My PSU is naff!

[Denic]

Hello all.

I'm just after a bit of advice really...

I have a 250W PSU, I don't know full details about it unfortunatly....

I've been getting really poor performance in games such as Counter Strike : Source.... People have said that I'm getting poor performance because my PSU isn't very good.

So, basicly, they are saying I need to upgrade my PSU...

Does this sound right to you? (My specs are to the left btw!)

Thanks in advance.

- Denic.

[Thorsson]

Sheesh, I didn't know you could even buy a 250W PSU these days. What's the make?

[Butcher]

PSUs don't affect performance in general - usually if it's not up to snuff the machine just crashes.

[Denic]

PSUs don't affect performance in general - usually if it's not up to snuff the machine just crashes.

So, it wont effect the games I play?

I wont be losing any performance?

[Richie P]

PSUs don't affect performance in general - usually if it's not up to snuff the machine just crashes.

I'm the one thats helped Denic with his problems so far. And IMO, a 250w FSP (flex atx thing i think) psu trying to drive a P4 3.0Ghz and a slightly overclocked XFX 6600GT is not a good idea whichever way you look at it.

[Agent]

So, it wont effect the games I play?

I wont be losing any performance?

In general, no.
Unless the graphics card cant get enough power, then it will throttle down. You would be told this though via a error warning on the screen (and games would just bomb to desktop). If its not told you this, then it isnt happening.

[Agent]

I'm the one thats helped Denic with his problems so far. And IMO, a 250w FSP (flex atx thing i think) psu trying to drive a P4 3.0Ghz and a slightly overclocked XFX 6600GT is not a good idea whichever way you look at it.

To be fair, a good 250 watt PSU should power that without any issues.
Its all down to the amp's it can supply, and the quality of the unit. You only need to look at Shuttles to see that

[dodgybob]

I would have thought that you would be getting error messages and random game crashes if your psu wasn't supplying enough juice. Perhaps running one of the 3dmark benchmarks and comparing it with scores on their site might provide a good comparison as to how your rig is performing compared to similar specced pcs.

I would have thought the more pressing problem would be efficiency and heat. An old 250w psu probably wont be too efficient so will probably waste a fair bit of electricity and output this as heat. Thus I'm guessing, although I could be wrong it would be quite loud. A newer more efficient psu should in theory generate less heat and noise and save on electricity usage. If you're wondering whether you need a new psu these might be areas to look at too.

[Denic]

So, I do not need a new PSU in order to play games at the performance I should be getting....?

[Thorsson]

CS is an online game. When you say performance are you sure you don't have connection problems (lag)?

[Denic]

I just tried WoW, here is what setings I'm running.



I cant even get past about 70FPS....

When I'm on towns I'll only get 30FPS, when I'm fighting I'll only get about 50FPS, and when I'm in battlegrounds I'll only get about 30FPS again...

This problem has got to be my PSU?

[Thorsson]

Not your PSU. That's just lag in the heavily "populated" areas. Performance seems about right for a 6600GT to me, going by what you get when lag isn't a problem.

[nvening]

Those FPS score dont seem bad at all. The PSU would not be causing slow down unless, as said before, it was causing components to throttle or run at a slower speed so that they dont need so much power. If you want to upgrade your graphics card though you will need to upgrade your PSU.

Look at the 380w and 430w Seasonics @ Scan, they are great value, solid and supply much more power than your system needs, and what most other systems need; apart from those with dual GPUs, top end CPUs and loads of disks.

[shaithis]

When you pull the Multisampling box down, what is it set to? (WoW)

[Denic]

It is set to 24-bit color 24-bit depth 1x multisample.

Is this the right setting?

Thanks

[Butcher]

Yes that's right. Performance doesn't seem wildly off. If your GFX card was throttling due to lack of power you'd be at single figure FPS.

What are your CS:S settings?