Gpu upgrade, ran into some problems... psu?

[chunks4123]

So last night I installed a new hsf, a radeon 6950, and new ram. When I first booted, BIOS said my CPU settings had changed... not sure what that means. CPU temp is around 30c at idle in BIOS. Windows starts up fine but then within 5 mins or less the monitor will go into standby mode and either my cpu or gpu fan goes on full blast.

My first assumption is that maybe my power supply isn't large enough?

Its a quality psu (seasonic), but only 520w.

My specs:
asus p5n-e sli
e6600 conroe @ 2.4ghz (stock)
4gb ddr2
Radeon 6950 2gb (requires 2 pcie power inputs)
2 hdds

My old spec was 2gb ram w/ a geforce 8800gts


It seems like my psu should be powerful enough but symptoms seem to imply otherwise.

 

[Outlander_04]

520 watt , not 250

It should be fine , but is ot the bottom end of whats acceptable . Any idea of the wattage on the 12 volt rails?

 

[chunks4123]

520watts. 265w plus my hdd's, case fan and cpu fan shouldn't overload my psu, should it?

 

[hunter315]

Dyslexia strikes again, i reread it like 3 times to make sure it said 250, not sure how i messed that up, lets try this again.


520 W should be enough, i assume its the S12 or S12II 520 W unit? Either way it should be enough so there might be a different issue going on.

Do you happen to know if its the CPU fan or the GPU fan that goes up to full blast or does it alternate?

 

[Outlander_04]

Its interesting your CPU settings had changed

Have you checked that it is set correctly ?

 

[chunks4123]

Its interesting your CPU settings had changed

Have you checked that it is set correctly ?

It was just on auto, multiplier was on 9.

Also, According to my calculations my 12v rail is putting out 216 watts. (12v @ 18amps)
According to the specs the PSU has 3 12v rails.

Also, typo on the PSU, it's a Corsair HX520. But I believe it was manufactured by seasonic... if that matters.

 

[beenthere]

If you want to objectively, accurately and scientifically determine what PSU power is required for your Vid card and PC in both watts and 12v rail amps., the forum Utility link below will show you how easy it is to calculate this information and objectively determine which PSUs are quality built, reliable PSUs that can meet your needs. Be advised that the available 12v rail amps. is just as important as the total PSU wattage. You need both to be correct.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/314712-28-please-read-determine-power-required

 

[chunks4123]

Looks like I'm cutting it close with my PSU... I'll just go for an upgrade then.

Man, I've dumped too much into this upgrade, oh well.

 

[chunks4123]

An update: It was the video card! The damn thing is defective.

My PSU probably would've handled it, afterall. Cost me $100 bucks to troubleshoot this. I'm in the process of RMA'ing my video card now.