enough power??

[dameros]

Hi

My pc crashes while playing games and even when im surfing the web. It's brand new and i don't think it's the hardware. When i turn the pc on it freezes after a few minutes and i have to reboot and the it works fine. But when i play some games like Guild Wars and BFME2 it crashes again and on Guild Wars it makes a high pitched screeching sound and i have to reboot. I have installed windows(xp) numerous times with the same result. Is it my psu? If not what is it?

p4 570j 3.8ghz
msi nx7800gt
ramos 2gig ddr2 ram
300gig hard drive
windows xp
thermaltake 430w psu
asus p5nd2-sli
realtek AC'97 audio

plz help

 

[ProdigyMS]

With a setup like that the only thing that would lead me to believe is your PSU, there should be no video lag, or anything. Maybe a defective piece of hardware, but it is kind of unlikely. On the side of your PSU, there should be a label with a chart usually. Tell me how many amperages are on the +12v rail. I haven't heard many great things about the Thermaltake PSUs. Also, what are your temperatures at? Does your PC totally reboot when you play a game? And is the screeching sound coming from your PSU?

 

[dameros]

The sound comes from the speakers. It rarely reboots, it usually just freezes and i have to manually reboot. The first time i turn it on it freezes when im not doing anything, i restart then it's fine in windows but in some games it still freezes. As for my psu, there isn't any chart on it or anything, is it possible to check from my BIOS?

 

[ProdigyMS]

It's not possible to see what your +12v rail is through your BIOS or any software that I know of unfortunately. The only way to find out is know your brand, and model, or check the side of your PSU for it, usually the label will be facing you when you take the panel off, unless you installed it backwards, which really doesn't matter.

 

[dameros]

my temps are

cpu-idle 37-59oC
gpu-40-50oC

 

[dameros]

I didn't install the psu so I don't know if it's the wrong way around. I'll seen if i can find my psu specs online.

 

[dameros]

I didn't install the psu so I don't know if it's the wrong way around. I'll seen if i can find my psu specs online.

 

[dameros]

i checked and I have 11amps on the +12v rail.

 

[jap0nes]

are you using updated drivers for all hardware parts?

do you experience power variations at your house?

 

[dameros]

yes, i have the latest drivers for my hardware as for power variations, no.

 

[jap0nes]

well, random freezes usually are hardware related... it could be anything since driver to overheating... it can be bios related too. you can try updating in as last case

you said it's new... you assembled for yourself or is it pre-assembled? if so, you can rma or something

 

[dameros]

I bought the pc of the internet and it was custom made. Will updating the BIOS auto detect the normal setting so it won't crash anymore?

 

[jap0nes]

hmmm no
if you update it will reset to factory default, which doesnt necessarily means it will work. you'll probably have to change something

if you bought it custom built, you should contact the vendor and call for assistance before doing anything for yourself

 

[dameros]

Yea, well i'm pretty stuffed since i bought my pc of trademe.co.nz and the seller has been banned.

 

[dameros]

How do i tell if my hardware is faulty? I went to device manager and it says that everything is working fine.

 

[jap0nes]

uh... then you're f*cked
you can try looking at bios settings before updating... if it has some kind of memory os cpu overclocking, and check for power voltages

 

[dameros]

Yep, i sure am. Also, I haven't done any overclocking. What should i check when i look at the voltages?

 

[jap0nes]

that's the hardest part... one method is to eliminate components one by one, for example: change your video card... if it crashes, then it's not your video card and you do the same with other component.

ah, you can try to look at http://www.memtest.org/, it's a memory test.
bad memory can lead to freezes or sudden reboots...

 

[jap0nes]

check if they're between a +/- 5% margin from reference

 

[dameros]

Ok, thanks a lot. I think i will start with the video card causemy warranty is basically viod anyway. Ill try take the memory sticks out too. But the weird thing is that the crashes aren't exactly random. Every time i turn the pc on it freezes after a few min and then it only freezes when im playing games. If it was a hardware malfunction wouldn't keep freezing after i've restarted the pc after the first crash? My pc crashed this morning and i've been on it for a few hours surfing the web and i haven't crashed. But if i now go on a game it does....

 

[jap0nes]

you welcome
please ask anything and i'll try to help if i can

 

[dameros]

Is it possible that it's a software issue because the pc only freezes at certain times and only on certain applications?

 

[jaguarskx]

i checked and I have 11amps on the +12v rail.

Can you provide a link? 11amps on the +12v rail in a 430w PSU seems very low. that only provides 132 watts of power for your CPU, GPU, motherboard, fans, and hard drives.

 

[dameros]

I found the details on the back of the pc where the back of the psu is. The info is partly covered by the metal rails, it is 11amps but it might have 2 +12v rails.....

 

[dameros]

I think the model is Thermaltake T-8020a. I can't read it properly but I think it's that.