PC Cuts Out on intense usage
Hi everyone !
Right now where to begin. I have the most bizarre problem with my PC. First of all my PC spec is as follows :
Gigabyte K7 Triton Motherboard (7NNXP)
AMD Athlon 3200+ procesor
1 Gb DDR 3200 RAM ( 2 x 512 Mb Sticks )
Gainward 256 Mb 6800 GT Graphics Card (3 days old)
2 x 120GB Maxtor HDDs
160 GB Maxtor SATA HDD
Promise Ultra Card
Thermaltake Xaser V series case
Q-Tec 550W Dual Fan PSU
NEC RW-DVD Drive
Lite-on RW-CD Drive
Right now this is the problem. Ive had a number of problems with my PC in recents months and as such have done a complete overhaul of my PC. However earlier this summer once I had fitted all my new equipment into my new motherboard I thought I had my PC workin properly. However I played a movie on it and a blue screen came up saying there was a problem with some of my hardware or I didnt have the correct drivers and it was shutting my computer down after doing a memory dump. I re-installed windows XP pro and i thought that had fixed the poblem. However I played a movie and the pc just powered down for a split second and then it restarted itself but nothin came on the screen. No start-up no memory check the monitor was totally blank, but the PC still had power to it and was running. I assumed this meant that I had a dodgy graphics card, which seemed reasonable because it was probably the weakest link in my machine at the time. So i bought a new 6800 GT card for a lot of money. However I had the exact same problem. This time I was playing doom 3 and the computer powered down for a split second and then continued running but the screen remained blank.I messed around a little pulled out components and put things back in, and after a while it seemingly randomly started again. So this time I formated my drive and installed w2k. The motherboard drivers and the latest nvida graphics drivers. This time I started playing need for speed underground and the exact same thing happened. I have a 550W psu so it cant be lack of power. I have a new graphics card. My motherboard is new ( however i think one option is that its faulty ). The other thing I think it may be is that I have a problem with one of my HDDs. It seems whenever Im doing something intense ( so far each time its happened, somethig itenense and graphics related ) my PC just cant seem to cope. Ive had this re-curring problem for about 8 weeks and im completely stumped. I just cant think of a reasonable explanation and Ive thrown so much money at it now thats its just ridiculous that im still having problems. Some1 please help !
Right now where to begin. I have the most bizarre problem with my PC. First of all my PC spec is as follows :
Gigabyte K7 Triton Motherboard (7NNXP)
AMD Athlon 3200+ procesor
1 Gb DDR 3200 RAM ( 2 x 512 Mb Sticks )
Gainward 256 Mb 6800 GT Graphics Card (3 days old)
2 x 120GB Maxtor HDDs
160 GB Maxtor SATA HDD
Promise Ultra Card
Thermaltake Xaser V series case
Q-Tec 550W Dual Fan PSU
NEC RW-DVD Drive
Lite-on RW-CD Drive
Right now this is the problem. Ive had a number of problems with my PC in recents months and as such have done a complete overhaul of my PC. However earlier this summer once I had fitted all my new equipment into my new motherboard I thought I had my PC workin properly. However I played a movie on it and a blue screen came up saying there was a problem with some of my hardware or I didnt have the correct drivers and it was shutting my computer down after doing a memory dump. I re-installed windows XP pro and i thought that had fixed the poblem. However I played a movie and the pc just powered down for a split second and then it restarted itself but nothin came on the screen. No start-up no memory check the monitor was totally blank, but the PC still had power to it and was running. I assumed this meant that I had a dodgy graphics card, which seemed reasonable because it was probably the weakest link in my machine at the time. So i bought a new 6800 GT card for a lot of money. However I had the exact same problem. This time I was playing doom 3 and the computer powered down for a split second and then continued running but the screen remained blank.I messed around a little pulled out components and put things back in, and after a while it seemingly randomly started again. So this time I formated my drive and installed w2k. The motherboard drivers and the latest nvida graphics drivers. This time I started playing need for speed underground and the exact same thing happened. I have a 550W psu so it cant be lack of power. I have a new graphics card. My motherboard is new ( however i think one option is that its faulty ). The other thing I think it may be is that I have a problem with one of my HDDs. It seems whenever Im doing something intense ( so far each time its happened, somethig itenense and graphics related ) my PC just cant seem to cope. Ive had this re-curring problem for about 8 weeks and im completely stumped. I just cant think of a reasonable explanation and Ive thrown so much money at it now thats its just ridiculous that im still having problems. Some1 please help !
