New PSU?

[kkpudge7]

Hey guys,

I have another thread over in the general hardware forum, but I thought I would ask the question here, as I am narrowing my problem down.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339002

I have this psu powering the rig in sig. I have read many places where people recommend at least 32amps for the 4870.

first question: is the PCIe rail part of the 12v rail?

second question: since my PSU only has 19amps on the 12v rails could this cause restarting problems under gaming loads such as UT3 and Cod4?

UT3 wont run at all and Cod4 randomly restarts, sometimes it takes 3 hours, and once it restarted in about 30 minutes.

I was thinking about getting the Corsair 850. But I want to make sure this is my problem.

[Evilsizer]

it isnt to me it sounds like the cpu may not be getting enough voltage. secondly it might be possibly the video card not getting enough current. however the stated 36amps if for psu's with single 12v rails. yours has 4, one 12v rail just feeds the cpu, another to the mobo which allos powers the PCIE SLOTS. remember the pcie slot can send up to 75watts, then the PCIE 6pin connector is to another 12v rail. you have more then enough, if you want a easy way to know. if you have second psu floating around, use it to power just the video card.

[grndragon57]

The 32A recommendation is for the combined amperage on all the 12V rails your HEC PSU has 720 watts combined on the 12V rails ( 720 watts / 12V = 60A ). So by the ratings the HEC PSU should power your system with no problems. However HEC/Compucase don't have a very good reputation for quality so it may be the cause of your problem. Depending on your budget the Corsair would be a good upgrade.

If you can borrow another PSU to test in your system, it would either prove the PSU is the problem or eliminate it.

[kkpudge7]

I think my problem might be twofold... Its just hard to pin down. I realize that my PSU is bottom grade, I just didn't know a whole lot about them at the time of my build, and I put my limited amount of funds into other parts.

One odd thing that is happening is that Cod4 only seems to restart when I have windows media player running in the back ground, or p95. I played for about 3 hours last night with no problems, but I made sure it was the only task running.

Also, UT3 works with only 2GB of ram installed. It did restart on me once with one of the sticks, but the other one I played for about 45 minutes. The one that restarted on me I fired it up again and played for about 25 minutes before I had to leave. I'm going to further test that theory tonight and see if I cant pin point exactly which DIMM is unstable. BTW I'm running default speeds on everything right now, all the speedstep and C1E is set to default as well.

The weird thing is that both of my DIMMs passed 3 hours of stability on memtest86+.

[kkpudge7]

This is so random.....I cant recreate the problem! it just happens whenever it feels like it. My UT3 with only 2gb of ram installed failed miserably last night, restarted both times before the match even started.

Then I decided to see what would happen with all 4gb installed with cod4. I ran p95 blend in the back ground. Played for 2 hours last night, worked perfect. I decided to leave p95 run over night. Everything was stable for 8 hours. Played some cod4 this morning with p95 still running from last night, and the computer restarted within 10 minutes.


...................

[kkpudge7]

I have made a discovery tonight that I think points my problem in the direction of my PSU for sure now. Setting UT3 to 800x600 it works perfectly. The reason I may have not noticed this problem (prior to trying ut3) is that I never had sessions of 3hours where I was trying to get my computer to fail.

It was just recently that I played cod4 that long, so the problem was probably present then, I just didnt notice it. It would also explain why my memory is passing memtest with no errors.

Ive read that Ut3 can be a very picky game, and Cod4 restarts when I'm running p95 or WMP, putting the computer under heavy load. I also read in my research that when a computer shuts down due to power failure of somekind (in my case insufficiant power), it will not BSOD. This is what is happening to me even with the "restart automatically on failure" option unchecked.

Wheter it went bad somewhere along the way, or just isnt a good brand psu and hasnt held up to the abuse that I have put it through, I think that it is the culprit of my problems.

What do you guys think of my theory?

[RollingThunder]

I have made a discovery tonight that I think points my problem in the direction of my PSU for sure now. Setting UT3 to 800x600 it works perfectly. The reason I may have not noticed this problem (prior to trying ut3) is that I never had sessions of 3hours where I was trying to get my computer to fail.

