[JiggyFly]

So I got a new video card along with some RAM and when I installed them, my computer wouldn't boot up and the fan in my power supply was going crazy. My current system specs are:

200 Watt PSU
Pentium 4 - 3.2 GHZ
120 GB HDD
512 MB RAM DDR PC3200
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
Radeon 9200 - 128 MB RAM DDR

I want to install a Radeon X1600 Pro which has 512 MB RAM DDR2 and 2 GB of RAM DDR2, but the computer does not work with those installed. Is this because of a low PSU or is it something else?

[howardhopkinson]

Hello and welcome to TCF.

Yes, you seriously need to upgraded your PSU.

Take a look at this PSU Calculator.

Regards Howard.

[JiggyFly]

Thanks for the website! So far, it recommends 307 watts so should I go well over that like 600 watts PSU for future upgrades or just go for a 350 or 400 watt PSU? Also, does the type of RAM (DDR and DDR2 in my case) matter when changing video cards or RAM?

[howardhopkinson]

I`d recommend a PSU of around 450 to 500 watts.

Your ram doesn`t matter when changing video cards.

If you do decide to add more ram, just be sure it matches you existing ram. It`s not a good idea to mix brands/sizes/speeds of ram.

Regards Howard.

[JiggyFly]

Does that mean I shouldn't be upgrading from a DDR to a DDR2 when I change RAM? I plan to take out the DDR completely and replace it with the DDR2, would that work at all?

[howardhopkinson]

Your mobo manual will tell you what type of ram it uses.

Make sure you only use the recommended type of ram.

Regards Howard.

[JiggyFly]

Cool, thank you for all of your help!