I've determined that the problem with my monitor constantly going blank is because of either my Power Supply or GeForce 6800 OC 128 MB AGP card. I now have my old GeForce MX400 AGP 64MB card plugged into my system and I have come across no problems in the past three days. Before, while I was in the middle of a game Dungeons and Dragons Online Preview, the screen suddenly went blank. Nothig wrong with system, I restarted and could hear it boot up as normal, just couldn't see anything. I ended up unplugged the CMOS battery and resetting the CMOS setting via jumper and this resolved the issue, but only for a minute or two. From then on, whenever I booted up my computer and got into Windows for a bit my computer would go blank and LED would turn orange. Just about two weeks ago I bought a 430 max output PSU because I upgraded my mobo and processor and my GeForce 6800 needs a plug in also. A lot of juice required, but I thought my new PSU would provide plenty of that. So, I've decided either my PSU still isn't putting out enough juice, although I don't understand how this could have happened in the middle of a game and now just whenever I turn it on for a time. Or something happened with my GeForce 6800 card and it's broken or constantly overheating now. I'm not sure how to go about testing either theory to pin down the culprit. Any ideas? Thanks. ASUS A8V AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 1GB PC3200 dual channel RAM GeForce 6800 OC 128MB AGP (currently GeForce MX400 64MB AGP) A-Power 480W Gamers 20+4 pin PSU

I have a GeForce 6600GT PCI-E and I have a STANDARD non-gaming 350W PSU and it can support it no problem. I have about the same specs as you with a much weaker power supply. Nvidia 6600GT has caused me problems whereby a game called Toca Race Driver 2 will load and crash my PC automatically shutting the screen and computer of course. I'm not sure if this is the same issue your having but it's just an idea. For one thing you should try running ANOTHER GAME that is equally intensive as Dungeons and Dragons Online. Try downloading a demo of Doom 3 or something like that and see if it crashes. If it DOESN'T then you know it's that particular game issue. If it crashes.. then it's your PSU. Also update your drivers to the latest. p0rsche

Yes, I updated my nvidia drivers to the latest ones the day before this occurred. I've tried other games such as FEAR and BF2 and it has happened to both. I'm even lucky to get into FEAR or BF2 because as I stated I can't even stay on Windows very long before it just shuts off. I also played the Dungeons and Dragons Online with my old GeForce MX400 card and I've had no problems with it, I played it for about two hours. Does anybody know of any way to tell if my GeForce 6800 OC is overheating and causing me these problems? Maybe it is just my graphics card, which would really suck since I just got it a year ago. Perhaps the Power supply unit I just ordered has failed me, just not completely but lost some of its juice. The entire system doesn't just shut down, I know it's still running fine afterwards, it just seems that I lose power/connection to my monitor somehow. Thanks pOrsche.

You've got to be kidding me! You have all that expensive hardware & you try to run with a cheapass A-Power PSU that sells for less than $20 at geeks.com?? You're lucky you didn't blow the whole system! Get yourself a decent name brand PSU & plan on spending at LEAST $50! Hellz Yea!

As Jam implies, it's not just the specs but the quality of the PSU that determines how amp/power draw is controlled and responded to. See the part on PSU selection here.

Well, I had no idea that power supplies weren't quite to identical. I feel kinda stupid, especially putting a cheap piece o crap in my system. That thing is gone as soon as I get home. Guess I get what I paid for. I'm just really worried now that it may have damaged my graphics card. I had no idea that a power supply could do damage to a system, I thought there we safety precautions built into all of them so that wouldn't happen. Does anybody have any good experience with power supplies as to recommend a brand name that is dependable and not extremely expensive? I'm looking for at least a 450W power supply. Thanks for the help jam and mcamax, your input was totally helpful.

OK, just to confirm...if this is your board, it uses a 20-pin power connector: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131541 Newegg has this ThermalTake 430W on sale regularly...it should be sufficient: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153023 But if you think you'll be upgrading again in the not too distant future, you may wanna consider a better PSU with dual +12v lines Hellz Yea!