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Baffled by PC behavior

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  • Power Supplies
  • Graphics Cards
  • Components
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a b ) Power supply
a b U Graphics card
October 1, 2014 1:22:22 PM

Hello TomsHardware. I am having the most bizarre issues lately. I have had issues occasionally and talked about them, but everybody was baffled. I am now having another one: for the past week or two, when watching YouTube, sometimes my PC just turns off as if it was unplugged. When it turns back on, it goes into the BIOS saying it is unstable and at stock again. I change some DRAM voltages or just mess with really anything and it sometimes it fixes it, sometimes not. I didn't think too much of it when it first happened. Now it is getting much more frequent. My overclocks have always been stable and stress tested for a long time. My GPUs were good, my CPU was, my RAM, everything. Now it just does this. No minidumps or anything. Also, I updated my GPU driver two days ago from 14.4 to 14.9. Now, after just a very few minutes of Battlefield 3, it just freezes. No sound. Just freezes. I completely removed 14.9 and went straight back to 14.4. Same deal. My overclocks have been perfectly fine. I tried using Intel HD, and it worked. 2 hours straight, no issues. It is probably PSU, but I don't know. I use my Kill A Watt and see that power drops to 200 Watts right after the crash, but stays a constant 400 or so while playing. Any help?

More about : baffled behavior

a b ) Power supply
a b U Graphics card
October 1, 2014 1:27:51 PM

flaky PSU. Try another one. The CX series is a relatively poor quality unit with a good name. Dont know how much faith you can put into the measurements, maybe, maybe not, I'd try another unit since that is easy enough to try.
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a b ) Power supply
a b U Graphics card
October 1, 2014 1:52:39 PM

notherdude said:
flaky PSU. Try another one. The CX series is a relatively poor quality unit with a good name. Dont know how much faith you can put into the measurements, maybe, maybe not, I'd try another unit since that is easy enough to try.


I am not sure if I can afford an upgrade as of now. I am currently selling my GPUs to upgrade to a GTX 970 and do not really think I am able to try a different PSU. I don't understand why the GPUs would start crashing as soon as an update was made.
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Related resources
a b ) Power supply
a b U Graphics card
October 1, 2014 1:58:28 PM

Andrew Buck said:
notherdude said:
flaky PSU. Try another one. The CX series is a relatively poor quality unit with a good name. Dont know how much faith you can put into the measurements, maybe, maybe not, I'd try another unit since that is easy enough to try.


I am not sure if I can afford an upgrade as of now. I am currently selling my GPUs to upgrade to a GTX 970 and do not really think I am able to try a different PSU. I don't understand why the GPUs would start crashing as soon as an update was made.


OK. Well, maybe if you keep digging you'll find a fix. Sudden power loss could be PSU or maybe s short \shorting component - might be worth pulling all the parts, dusting off and carefully rebuilding it.


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a b ) Power supply
a b U Graphics card
October 1, 2014 2:00:38 PM

notherdude said:
Andrew Buck said:
notherdude said:
flaky PSU. Try another one. The CX series is a relatively poor quality unit with a good name. Dont know how much faith you can put into the measurements, maybe, maybe not, I'd try another unit since that is easy enough to try.


I am not sure if I can afford an upgrade as of now. I am currently selling my GPUs to upgrade to a GTX 970 and do not really think I am able to try a different PSU. I don't understand why the GPUs would start crashing as soon as an update was made.


OK. Well, maybe if you keep digging you'll find a fix. Sudden power loss could be PSU or maybe s short \shorting component - might be worth pulling all the parts, dusting off and carefully rebuilding it.




I did pull out the GPUs a few days ago to clean them as well as redoing cable management and re-applying thermal paste, so everything is pretty much dust-free and all of the parts have pretty much been pulled out. Something worth thought - my PC is on carpet with the fan facing down almost into the carpet. Would that possibly be what is causing it to maybe overheat with dust and no airflow?
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a b ) Power supply
a b U Graphics card
October 1, 2014 2:23:01 PM

No change. Still crashing. Will rebuild soon, just testing without Crossfire right now.
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a b ) Power supply
a b U Graphics card
October 1, 2014 2:36:25 PM

Andrew Buck said:
notherdude said:
Andrew Buck said:
notherdude said:
flaky PSU. Try another one. The CX series is a relatively poor quality unit with a good name. Dont know how much faith you can put into the measurements, maybe, maybe not, I'd try another unit since that is easy enough to try.


I am not sure if I can afford an upgrade as of now. I am currently selling my GPUs to upgrade to a GTX 970 and do not really think I am able to try a different PSU. I don't understand why the GPUs would start crashing as soon as an update was made.


OK. Well, maybe if you keep digging you'll find a fix. Sudden power loss could be PSU or maybe s short \shorting component - might be worth pulling all the parts, dusting off and carefully rebuilding it.




I did pull out the GPUs a few days ago to clean them as well as redoing cable management and re-applying thermal paste, so everything is pretty much dust-free and all of the parts have pretty much been pulled out. Something worth thought - my PC is on carpet with the fan facing down almost into the carpet. Would that possibly be what is causing it to maybe overheat with dust and no airflow?


Anything is worth trying. If you suspect overheating then get it off the carpet but also back off the overclock. If this stops the problem then gradually crank up the clock until it is stable. Some overclocks weaken over time and a questionable PSU could also make a once stable overclock no longer stable.
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a b ) Power supply
a b U Graphics card
October 1, 2014 2:49:07 PM

notherdude said:
Andrew Buck said:
notherdude said:
Andrew Buck said:
notherdude said:
flaky PSU. Try another one. The CX series is a relatively poor quality unit with a good name. Dont know how much faith you can put into the measurements, maybe, maybe not, I'd try another unit since that is easy enough to try.


I am not sure if I can afford an upgrade as of now. I am currently selling my GPUs to upgrade to a GTX 970 and do not really think I am able to try a different PSU. I don't understand why the GPUs would start crashing as soon as an update was made.


OK. Well, maybe if you keep digging you'll find a fix. Sudden power loss could be PSU or maybe s short \shorting component - might be worth pulling all the parts, dusting off and carefully rebuilding it.




I did pull out the GPUs a few days ago to clean them as well as redoing cable management and re-applying thermal paste, so everything is pretty much dust-free and all of the parts have pretty much been pulled out. Something worth thought - my PC is on carpet with the fan facing down almost into the carpet. Would that possibly be what is causing it to maybe overheat with dust and no airflow?


Anything is worth trying. If you suspect overheating then get it off the carpet but also back off the overclock. If this stops the problem then gradually crank up the clock until it is stable. Some overclocks weaken over time and a questionable PSU could also make a once stable overclock no longer stable.


Even at stock settings, it still crashes. It does not seem to crash with Crossfire. I will test the cards individually and get back to you.
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!