Uh-oh, PSU problem?

[MJLorenzo]

I've been using my 9800NP for a while, usually cranking it up to about Pro speeds (though the memory couldn't handle exactly Pro) when I enter a game. This worked perfectly fine, I thought it was a stable overclock. Then I stopped, figuring it wasn't healthy, and just played with default clocks, which was fine. So I get HL2 and it runs great.. for about 45 minutes when I see serious artifacting, exactly like I've overclocked the core too high. I checked the clocks; they were nominal. I checked the temperature of the card (basic test with my hand) and it too seemed fine. Now however, I'm starting to get problems outside of games. HL2 will start to artifact right on the title screen, and one morning it even started messing up using Winamp.

Now I'm a little confused however. Once I shutdown the computer and it reported I didn't have the extra power cable plugged into my card, which of course I knew I did. Now I'm looking at ABIT EQ, and it's reporting that my 3.3v rail is 2.94 and all sorts of bells and whistles are going off. Is it more likely the PSU is the problem, or the card? Also, I'm wondering if it's possible the northbridge is overheating? Its heatsink is pretty dusty. Would I see other problems if it were the northbridge?

Here's my setup:

Abit IS7 (i865PE)
Pentium 4C 2.4GHz
1GB DC Corsair XMS3200
Radeon 9800 non-Pro
Thermaltake 480w PSU

 

[TourGuide]

2.94V is a little further off than I'd want it to be. Replacing the PSU might be a good place to start troubleshooting. How is your 12V rail? That is the one your 9800 is running off.

 

[MJLorenzo]

The 12v rail is at 12.1v, so there's really no problem there. The consistent lack of voltage on the +3.3v seems to be the only problem with voltages. All others report nominal values. I also don't seem to have this problem in other games, like World of Warcraft.. maybe the card's pixel shader units are damaged, considering HL2 is the only game I run that relies very heavily on pixel shaders.

 

[MJLorenzo]

Ok now the 3.3v rail is back up to ~3.16v.. still a little low but not like the 2.94 before. I'll try HL2 and see if I still have the problem.