. It has a 20-pin ATX connector. Yes, I am concerned about amps, and thank you for that amp equation, So If our calculations are correct then my machine needs more then 25a @ the +12v rail? So you think I need dual +12v rails? I guess I will have to wait untill I get a new PSU before I install this new HDD. Tx for the links, I'll have to do some reading. --prescott, 2.8ghz @ 3.6ghz --intel i865-pe chipset --1gig 512x2 in dual config --PNY 128mb 6800 16x1,5vp

If I read firingsquad's artical right, then 18a at my +12v rail only gives me 216 watts of power to distribute amongst my 120 watt consuming CPU, 3 HDDs, video card, optical drive, fans, ect... thats well over 260 watts just right there! Which is not enough. I guess I'll start shopping. Anybody wanna buy a Thermaltake Silent PurePower PSU?? --prescott, 2.8ghz @ 3.6ghz --intel i865-pe chipset --1gig 512x2 in dual config --PNY 128mb 6800 16x1,5vp