Computer restarts in quake 4!! Help

[Aaron60060]

My computer restarts when I encounter an extremely demanding situation in quake 4 with all settings maxed out.

I have:
x1800x 512
p551 3.4ghz
1gb ddr400
450wOkia PSU
IDE HD
5 Fans
1 DvdRw drive

So I have a couple of concerns. First and foremost, my system is stable during alot of other games, and there are no problems. When I set everything to max in quake 4, during high stress situations, the machine restarts. It only happens during quake 4. Temps get hot, but read 70C after a crash.

Can anyone let me know if it's just that I have an insufficient power supply, and if so, is running the x1800xt bad for the card as such?

Thanks!

 

[swifty_morgan]

Could be heat related. You can have twenty fans, but how they push, and draw air, is what counts. Also, a lousy case can have an effect

But, having said that..................

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1648064&sku=TC3J-1048

That powwer supply is a cheap piece of junk. Don't want to insult you in any way. The amperage isn't up to par either.

It would be okay for an older machine with components that have less demand.

Make sure you have all the updates for the game. updating all your drivers might not be a bad place to start either. but I still think it's the psu.

 

[badge]

My computer restarts when I encounter an extremely demanding situation in quake 4 with all settings maxed out.

I have:
x1800x 512
p551 3.4ghz
1gb ddr400
450wOkia PSU
IDE HD
5 Fans
1 DvdRw drive

So I have a couple of concerns. First and foremost, my system is stable during alot of other games, and there are no problems. When I set everything to max in quake 4, during high stress situations, the machine restarts. It only happens during quake 4. Temps get hot, but read 70C after a crash.

Can anyone let me know if it's just that I have an insufficient power supply, and if so, is running the x1800xt bad for the card as such?

Thanks!

Update to latest vid drivers, or different driver. Hope this helps.

 

[prozac26]

Like badge said, update all drivers.

But it's your power supply, you can get a goof FSP Fortran Source power supply for about $50, which would be a great improvement over your current one.

 

[GeneticWeapon]

450wOkia PSU

There's the problem. Thats brand is one of those cheapgumball machine power supplies that come free with your case.

Talk about an unsteady, unclean current :roll:

 

[phreejak]

There are a couple of reasons that you could be rebooting. Of course, as the others have suggested, heat is often a frequent concern and may very be the cause.

In scanning various forums about your PSU I've noticed alot of complaints concerning rebooting and shutting down with respect to the Okia 450. At first glance it is ok as far as specs - dual 12v rail at 15 & 18 amps. It may be that your GPU is overwhelming a rail when setting quake to max settings. I do know that quake 4 is used in gaming benchnmarking so it is an intense game. Have you tried playing quake 4 on alightly lesser settings and see how your system handles it?

 

[Aaron60060]

I have tried reducing the settings, however it hasn't had much of an effect. Even when I try running it with an open case + box fan and AC it's rebooting, and the temps are really not that bad, from what I've read. I guess when it gets hardcore the load is just too much for the PSU. Thanks everyone, Much appreciate.

 

[maury73]

70°C after restart is too hot, because it's already dropped down by at least 4-5°C.
Provide better cooling, first of all with a better case.

 

[Aaron60060]

There are a couple of reasons that you could be rebooting. Of course, as the others have suggested, heat is often a frequent concern and may very be the cause.

In scanning various forums about your PSU I've noticed alot of complaints concerning rebooting and shutting down with respect to the Okia 450. At first glance it is ok as far as specs - dual 12v rail at 15 & 18 amps. It may be that your GPU is overwhelming a rail when setting quake to max settings. I do know that quake 4 is used in gaming benchnmarking so it is an intense game. Have you tried playing quake 4 on alightly lesser settings and see how your system handles it?

My PSU is now dead. It shot some flames and sparks around for a few seconds before I could shut it down while maxed out in quake again. Unfortunately, I now get to buy a power supply to see if my entire rig is dust. Hopefully, nothing got damaged, but I'm going to keep temps monitored. Does coolermaster make good PSUs?

 

[phreejak]

Their PSUs are alright. What kind of budget are you looking at as far as purchasing a PSU?

Here are two reviews, of midrange and highend PSUs, that you might find helpful

http://techreport.com/reviews/2004q4/psus/index.x?pg=1

http://www.bytesizedreviews.com/?rev_id=302

 

[Aaron60060]

I went out and got an antec 550 HE, and it's running my machine pretty well, though I'm nervous to run quake 4 because I don't want flames to shoot out of my power supply again!

Wish me luck!

 

[octop8]

I've been running Quake 4 on my TP2 550W and it's fine 90% of the time. Had some problems with the game always crashing at the same spot when I loaded from a particular save game but when I load to an earlier save game and replay to the same spot, it tends to be ok.

 

[KlaasVaak]

Wish me luck!

Good luck, I hope all goes well.

 

[NeonDeon]

Your overclocking your system... scale it back, get a better PSU, get your self a real case, do away with all those damn fans. If your case is large and well designed you will need no more than 2-3 fans.

 

[yourmothersanastronaut]

Just out of curiosity, what other games do you run that work fine?

And the Neo HE is a pretty nice unit, albeit a little expensive for 550W. How much did you pay for it?

 

[Slava]

My PSU is now dead.

