VPU recover - PSU?

[tj_the_first]

I just built my 3rd new system and for the first time I'm having issues. When I play games (Supreme Commander, Stalker) I play for 10-15 minutes then get a 5 second freeze. Then I drop out to desktop with an ATI warning about vpu recover (Googling gets that it's a general error). I click okay and it goes back to the game for another 10-15 minutes before doing the same thing. The system is MSI K9A Platinum, AMD 6000+, 3xHDD, X1950Pro, DVDRW, 2GB XMS2 6400.

Drivers are all up to date. Temperature seems to be fine on graphics card and CPU - only hot component is south bridge (passive cooling sucks). PSU is Antec TruePower2 480W which I thought was sufficient but that's where I now think the problem is. Does anyone know whether that seems right? I'm all prepped to buy an Antec Trio 650W since I wanted to go XFire eventually but I hope people can confirm my decision in case I needlessly spend the cash.

Maybe this is more a system build problem but since it's the graphics complaining so that's where I'm posting.

 

[morerevs]

Have you tried disabling VPU recover to see if you get a windows error message? It could be PSU but it could also be a memory issue or a temp issue. Did you check temps while running a game? Rivatuner has an option to log temps and you can look back after exiting/crashing the game. Also try lowering settings in game and see if it still crashes, if there's a really low load on the vidcard and it stil crashes in the same time-period, the PSU becomes less likely.

Gl.

 

[tj_the_first]

Thanks, I'll do some more diagnosing tonight. ATI-Tool doesn't work with the 1950Pro according to their website but I'll give RivaTuner a go. I turned down the settings in Supreme Commander last night and it was bettter but still dropped out with the error a couple of times. I'll try monitoring temps first, then run a memory test, then play on really low settings, then swap in a brand new Antec Neo 500W I borrowed from work. If that doesn't work I'll probably just buy the new PSU anyway and cross my fingers.

 

[mrmez]

Yeah, even with my 1950XT water cooled... if i oc'd too much (not even THAT much really) i would get the vpu recover message too. Can try use ati tool/riva or something like that and just up the gpu voltage 1 notch, if ur heat is ok it MAY solve the prob.

 

[eric54]

Hrm. Well your psu could be it, you're using about 418 watts and 455 watts under load. I have that same psu in my old system and it is of excellent quality. I suspect its more likely a bad vga card than a psu issue.

VPU tends to happen when either it gets too hot, or the card senses a failure in one of its hardware components. I've experienced this same issue with games, alot of texture's at the same time make the card crash (black screen, reboot with vpu recovery saying some stuff). This happend well into the second year of use, but only after a driver update. Some things I would try before rma'ing the card is to:

Use a drivercleaner to uninstall ALL drivers and their respective itty bitty pieces and parts. Then install the newest drivers for your card and OS.

Put everything back to stock settings if you've oced. Capacitator's are a hit and miss with ati card, see if there is any physical damage to the card. Remember, vga card are not designed to be oced and often don't handle the stress as well as cpu's can.

Establish what particular thing your card is sensitive to, is it after a large amount of textures show up on the screen? during loading? after a certain time? Find the trigger and let us know.

Don't buy a new psu yet, the one you listed isnt good enough anyway for a new crossfire setup (2900xt's take up to 300watts a piece)!

 

[tj_the_first]

All internals except Case & PSU (3 years old) are brand spanking new and I never overclock anything. Only software installed is Supreme Commander, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (I hate those dots), & Steam (Day of Defeat & Counter Strike Source). Drivers have all been installed off MSI's CD and then updated. The only thing I haven't done yet is update BIOS. So there shouldn't be any software conflicts. Every game is having the problem though STALKER sees it the least. Still haven't got home to do the tests.

 

[tj_the_first]

Okay I'm an idiot. I missed the power connector on the motherboard. I had the ATX in, the 4 pin CPU power, the video card molex but forgot the extra molex next to the PCIe slots. I still plan to test the system before putting any more software on it but for now I'm pretty sure I'm an idiot. Thanks for the helpful suggestions.