do i need a new PSU?

[one-silence]

well today i just added a geforce 3 ti500 to my setup, and when i started to play wc3, it made my comp freze up and my +5 rail drop like crazy. is it becuase my power supply isnt that good? this is my current setup with a raidMAX 350watts max.

iwill kk266plus
1.3 t-bird
768 pc-133 ram
40 gig seagate 7200rpm ata100
60 gig wd 7200rpm ata100
sony cd-rw
creative dvd
d-link eithernet pci card
internal pci modem
creative dxr pci card
5.25 display temp sensor/probe
blue cathaol light
4 - 80mm fan
1 - 60mm fan
80mm heatsink fan

my voltage
+3.3 @ 3.37
+5 @ 4.76-4.78 (when i underclock my cpu to 1ghz it jumps to a stable 4.86-4.9) before it was 4.88
+12 @ 12.60

my PS rating is 350 watts max.(raidMAX)
voltage 115/230V
----------------------------------------------
+3.3 @ 16A
+5 @ 25A
combined both peak at 178 watts
----------------------------------------------
+12 @ 16A
peak wattage at 168 watts
______________________________________
current
10A/6A
-12 @ 0.8A - peak watts 9.6
-5 @ 0.5A - peak watts 2.5
+VSB @ 2A - peak watts 10


i'll also be upgrading my system within a month or 2.
specs
soltek SL-75FRN-RL,
AMD 1700 XP b chip
corsair TWINX512-3200C2PT
add a 120mm fan for a blowhole.
and everything else form the my current setup.

i need some advice on what PSU i should be upgrading to. first time i actually have to figure this out. and how much watts i would actually need for the current and new set up? and also for future expansion. thanks in advance and sorry for the long post. im a newbie here . oh and someone told me about putting a resistor on the +12v line. what is this suppose to do or how does it help?

 

[larrymoencurly]

Raidmax = Powmax = Robanton = Leadman = weak, and in a test done back in 2000, Anandtech found that two different 400W Leadmans underperformed all the other PSUs, including a 250W Antec made by HEC/Heroichi.

C'T magazine found that the maximum power consumption needed by an XP 2400+ with GeForce3 Ti500 was about 160W, although I think one motherboard needed up to 190W. The max combined +3.3V and +5V power was about 140W for mobos that powered the CPU from the +5V, as yours does, but I wouldn't bet my life on a Raidmax/Leadman being able to supply enough combined power, even if it was officially rated for more than this. I believe that the 400W Leadmans tested by Anandtech had higher peak +3.3V and +5V ratings than your Raidmax, and their official combined power rating was only about 150-155W. I know that my 300W Powmax is rated for about 200-250W peak +3.3V and +5V. On the other hand, my 300W MaxPower, which is supposed to be an even worse PSU, is rated for 196W peak and 190W official, and in a 10-minute test I was able to confirm that it could put out 190W on those lines while the +12V cranked out the remaining 110W. However, I modded the MaxPower by stacking another diode in parallel with the +5V diode because I didn't feel like blowing it up.

I think that even a 300W Fortron/Sparkle would be an upgrade to a 350-400W Raidmax/Leadman, but Newegg and Directron have 350W models for only $38-42.

 

[one-silence]

wel last night i just ordered a fortron 350watt PSU @ newegg.com. i read the sticky and now havea good idea on what quailty PSU i would buy and know what is good. thanks alot.