PSU issues.

Well depending if you are using dual graphics (SLi or Crossfire) or not. I recommend a PSU that has dual 12V+ rails. IF you are in the U.S. I recommend this PSU.

Output +3.3@24A, +5V@30A,+12V1@20A, +12V2@20A, -12V@0.8A, +5VSB@2.5A

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817812002

It's under $100 and a powerhouse.

Hmm.

A single graphics card, just power hungry (Radeon X800XT).

I'm in the UK (Farnborough), so will see what I can get my hands on.

I'll be on the look out for it.

I hear 'xxxxxThermal' or something is quite a good make.

You probably mean 'ThermalTake' and yes they are pretty reliable. Man sometimes I feel like the only person on here from the United States. I used to have an X800XT and the X850PT both cards have to have a aux connector plugged into it. Are you running a bunch of lights in your case, like cold cathod fan lights, a neon or anything fancy?

Oh, an important question is do you have your computer plugged into your wall socket directly or an APC. Make sure whatever you buy has the 220/110 voltage switch. Also make sure you change out your power cable to the one you may get with the new PSU.

Some reputable PSU companies are: Enermax,Mushkin,ThermalTake,Antec True Series,Apevia,CoolerMaster,Corsair.

You are not the only one......I don't know that much on Power Supplies just yet so I can't comment, but I am always around. I am in California......

No, nothing fancy and none-functional in my machine, Steve.

I'm connected straight into the wall socket - always have been. I think the issue is unlikely to be 'dirty mains' - though that is a good point.

My 12v line is sometimes reported as low as 11.3v in BIOS - and that is just no good for such a power hungry card.

I have a lot of heat in there, too, for which I've just bought a new exhaust - that's two exhausts I'll have on the machine, when I connect it - one below the PSU, and the other fits onto a card slot.

Yes, I meant 'Thermal Take' - I guess that would also help with the heat removal, looking at the size of the fan!

Anything less than a name brand 700w preferably a 750w is a waste of money.

I was planning on the Enermax 1000w but it was a no go with the company that built mine.
In 1 years or at the most 2 you'll be sorry that you didn't get the biggest and the best possible.

California here also but where we are from shouldn't matter, it's an international forum based in the UK.

You know what, Heat kills power supplies. I had a mico-atx case one time with a hefty PSU and it died within 8 months of useage. It stayed almost to the point of very hot at times. I make sure I also air-dust the dual fans on my PSU once a month or two. Dust can suffocate the fan units and kill a PSU too. I use a CoolerMaster ATC case that has ann 80mm fan that exhaust heat out the top of the case and another out the back. Two stacked 80mm case fans in the front. I believe the top fan being so close to my PSU keeps mine very cool.

In the end I have to admit in all my PC builds, PSU are second to only motherboards to die most common or dead on arrival. There is nothing worse than getting a brand new PSU.

Radar, I kinda agree with you, but this is sort of a exception. He is running an slightly older system using AGP graphics card. He is probably not dual core and certainly not SLi or Crossfire eligible. So in this case 700+ watts would not be of any great value and most likely the higher power he uses will only kill off the PSU sooner. He has some heat issues inside the case he is trying to get rid of.

RadarMan wrote:

Anything less than a name brand 700w preferably a 750w is a waste of money.

I was planning on the Enermax 1000w but it was a no go with the company that built mine.
In 1 years or at the most 2 you'll be sorry that you didn't get the biggest and the best possible.

California here also but where we are from shouldn't matter, it's an international forum based in the UK.

Try this and plan ahead, all peripherals are becoming USB and the more fans we have the better.

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp

That's a nifty tool!!!! Radar I also noticed he mentions here that the voltage level is around 11.3v at times when he checks his BIOS. This brings another 'red flag' to me. I have seen my no lower than 11.68v but normally around 11.89-11.96v. I had an issue with the power cord on a PC one time that was causing irregular voltage levels to dip too low. This is why you should always use the new cord that comes with the PSU.

RadarMan wrote:

Try this and plan ahead, all peripherals are becoming USB and the more fans we have the better.

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp

RadarMan wrote:

Try this and plan ahead, all peripherals are becoming USB and the more fans we have the better.

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp

I wouldn't recommend using that calculator as it isn't that accurate. It calculated my system to need only 280W. I bought a Antec 350W PSU and spent two months figuring out why it wouldn't turn on. Turns out it wasn't enough power. Now i've got a 550W PSU (not even a well known brand) and it runs fine.

Thanks all - new PSU installed - and I'm getting 12.3V on the 12V rail.

I checked the old PSU before removing it, and it was down to 10.8V at times............

If I remember correctly, there were two options for the X800XT AGP and non-AGP - I went for the non-AGP, as its quicker.

Now...............with the correct voltage, lets see if I can fly!

Continueing the saga of getting to fly on FSX..........

OK, so the new PSU seems to have sorted the crashes I was getting - only for my system to come to another halt, with the ATI tool telling me my graphics card is getting too hot.

I had time last night to install a new fan (but didn't plug it into the power as yet, as I wanted to clearly identify if there was more than one issue) - so will do that later this evening.

Will switch down the level of over-clocking, and see what results I get.

I'm astonished how much hardware tweaks I'm having to make, in order to get FSX to work properly, when no other programs fail!

Nice to see it's fixed.

Edit: O, nother bug

Edit: Radarman, ya got me to thinking.. I'm using Antec NeoHe power supplies, really like the various detachable cables. Got a 500watter running this box, but all voltages a shade low.

Might be the vid card (nVida 8800GTX) that has TWO aux PCI-E power connectiions. nVida recommends 450wat psu. This card is 11-1/2" long, 4" wide, 2" deep. Backplane is a metal casting and it gets hot!

To check this I'll stick a little ATI 1600 card in and see if system volts come up.

But what I was thinkin, how about 2 psu? 1 just to power the auxes on the mother of all vid cards?