R9 390 on a Seasonic S12 620W PSU - PC Restarts once game is loaded

neverloggedin

Honorable
Mar 15, 2015
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0
10,510
Hi,

I have a problem where if I try to play graphically intensive games like Witcher, Batman, GTA - the pc restarts when I go into the game world. Now I can open the game and navigate through menus but just when it finishes loading my pc restarts.

I build my PC (first time building) 2 months ago. I could play games for 15 mins + and there was no problem during the first month. It's just recently this started happening. According to TomsHardware PSU tier list, my PSU is in Tier 2 and I posted on reddit whether my PSU could handle it and everyone said yes. Now I'm thinking if I should have gone for a higher watt psu. The R9 390 produces lot of heat and is power hungry and so I am regretting if I should have just bought a GTX 970 instead of this :(

Should I get a new PSU? new graphics card? Or is it some problem with my PSU that i can return it under warranty or is it that my cables haven't connected properly?
 
Your 620W PSU is not enough as it has reached past its max. capacity in running your R9 390 (which runs at a recommended wattage of 650W). The GTX 970, on the other hand, only needs 500W (and your current PSU can provide this).

New PSU vs new GPU? Well... for me, a would go with the cheaper route, that is, changing my PSU. I will be spending 3x if I change that GPU. Now, if you really are regretting that R9 390 purchase and want to get rid of it, maybe it will help to re-sell that card so that the cost for getting a new GPU will be less expensive. You might even consider getting a better and more powerful GTX 980 or GTX 980 Ti instead (which can run on your current 620W too).
 

neverloggedin

Honorable
Mar 15, 2015
7
0
10,510
I found that once the temperatures reach around 70-75 degrees, the PC reboots, which is after around 15 mins of gameplay of Witcher 3.

Numerous users told me even a good 500W PSU can support the R9 390. Seems they were wrong? I thought 620W should be enough :S As I have warranty, I'm thinking of sending the PSU to Seasonic to check for any faults. I don't really want to change the graphics card as R9 390 is so worth the value
 


Check this PSU Requirement Chart listing the types of GPU's and their corresponding PSU recommended wattages. The R9 390 needs 650W Recommended PSU Wattage.

However looking at different non-stock versions of the R9 390 from various manufacturer websites, we can see that there are differences in terms of their cards' Power Consumption. Note that some lists the actual draw power while some lists the actual PSU wattage rating:

SAPPHIRE NITRO R9 390 8G D5
Power Consumption: 375W
System Requirement: 750 Watt Power Supply (Suggestion)

GIGABYTE GV-R939G1 GAMING-8GD WINDFORCE2X
Power Requirement: 600W (with one 8-pin and one 6-pin external power connector)

ASUS R9390-DC2-8GD5
Power Consumption: up to 300W additional 6+8 pin PCIe power required

MSI R9 390 GAMING 8G
Power Consumption: 275W

XFX R9 390 DOUBLE DISSIPATION CORE EDITION
Minimum Power Supply Requirement: 750 watt
XFX Recommended Power Supply: XFX 850W PSU

POWERCOLOR DEVIL 13 DUAL CORE R9 390 16GB GDDR5
Minimum System Power Requirement: 1000W

POWERCOLOR PCS+ R9 390 8GB GDDR5
Minimum System Power Requirement: 750W

Which among these cards are yours?