It was just recently that I played cod4 that long, so the problem was probably present then, I just didnt notice it. It would also explain why my memory is passing memtest with no errors.

Ive read that Ut3 can be a very picky game, and Cod4 restarts when I'm running p95 or WMP, putting the computer under heavy load. I also read in my research that when a computer shuts down due to power failure of somekind (in my case insufficiant power), it will not BSOD. This is what is happening to me even with the "restart automatically on failure" option unchecked.

Wheter it went bad somewhere along the way, or just isnt a good brand psu and hasnt held up to the abuse that I have put it through, I think that it is the culprit of my problems.

What do you guys think of my theory?

KK,

Just because your RAMs passed Memtest does not mean they are good. Memtest is only a preliminary test and not conclusive.

What is your procedure for RAM testing?

Heres mine:

1. Memtest86+ from a boot disk, 4 or 5 full passes, more is better.
2. Superpi 32mb test
3. Orthos (or Prime95) minimum 8 hours.

When you run Prime95, you shouldn't be running games in the background. Your computer should have exclusive rights for Prime95, otherwise your only guessing what's failing. Run it when you're asleep.

RAMS can pass Memtest and fail Superpi, they can also pass Memtest and Superpi and fail Orthos (Prime95). You need to test RAMs conclusively, otherwise you're guessing. Check your power supply voltage with a DMM in one of your molex plugs when under load, look at the tops of your capacitors to see if they are bulged or leaking.

Corrupt video drivers can cause errors. With all your restarts, files can become corrupt.

[kkpudge7]

I ran Memtest on each individual stick for 10 passes with no errors. Then with both installed for 10 passes. And I'm 12 hours p95 stable on blend and small fft. Ill get a tester and test the psu like you suggested, and i'll l look at the caps right now. I also just reinstalled windows last night, because I thought maybe the culprit was corrupt files.

[RollingThunder]

I ran Memtest on each individual stick for 10 passes with no errors. Then with both installed for 10 passes. And I'm 12 hours p95 stable on blend and small fft. Ill get a tester and test the psu like you suggested, and i'll l look at the caps right now. I also just reinstalled windows last night, because I thought maybe the culprit was corrupt files.

KK,

OK. :thup: You got your RAM tests fine. You tested them overclocked if you are? If you're overclocked, might think about running default until you can pin it down. A clean install certainly will help. Could be a heat problem too, hard to say but running stock for a while while you sort it out will help.

Of course a spare power supply try would help but not everyone keeps a big one as a spare. And I agree buying another power supply without knowing for sure is tough do do. You already know your current power supply isn't the best available so I won't dwell on it.

[kkpudge7]

does this help any rolling thunder?

Games will only restart the computer when I play them maxed out on my 24'' screen
(1920x1200). If I play them on my second screen (1024x768) everything is fine. My guess is that when my 4870 kicks into high gear to generate the 1920x1200 it draws too much power from the psu, which gives me the failure.

I still need to try testing one of the rails under load to see what it does.

[Evilsizer]

yea that would be a PSU issue since higher res with aa/af puts all the load on the gpu. with it at a lower res like that the majority of the gaming load is on the cpu.

if your in the US/CA you can get a corsair 650TX for $99 then there is a $20 MIR. makes for a killer deal!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
or go for the 750TX at $119 then $20 mir making it $99, not bad either IMO.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

[kkpudge7]

Those are really good prices. I really like the 750w model, bc I may purchase a 4870x2 if the budget permits me to, so I'd like to get a psu that has some backbone.

I would like to try and find a good modular model if possible though. The corsair 850 on newegg says that its modular, but all the reviews state that it is not. Other than the 1000w and 520w corsair models, anybody have some suggestions on a good one?

if not i might just go with that 750 corsair.

[Evilsizer]

well you are going to pay for modular, here is a list of ones i would go after.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371017
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194022
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194021
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153063
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817379003

in case you want a bit larger psu hit up this thread (http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=589708).