Hi guys, built me a PC recently, but having no end of pain with it. here's my rig, as i bought it:

AMD x 2 4400+
2GB RAM
300GB HDD
MSI 8600GT 256MB
Asus Mobo
500W PSU.

I mainly play Eve-online (running 2 accounts on 2 screens).

I got lots of stuttering, freezing, and most often - corrupted textures. Someone suggested the RAM on the card was shot, and for an extra £40 I could get a ATI 3850 instead.

That arrived this morning.

The corrupted graphics have gone and my fps is amazing. But I'm getting freezing still and this time the monitors are turning off, then back on again.

Can someone give me an idea as to what is going on?! GPU temps are really low (im using RivaTuner to manually have the GPU fan running @ 75% giving a under load temp of 50 degrees).

Any comments or ideas are welcome

btw the PSU was like £5, it may be that. how can i find out for sure,

is there a diagnostic program i can run that would determine what is causing the problem?

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You wouldn't throw cheap, no-name gas in your shiny new Porsche would you? Okay, you might but would you expect it to run at peak performance? An engine can miss a beat and keep running, not so with digital electronics. Get a good supply. Use the eXtreme PSU Calculator Lite to determine your power supply requirements. Plug in all the hardware you think you might have in 2 or 3 years (extra drives, bigger or 2nd video card, more RAM, etc.). Be sure to read and heed the notes at the bottom. I recommend you set Capacitor Aging to 30% and if you participate in distributive computing projects, I recommend setting TDP to 100%. Then look for brands listed under the "Good" column of PC Mechanic's PSU Reference List. Don't try to save a few quid by getting a cheap supply. A good, well chosen supply will treat your digital electronics right, and provide you years of service and upgrade wiggle room.
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You mentioned your GPU temps but what of your CPU temps? What case do you have and what case fans are installed?

What thermal interface material (TIM) did you use and if applicable, how did you apply it?