Graphics Problems...(PSU not powerful enough???)

[NataKun]

So we installed my friend's old GPU in my other friend's old computer, the GTX 550ti. It all worked ok at first. He was able play his games just fine. Then I installed a 2GB stick of RAM (he had 1x2GB + 1x1GB) and I reinstalled Windows. Now the graphics are acting weird.

Symptoms:
-Nvidia Drivers crashing.
-Weird stuff happening on screen
ex.
Random chunks appearing
Blank chucks parts appearing until I put my mouse cursor over it
Misbehaving/unresponsive Windows
-BSOD
-Etc...(there are so many small things...)

-The system boots ok and loads the desktop ok. Just some glitches happen every once in a while (mentioned above).
However, when I watch a video with VLC, the graphics start flickering every few secondes. And when I load a game it either crashes, or the computer does, leaving me with a blank screen. Also, I noticed that sometimes when I leave it on for a while on idle, I will get a BSOD.

His system:
Upgraded Acer Aspire am1640-ed2160a (upgrades below)

-Core 2 Duo e8400
-2x2GB DDR2 800Mhz
-GTX 550ti EVGA
-Dynex DX-400WPS 400W PSU

I am suspecting that it is his PSU that is not giving the GPU enough juice. I read that the 550ti needs 24A on the 12V rail, but this one only has 14A in the first 12V rail and 15A on the other. Also, the 550ti needs at least 400W, and this is some cheap PSU so it may not actually be 400W like it says it is.

I want to make sure that this is the problem so I don't make him buy a new PSU for nothing.

I am thinking about the Corsair CX430 if he really needs to change the PSU.

 

[Calculagator]

PSUs can cause all sorts of difficult problems and his is not a good one. I would not blame the PSU first in this case, however. If the PSU were the problem, I would expect these errors to show up mostly under high power use situations. Whether the PSU can handle 400w or not, you are experiencing crashes when the entire system is using around 100w.
My first suspicion would be that you either have a bad RAM stick or that the sticks you have installed do not work well together. DDR2 can be touchy. You should run some memory tests first and try running with the old RAM config to see if that fixes the problem. Second, since you just installed windows, I would blame a corrupt windows or driver installation. If you are able, you might try booting into linux or the windows installation environment to see if you can cause a crash there. If you can, then you definitely have a hardware problem.
If those things fail to turn up any problems, then I would consider a new PSU.

 

[FrozenSpark]

Ok For Starters Your Hard Drive May Be Corrupt... I Do Not Know How To Fix That But You'll Be Able To Find That Somewhere Else.

Secondly Retry Running The PC With ONE RAM STICK!!!! This May Fix The PC As The CPU Mat Not Even Be Able To Support More Than 2GB Of RAM. (Look Up The CPU And Find Out How Much Ram It Can Take)

Finally The Problem May Actually Be The Graphics Card.... This CPU Is REALLY OLD! The Graphics Card Is Probably Choking The CPU To Death...

Look Up All The Things I Said BUT DON'T GO BUYING STUFF YET. If Nothing Works Here Re-Post This Question And Get A Pro To Check It Out!

 

[FrozenSpark]

PSUs can cause all sorts of difficult problems and his is not a good one. I would not blame the PSU first in this case, however. If the PSU were the problem, I would expect these errors to show up mostly under high power use situations. Whether the PSU can handle 400w or not, you are experiencing crashes when the entire system is using around 100w.
My first suspicion would be that you either have a bad RAM stick or that the sticks you have installed do not work well together. DDR2 can be touchy. You should run some memory tests first and try running with the old RAM config to see if that fixes the problem. Second, since you just installed windows, I would blame a corrupt windows or driver installation. If you are able, you might try booting into linux or the windows installation environment to see if you can cause a crash there. If you can, then you definitely have a hardware problem.
If those things fail to turn up any problems, then I would consider a new PSU.

Actully That Is A Really Good Idea... Try What Calculagator Said As Well.

 

[NataKun]

PSUs can cause all sorts of difficult problems and his is not a good one. I would not blame the PSU first in this case, however. If the PSU were the problem, I would expect these errors to show up mostly under high power use situations. Whether the PSU can handle 400w or not, you are experiencing crashes when the entire system is using around 100w.
My first suspicion would be that you either have a bad RAM stick or that the sticks you have installed do not work well together. DDR2 can be touchy. You should run some memory tests first and try running with the old RAM config to see if that fixes the problem. Second, since you just installed windows, I would blame a corrupt windows or driver installation. If you are able, you might try booting into linux or the windows installation environment to see if you can cause a crash there. If you can, then you definitely have a hardware problem.
If those things fail to turn up any problems, then I would consider a new PSU.

OK. I shall try the memory test, since the computer already had problem when installing new ram (even with the old config, I had to reseat the ram at least 3-4 time in different configuration to get the display up.

Also, I reinstalled Windows 3 times and it still gave me the same results. And the problems don't happen in the installation environment.

 

[Calculagator]

You really could have both problems: if you installed windows while there was faulty RAM, you are likely have a faulty installation. Fix the RAM problem first. After that, you should probably reinstall windows just to be safe.

 

[NataKun]

Ok For Starters Your Hard Drive May Be Corrupt... I Do Not Know How To Fix That But You'll Be Able To Find That Somewhere Else.

Secondly Retry Running The PC With ONE RAM STICK!!!! This May Fix The PC As The CPU Mat Not Even Be Able To Support More Than 2GB Of RAM. (Look Up The CPU And Find Out How Much Ram It Can Take)

Finally The Problem May Actually Be The Graphics Card.... This CPU Is REALLY OLD! The Graphics Card Is Probably Choking The CPU To Death...

Look Up All The Things I Said BUT DON'T GO BUYING STUFF YET. If Nothing Works Here Re-Post This Question And Get A Pro To Check It Out!

Well, when I was reinstalling Windows the second time, I got an error related to the recycling bin being corrupt. So a corrupted HDD might be also the issue.

I am sure that the CPU isn't the problem and it can support over 4GB or RAM. I know cuz I have the same CPU with 4GB of RAM and a 750ti and they function perfectly together, I game on it without any problems.

 

[NataKun]

Yep...the problem is memory. Within 10sec, I got errors. It's been about 7 min and I got like 700 errors...

I'll try it with single sticks. Then with the old config.

 

[Calculagator]

Your hard drive could have an issue, but it probably doesn't. Bad memory means that bad data was written to the drive. The drive faithfully wrote and read that bad data. Once you fix the RAM and reinstall, the hard drive issues should disappear.

 

[NataKun]

Well then...looks like I'll be another long few days of updtaes...

At least it's more stable now. Games aren't crashing, no BSOD, no random chuncks in the screen. I'll do some further testing tmand then reinstall Windows.

Is it OK if I just used the repair setting in the installation setup? Or is a clean install the only way to go for this.

 

[Calculagator]

Is it OK if I just used the repair setting in the installation setup? Or is a clean install the only way to go for this.

I don't actually know enough about how the repair setting works to be sure. That -should- be enough, but it may not be.
If I were using the computer for work, I would reinstall from a know good installation source; if I were only using it for personal use, I would stick with the built-in refresh option.

 

[NataKun]

My friend mainly uses this PC for gaming. I guess I'll just reinstall. It's the safest bet.
Thanks for the help! Saved me from making my friend buy a new PSU for nothing.

 

[FrozenSpark]

My friend mainly uses this PC for gaming. I guess I'll just reinstall. It's the safest bet.
Thanks for the help! Saved me from making my friend buy a new PSU for nothing.

Hope it Goes Well