GPU Loses power, bad PSU?

aflores832

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Every time I start a game, within 5-10 minutes of playing, I'll lose signal to my monitor, but I can still here ambient sounds and such ie in game sounds, then it comes back as if nothing happened, I also noticed that my GPU power consumption dropped from 70-90% to about 9-11%. Also, recently, I noticed one of my case fans wouldn't turn on when I started my system, when I changed moleg chords it worked fine, could my PSU be going bad already? I recently got a GTX 780 in February, and a new power supply on Black Friday, any help/advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance!
 

breakfastdude

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What do you mean when you said 'GPU power consumption'? Do you have something like a watt-meter connected directly to the power sources of your GPU, directly measuring its power consumption? Or did you mean GPU usage, like when using the monitoring window of the MSI Afterburner?
 
Hi Aflores,

We don`t know what brand of power supply you currently have or it`s wattage or the total amps that it can output on the 12v rail.

But a bit of advice is this, if the Psu is old as say two or three years. and had a hard life.
It most likely needs replacing.
Power supplys don`t just break in some cases they just degrade due to age, where power distribution, slowly reduce as components of the psu become less efficient.

So if it`s age it`s likely the cause.
You stated the power was down on a molex cord, so it would indicate that depending on how the Psu works being a single rail 12v or a multi powered psu 12v rail its on it`s way out.

The pointer is also if it works fine on windows desktop, but always crashses when high load or demand is required from it such as running a game because extra power for 780 card is required.
 

aflores832

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Yeah, it's in EVGA precision X, sorry for not being more specific! :p
 

Lucas Iemini

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Well, Antec is a fnie brand, but their PSU are not usually the best option especially for gaming with a high performance VGA like yours, and judging by the problem, I would say that the PSU capacitors are damaged, or the current on the 12V pin is too low. You mentioned EVGA, this is a great brand with very good products and one of their PSU would do the trick perfectly, but if you want more options, I recommend Corsair GS800W, and XFX PRO SERIES 750W... these are the best options for you rig ! I hope I helped you !
 

aflores832

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Well, looks like it's time for another upgrade! Thank you very much, I'll probably end up going with an EVGA just got to shop around a bit!
 
For a system using a single GeForce GTX 780 graphics card NVIDIA specifies a minimum of a 600 Watt or greater system power supply that has a maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 42 Amps or greater and that has at least one 6-pin and one 8-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors.

Total Power Supply Wattage is NOT the crucial factor in power supply selection!!! Sufficient Total Combined Continuous Power/Current Available on the +12V Rail(s) is the most critical factor.

Overclocking of the CPU and/or GPU(s) may require an additional increase to the maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current ratings, recommended above, to meet the increase in power required for the overclock. The additional amount required will depend on the magnitude of the overclock being attempted.

The Antec TruePower Classic 750W (TP-750C) power supply unit, with its maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 62 Amps and with six (6+2)-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors, is way more than sufficient to power your system configuration with a single GeForce GTX 780 graphics card.

The Antec TruePower Classic 750W (TP-750C) uses Seasonic as the OEM.

What is the GPU temperature at the time of this video dropout?

Are you using the latest NVIDIA GeForce Drivers? Microsoft Visual C++ runtime libraries? DirectX version?
 

Lucas Iemini

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You're welcome! EVGA has powerful power supplys, you wont be disappointed...
 

Lucas Iemini

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Even with the theorically good specs, the PSU is not good enough to run the system, its components must be DAMAGED, or the Age of its transistors have been severally inducted by the temperature, I am 100% that the problem is his PSU and I would bet my leg on it
 


The Antec TruePower Classic 750W (TP-750C) was only introduced onto the market a few months ago.

It has a 5 Year Warranty. If there is really a problem with it then an RMA should be initiated with Antec to have it replaced. There's no need to waste a large sum of money buying a new PSU when it's not needed.

The two EVGA 750W models that are available are definitely not better in quality or electrical performance.
 

Lucas Iemini

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Age of a transistor is not about time, but about how it performs after being used under great "pressure" and high temperatures, a transistor is a non-linear componet and is a crucial piece in any kind of Supplys for any kind of application! For instance, a transistor applied in a Stereo radio is less likely to suffer for temperature issues than one in a TV transmissor's Power Supply... The application is related to the age of a transistor..
 

