New PC Power Issues??? HELP!

lililiPROBLEMS SOLVEDlililili[/sizeac88b7c78a][/colorac88b7c78a] [bac88b7c78a]Thanks again D
New PSU with adequate power, manually set timing for RAM fixed it, no more crashes!!!! Crysis here I come!!! Even Dual Boot working. [/colorac88b7c78a][/bac88b7c78a]

So I got a new PC, Here are the specs

MOBO Evga 680i NF68-T1[=http//www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188012]Evga 680i NF68-T1
CPU E8200 Wolfdale[=http//www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115047]E8200 Wolfdale
GPU Evga 9600 GT[=http//www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130328]Evga 9600 GT
PSU Apevia 680w[=http//www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817148020]Apevia 680w
MEM Corsair 2gb[=http//www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034]Corsair 2gb

So I get the thing built and XP loaded, to find out It crashes randomly. Tried to figure out what isn't being recognized or running properly, everything comes up correct. I found out voltage for the RAM needed to be 2.1v so I switch it in bios. Then I tried to figure out the requirements for the 9600GT and found I need a min. of 26amps. mine is only 24amp. Could this be the cause of the crashes?? Can I fix without changing PSU or can anyone recommend a PSU suitable

I purchased on the 6th so I can return the PSU no problem, I just hate to take it out after all the wire management I did!

it's not the psu, check your wiring.

bad ram??

Why is it not the PSU???

What is the best way to check the RAM???

Thanks for helping!

Make sure everything is properly wired and secured in their slots.

[quote76bcfc14d5="Ezekial"]it's not the psu, check your wiring.[/quote76bcfc14d5]
I disagree, it could very well be the PSU, and in fact sounds like it. Not saying it's definitely the problem, but it's a common PSU scenario. That's a cheap PSU with mediocre ratings (70% efficiency pretty much sucks). Nowadays you just cannot scrimp on PSU's like you used to, it's one of the most ciritical components of a modern system. If you're forced to buy on a small budget, Fortron makes probably the best budget PSU. I'm a fan of Enermax, Corsair, OCZ, and of course the best in the business are PC Power & Cooling and Seasonic, but neither are cheap. I put the PC Power & Cooling 750W Silencer Quad in my new rig.

Also, I'd recommend against multiple 12v rails -- that's a marketing gimmick that's pretty much been disproven, although many manufacturers still do it because the public demands it for misguided reasons. It was necessitated to work around the ATX power spec which limited the amount of current supplied on one rail, but that spec was written long before today's power hungry systems. There is only ONE 12v transformer inside a PSU, so it's not like these are independent 12v sources. By dividing power between two or more output rails, you're allocating power on one rail that you may not need, while the other rail gets overloaded. Having a single large rail (like PC Power & Cooling PSU's) allows power to be sent where it is needed. My 750w PCP&C PSU ("only" 70w more than yours), besides being 83+% efficient, outputs [b76bcfc14d5]60A[/b76bcfc14d5] on a single rail, compared to your 680w putting out only 28A total across both rails, and only up to 24A on a single rail. BTW I run a pretty beefy system so my PSU would likely be overkill for you, but you can see the comparison in specs to understand the difference between a quality PSU and a cheap import.

RAM is also a candidate. Download, burn, and boot a Memtest86+ CD and let it run at least one complete pass. Preferably overnight. If you get even a single error, you need to replace that stick of RAM. If you have more than one stick, remove one at a time and rerun the test with each.

Thanks so much D. I am returning the PSU and upgrading, after looking more into It seems everything you said is what I found to be true on a technical base. I'll run the Ram test ASAP. Recommend a RAM brand???

UPdate! New PSU installed and running great, Got Crysis up and running played for 45 minutes no problem. Went to bed with Nvidia Stability Test running for 120 minutes, woke up and the PC was restarted. Once in XP got the "System Recovered from a critical error" message. I haven't looked at the log on the testing yet. Found the PC sitting on the B.S.O.D. when I came back. Currently I'm running memtest86+, on test #7 or so been going over 3 hours now. Passed everyone of them. I'll leave it go. Any thoughts on what else could be the cause???

7 hours walltime, 18 passes, No errors