PSU Going Bad & Causing System Stability Issues? Solved

[fastturtle]

I've got a noname 300 PSU that came with the case (5+yrs old) and recently upgraded my video card from a TNT2-M64 w/32 to a Geforce 5200 w/128 and noticed some stability issues. Most of them have been very subtle so far but I'm wondering if the problem is the PSU or possible somewhere's else.

System Specs:
Allied AL-A300 PSU
+3.3@20a +5@30a +12@10a
Max output is 160+120 = 280 Not even 300 watts.
MSI 6340M v:5.0
Xp1800 @ stock
2x512 pc2100
80 gb Seagate 7200.8
Lite-On DVD1693S burner
Lite-On CDRW5239S burner
Iomega IDE Zip100
generic 3.5 floppy
SB PCI16
Geforce FX5200 w/128
10/100 Network Anywhere NIC
XP-Home SP/2

Preferred Replacement is Seasonic S12-380 since Newegg isn't carrying the 330 anylonger.

Decided to Open case and actually check to see if PSU had label. Sure did and looks like not enough power on 12v Rail to handle everything with the new video card. So like a true Geek, replaced with 4meg SIS5596 card.

So I'll be using the onboard video for better performance.

Update: Using Onboard Video and things are scrolling properly even if I do loose 16 megs of ram and can't run my games. Will just have to wait until I upgrade the damn PSU. Almost anything should be better then the current junk.

[MikeC]

Just go ahead & replace the PSU. At least you will eliminate it as a source of problems. 5+ years is a long time for a generic PSU that probably didn't deliver much more than half its "rated" power back then. You can assume with the aging of capacitors that the power capacity is much lower than when it was new.

[fastturtle]

Well after looking at the specs, turns out the unit doesn't even put out 300 watts as you'd think from the Model #. So Yea, it's getting replaced ASAP with a Seasonic that should completely solve the damn problems.

I've decided upon the Seasonic Precise 300 as it has a 20 pin plug (older board) and is almost identical to the existing specs but with 16 amps on the 12 volt line.