boiler

Ok, no change w/ newest drivers. I'm newegging possible PSU replacements if you think that might be my prob. Thanks!

Sorry for being mega-n00b here, but I'm not sure what you're talking about here with the "fraps in the background" As for my PSU, I am starting to get skeptical about it. It's a 400W unit that came with my case (Coolmax). I have had a problem come up over the last month with my computer randomly restarting or shutting down. I can go days without it happening, but I have also had days where it's done it to me three times in two hours. I initially thought my CPU was overheating (mobo set to shut down when temps >70C), but speedfan 4.27 and your comments make me think otherwise. Could this stinkin PSU be the cause of my troubles? Not sure how else I can test for that. I'm updating to newest forceware drivers right now and will test again to see if it made any improvement by itself. Will post back with results. Thanks so much for your help!

Hey guys, thanks for providing these great forums! I'd like a little input regarding my processor situation. I built a new system in november (my first!), and didn't have boatloads of money sitting around. Since I knew absolutely nothing about AMD, I went with the Intel P4 630 (3.0GHz) and a 945P mobo. Here's my system as it stands: Intel P4 630 (3.0GHz, 2MB L2 cache) (stock cooling) ECS 945P mobo (cheapish, but good features/stability) 1GB (2x512) @ 533MHz Corsair eVGA 7800GT CO 200GB WD Caviar (SATA 3.0GB) When I'm running CS:S or HL2, I'm getting around 60fps, dipping to ~23fps on militia w/ heavy action. This is running at 1280x1024 with EVERYTHING maxed out. I have heard that, especially w/ my gfx card, I should be getting much higher. I know my cpu is the bottleneck, but I don't exactly have $300 sitting around to buy some kick-butt AMD cpu and mobo. If I overclock my cpu from 3.0 to 3.2 or 3.4GHz, will I notice a big difference in performance? (after of course upgrading my heatsink... I'm running 36C idle, 48+ load) To be honest, I need good all-around performance... this is not just a gaming rig, I work on it too! It's just slightly annoying that I get choppy at times on max settings with a near-cutting-edge graphics card. Maybe in a couple of years I will consider upgrading the CPU and mobo, but right now I'm trying to make do with what I have. Thanks for your input folks!