Does this sound like a power shortage? Random reboots when o/cing

[doogz_4v]

I've got the following:

1 gig (2 x 512) PC3200 Kingston RAM
2 Old CD-ROM drives
2 Old PATA HD's, both 7200. One WD 40 gig, One deathstar 30 gig
GeForce 6800NU (pipes/shader unlocked)
1 80mm Sunon Intake fan
1 92mm Sunon Exhaust fan
1 92mm Sunon fan on the CPU
Athlon Mobile 2400+ running at stock speeds

When the CPU is running at stock speeds, the system is rock solid.

I've got a Supermicro 750sc server case with the original 300W Sparkle PSU. When I overclock the processor, it boots windows just fine. I can run applications, play Doom 3 or other system intensive programs. Once it gets going, it will randomly reboot on me but only when overclocked. Could the amperage draw from the processor being overclocked lead to this? I tried unplugging both CD-ROM drives and two case fans to no avail.

 

[patriot71]

is the video card overclocked? if it is, try running the video card at stock speeds and just overclocking the proccy. see what happens.

if the video card is stock (besides the unlocked pipes), then yeah you are probably maxxing out your psu.

edit:

gotta ask this one....how are temps?

 

[doogz_4v]

is the video card overclocked? if it is, try running the video card at stock speeds and just overclocking the proccy. see what happens.

if the video card is stock (besides the unlocked pipes), then yeah you are probably maxxing out your psu.

edit:

gotta ask this one....how are temps?

Temps right now are 36 ambient, 40 proc. Let me disable the pipes/shader and up the processor to see if the video card is the suspect. Good idea, thanks.

 

[doogz_4v]

I set the video card back to stock settings without the pixel/vertex things enabled. It was operating at stock core/mem settings before, but I put it back to stock anyways.

Processor now runs 100% stable through Prime95's torture test but only on the "Small FFT" option (maximum FPU stress).

When I selected the "In-Place" large FFT option and ran it, it gave an error some time later. This option is the one that says (maximum heat and power consumption).

I'm definately starting to think the power supply is not up to par with everything operating at max capacity. I can't see how enabling a pipe and a vertex shader on the card would affect voltage (if that is what the problem is) enough to cause instabilities with the processor.

 

[LoneWolf]

I ran a system a lot like yours for awhile, and a 300watt PSU wouldn't have been enough at stock speeds. I was running an Athlon XP 2500+ with two hard disks (Caviar SE's), Radeon 9700, several expansion cards, floppies, tape drive, two CD drives and a ton of fans, on an older 400w PSU with 16 amp on the 12v (admittedly top of the line when I'd bought it three years earlier). Every coupld days I'd get a random reboot, especially if I stressed it hard. Replacing the power supply with a 470w dual-12v rail unit fixed all my stability issues. When I replaced the 2500+ with an Athlon XP-M 2500+, overclocking to 2.3GHz was easy.

Replace your PSU with a new high-quality one. I'd bet your power problems will go away.