Lucas Iemini

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Age of a transistor is not about time, but about how it performs after being used under great "pressure" and high temperatures, a transistor is a non-linear componet and is a crucial piece in any kind of Supplys for any kind of application! For instance, a transistor applied in a Stereo radio is less likely to suffer for temperature issues than one in a TV transmissor's Power Supply... The application is related to the age of a transistor..
 

Lucas Iemini

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Age of a transistor is not about time, but about how it performs after being used under great "pressure" and high temperatures, a transistor is a non-linear componet and is a crucial piece in any kind of Supplys for any kind of application! For instance, a transistor applied in a Stereo radio is less likely to suffer for temperature issues than one in a TV transmissor's Power Supply... The application is related to the age of a transistor..
 

Lucas Iemini

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Feb 26, 2014
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Age of a transistor is not about time, but about how it performs after being used under great "pressure" and high temperatures, a transistor is a non-linear componet and is a crucial piece in any kind of Supplys for any kind of application! For instance, a transistor applied in a Stereo radio is less likely to suffer for temperature issues than one in a TV transmissor's Power Supply... The application is related to the age of a transistor..
 


How can the OP's PSU be "under great "pressure""?

The Antec TruePower Classic 750W (TP-750C) is way more than is needed for the OP's system configuration.

The Infineon MOSFETs and FETs used in this PSU are all properly heatsinked. The operating temperature of those transistors is up to 150°C but is kept well below that.
 

Lucas Iemini

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It's not about the PSU itself!! Its components are clearly beaten up somehow, I believe it is because of the temperature, a bad heatsink architecture is probably what is deteriorating the components so quickly, this PSU is like a time bomb waiting to screw up whats around it! Theres no other explanation, the guy said he is having problems!!! I have seen PSU go useless for much less than that, why is it so impossible for you?
 


So far you haven't provided any verifiable explanation or proof of the cause.
 

Lucas Iemini

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Are you kidding me? Do you really think temperature is NOT A THING? When it comes to electronic, my friend, transistors are responsible for most of the innovations in this crazy world of ours, and do you even know what it is made of? do you even know how it works? do you REALLY THINK high temperatures and bad architecture doesnt damage the components??? FOR REAL? even capacitors may have a leak when exposed to high temperatures, resistors can literally blow up... And that is not a thing?
 


So have you proven that the OP's system is experiencing high operating temperatures?

So far you've proven nothing.
 

Lucas Iemini

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Lol, have YOU proven anything? you believe the problem is in the OS? okay, it could be, but the problem is not only in his video card, but with his coolers, and power consuption, and since coolers are not Firmware controlled, I would bet on it. I cant prove anything because I am respondig to a forum online, I am not by his side testing his system and even if I was, I dont have to prove anything to you. My experience tells me enough to be sure that the problem is the PSU, and thats the end of that! I hope I could help aflores832 ! Goodbye to you ko888, I hope you can learn something in these forums cause you surely need it...
 

Karadjgne

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An option missed, it could also be the monitor. Under normal screens like windows, there isn't much demand on the monitor. During gaming with its constant high refresh especially from something as powerful as a 780, it may just be overheating and shutting down output. It would explain why he gets sounds still and not picture, and also the drop in power out from the gpu if there is no picture to be refreshed. How old is the monitor and when were the top heat slots last dusted?
 


Your statement "I would say that the PSU capacitors are damaged, or the current on the 12V pin is too low."

Did you get the OP to check the voltage on both +12V rails?

How did you determine that the capacitors are damaged? What constitutes a damaged capacitor in your thinking? Is the OP just suppose to take your word for it?

Nothing you've said has been shown to be the cause.

One case cooling fan not turning can be attributed to a loose 4-pin Molex peripheral connector and was solved when the OP changed to another connector.

The graphics card's power consumption dropping can be caused by the graphics card's own thermal throttling. Even a bad interaction between the game and graphics card driver can cause it.

@aflores832 you need to monitor the system voltages and device temperatures to determine their values at the time the problem happens or you'll end up buying and replacing components that don't need to be replaced. Also check the Windows Event Logs for Error events that may tell you what caused the problem.