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Comments
Absolutely false... Id bet it is the power. Either that unit is defective or its a low end unit. The 6800 requires so much power they put 2 molex jacks on it. Be sure that you have the power to the graphics card plugged in. If it is, id seriously look into a new PSU.
Not all PSU's are good even at 550w
voltages and temps
run memtest
Long story short I put in a better PSU and the problems went away.
BTW Gobbles the 6800GT only has one molex, the Ultra has 2 but I think the GT is nearly as power hungry.
Q-tec = pile of crap
I've used one of those 550w psu's and its cheaper than a Mosside crack tart. Very poorly built, ie flimsy & crappy capacitors that leak more than the said tart, and cant hold a stable voltage to save it's life.
ok guys im gonna try a new psu, any recommendations?
bearing in mind that i have a thermaltake case with 7 fans, and LEDs galore, a fan control unit which takes 2 power connectors, a 6800GT graphics card and yeh it does only have one power connector on it, 3 hdds, 3 optical drives, a promise ultra card and a floppy drive. so i need plenty of power. I cant run mem test at the moment cause I havent even got my computer back up to speed yet ! still recomendations appreciated and thanks for the help.
only other question I have is that if its the psu, and my computer isnt getting enough power, once it resets itself, why doesnt it restart, instead my monitor remaining blank with nothing coming up until i mess around with the internal components at which point it seems to randomly work ?
Anyhow, I'm hesitant to say that the PSU is absolutely, 100% certainly your problem. It very well could be though. Do you have a multimeter by any chance?
Also, I'd try running memtest on it. You can get the program here:
http://www.memtest86.com/#download1
If it runs for an hour without errors, your memory is most likely not the culprit. If it starts showing a ton of errors, you can stop the test because you've found at least one of your problems- one or both sticks of your ram is bad. Then you need to re-test the sticks individually to find the bad one.
It could also be the Gigabyte board; Gigabyte is not highly regarded by most people around here... (although fwiw, the gigabyte dual P2/3 board worked fine for the 10 minutes or so it was on when I had it)
Let's not throw money at the thing without knowing that it'll do some good, hmm?
For a new PSU, there are basically three brands I'd consider:
Antec, Enermax, and PC Power & Cooling
Antec and PCP&C are probably your best bet; I use Enermax PSes on some of my machines, and they've always worked very well. However, there are more people in my experience that have had problems with them than either Antec or PCP&C. Also, this ad compares a 550w Enermax to a 510w PC Power & Cooling unit, and the claims they make are all true:
http://www.pcpowerandcooling.com/pdf/Turbo-Cool_510_vs.pdf
So, if you can get them in the UK, and you're willing to spend the money on it, a PC Power & Cooling unit is the best thing on the market, followed by Antec and Enermax in that order.
As for recommendations i'd try Antec, FSP Fortron or Thermaltake. Alot of people here like Enermax but I've had two rogue one's and wont use them anymore.
For psu's try overclock.co.uk, they have a good range, their prices are ok and their customer support is top notch
Overclock.co.uk - PSU page
Forgot about Fortron. They're another good brand to consider. You also might consider Vantec, Thermaltake (as Jimborae mentioned), and any Sparkle PS with "FSP" in the part number (indicating that it's a Fortron-OEM'd PS). However, PC Power & Cooling is the best manufacturer out there, period, bar none, and Antec is probably second. Fortron and Enermax are excellent, and the Vantec and Thermaltake are also supposed to be decent.
Also, i have used an antec 450w smartpower in my rig below for about 4 months without any problems, but if you are going to buy new you might as well go modular!