Power supply gone bad?

[sketch22]

after 20 or so minutes of playing any downloaded game, computer shuts down without warning.
is this my power supply not giving enough juice? because games like combat arms require more watts than if im just on youtube or online games. also, motherboard and GPU temps are outrageously high on idle and when playing games. is this problem caused by my 350watt stock powersupply? my computer has an intel i7 920 , 4gb of DDR3, ATI radeon hd 4850, and 550 gb hard drive. any suggestions? im planning on buying a 550watt PSU tommorow from newegg. should i?

 

[welshmousepk]

sounds like heat could be the cause, not a symptom.

yes you could get shutdowns if the PSU isn't powerful enough, but it won't make anything over heat.

what case do you have? how many fans, and what's your airflow like?

i would identify the problem first, cause if it's heat, then a new psu won't make a difference.

 

[sketch22]

well if they are overheating they are obviously working too hard and that could be because they aren't getting the power that they need.

 

[welshmousepk]

that's not how it works.

they would be overheating because they aren't getting enough air. not getting enough power doesn't mean they work harder, it means they physically cannot work. you would perhaps see diminished performance if they are getting just enough power to run, but usually they will run fine until they simply try to draw more than the PSU can handle and then shut off.

now i'm not saying it isn't the PSU, just that if it is, then you ALSO have an airflow problem.
what sort of temperatures are you talking about though? it may be that what you think is hot is actually fine.

tbh though, i would still recommend a new PSU. running that system off of a 350w is asking for trouble. just make sure the new one is a trusted brand like corsair, seasonic or pc p&c

 

[smorizio]

if you think it over heating and shutting down...take the side pannel off the case to get more air into the case.