:lol: Dude, you should have listened. When the PC works fine 95% of the time but shuts down and reboots when under severe stress it is almost always the PSU not delivering enough power.

Your video card requires a PSU of certain output. Not sure what it is for your video card but ATI recommends, for example, a 450Wt PSU (check what exactly is recommended for your card).

Then, when buying a new PSU, check the box for detailed specifications. Make sure that the PSU Continuous Output (also called Sustained Output) is at least equal to what is recommended by ATI. Maximum (or Peak) output may be greater than recommended but this number is irrelevant for your purposes.

 

[Aaron60060]

It was my GPU at 70C. Btw, I had my computer restart randomly again. I'm not sure why, because it wasn't under any particular strain. I thought for sure the antec would be fine. Any ideas?

 

[ikjadoon]

It restarted again?

Odd. I'd check in Event Viewer (Start, Programs, Admin. Tools, Event Viewer or Ctrl+Alt+Delete, File, New Task, Eventvwr.exe.). Also want to turn off automatic restart. Start, Settings, Control Panel, System, Advanced, Settings under Startup and Recovery, uncheck automatically restart.

I'd also check your PSU rails, though they should be stellar. Go into your BIOS, something about Power or voltages? Note what it says next to 12V.

~Ibrahim~

 

[Aaron60060]

I have everest professional edition, and it says all of the voltages are fine, but is there a way to guarantee accuracy without an external voltmeter/ameter?

 

[ikjadoon]

The BIOS is usually the best you can get without an external device. So the rails seem to be OK...What did it say in Event Viewer?

~Ibrahim~

 

[Aaron60060]

I'm actually working right now, so I haven't yet had an opportunity to examine what is says in the event viewer yet. I've done alot with PC's, but never messed with the power supply. Could the problem be I've only got 20 of 24 pins for my motherboard plugged into the main power? My last supply had only 20 pins total plugged into my 24 pin slot, and I read that the extra 4 wires will double the 12v capacity. Is that true? Is this why it restarts at times?

 

[Anoobis]

My PSU is now dead. It shot some flames and sparks around for a few seconds

8O

Plug in the extra 4-pin connector.

And just as a precaution, inspect your motherboard's capacitors with the help of a flashlight. Make sure none of them are leaking or corroded.

 

[Slava]

Download SiSoftware Sandra. (They have free versions. I know that some older free versions have a lot of powerful features. Not sure about newer versions. You will have to read up on this.) Then do the following:

First, run the Performance Tune-Up Wizard. It will tell you which parts of your system (both software - including Windows services - and hardware) are not configured optimally. Correct the problems as per Sandra's recommendations;

Second, run Sandra's Brun-In Wizard. If any of the components in your machine fail the Burn-In test you will get usable info re: the rasons why they failed. Take it from there.

Be advised that Burn-In Wizard takes a long time - up to two hours, maybe longer. Be patient.

Third, your new PSU seems fine. Antec makes very good products. It it is highly unlikely that the reboots are caused by the PSU.

Checking the event log and your voltages via BIOS and all that other stuff people suggested, including examination of capacitors is okay. But somehow it seems to me that it is a RAM problem.

Download and run MemTest (I think they have it in the download section at www.guru3D.com ). You will have to create a bootable floppy and start your PC with it. Leave MemTest running overnight. If any of your sticks are bad you will get a report in the morning.

If MemTest is still running after 8 hours or so and displays no errors - your RAM is fine.

 

[Aaron60060]

Field Value
Sensor Properties
Sensor Type SMSC EMC6D103 (SMBus 2Eh)
GPU Sensor Type National LM64 (ATI-I2C 18h)
Motherboard Name Intel D915GLVG / D915PLWD / D915PSY

Temperatures
Motherboard 49 °C (120 °F)
CPU 59 °C (138 °F)
Aux 49 °C (120 °F)
GPU 63 °C (145 °F)
GPU Ambient 58 °C (136 °F)
GPU VRM 64 °C (147 °F)
Seagate ST3120026A 35 °C (95 °F)

Cooling Fans
CPU 1643 RPM
Chassis 964 RPM

Voltage Values
CPU Core 1.18 V
+1.5 V 1.50 V
+3.3 V 3.32 V
+5 V 4.95 V
+12 V 12.00 V

Does this seem hot for an idle system?

 

[Slava]

Your CPU is too hot (about 10 degrees C - or 20% hotter than it should be). Moreover, those are idle temps.

If your CPU is not overclocked then there may be a problem with your CPU fan. See if your motherboard has a readout for your CPU fan speed and monitor it for 10-15 minutes. If the fan speed fluctuates widely you must replace it.

If your CPU fan is spinning at slower RPM than it is rated for – you must replace it.

Keep in mind that most motherboards have a CPU shutdown threshold temp and WILL shut down/reboot the machine (unless the option is disabled in the BIOS) if the CPU temp exceeds the threshold temp (about 85C). Since you are idling at 60C I can see your CPU going over 85C under stress.

If none of the above applies, do run Sandra and MemTest apps.

EDIT: Your CPU fan seems way too slow. I am not sure what you have there. If it is a stock fan it may be rated for that. My CPU fan, for example, blows hard at 5000 RPM and I have a HUGE copper 360 heat sink.