Most likley cause of sutdowns during gaming?

[Malazan]

Ok, it could be a number of things i know, but my PC switrches off during intensive gaming, at first i could play for maybe 40 mins before a shutoff, then 20 mins, now i can't even play for a minute?

Is a bad PSU the most likeley cause here.

And YES, before you ask, my PSU is easily capable of running my system, easily capable, it's SLI certified.

 

[albenza]

Did you tjeck your temps? sounds like something could be over heating.

 

[Assman]

And YES, before you ask, my PSU is easily capable of running my system, easily capable, it's SLI certified.

that doesn't mean jack, give us your full specs including amps. and yes, like albenza said it could also be overheating. also, if you oced cpu or gpu or ram have you tested it for stability/monitored temps?

 

[Malazan]

Did you tjeck your temps? sounds like something could be over heating.

Temps are fine, GPU, MOBO, CPU - nothing is OC'D.

 

[Assman]

try re-seating cpu cooler and re-apply thermal com., sometimes that helps.

 

[Malazan]

"that doesn't mean jack, give us your full specs including amps"

As i have told you, my PSU is EASILY CAPABLE OF RUNNING MY SYSTEM EASILY CAPABLE - i understand the amps thing i am not a PSU noob.

 

[Assman]

I never said you are one, I am just trying to help...

 

[Malazan]

try re-seating cpu cooler and re-apply thermal com., sometimes that helps.

Been there done that, CPU temps are fine. I even replaced the cooler. The shutdowns occur within a couple of minutes now.

 

[Malazan]

I never said you are one, I am just trying to help...

I know man, but i told you, its easily capable of running my system, easily. I'm sick of answering quiestios about the suitability of my PSU, it's up to the job - if working properly.

 

[albenza]

I never experienced RAM problems my self, but as I see it we are now down to two options.. either bad/faulty RAM or HDD, try running with only stick of RAM at the time.

Edit: 3 options.. could still be the mobo. (4 options, counting local power shortage)

 

[Assman]

agree ^, or it well could be a bad mobo, first try to do what albenza suggests if that doesn't help, well, you're down to mobo

 

[Malazan]

I never experienced RAM problems my self, but as I see it we are now down to two options.. either bad/faulty RAM or HDD, try running with only stick of RAM at the time.

The RAM has been tested it's fine, but i will try with one stick. The HDD refuses to format properly.

 

[Malazan]

A also have a broken driver which i cannot get rid of because of the inability to reformat, and yes guys, i have been thru every single concievable way of removing the driver, and reformatting, nothing shifts it.

Now, i know you'll say "there's the trouble" - but oi had the shutdowns BEFORE the borked driver.

Unless i can remove the driver and install the lastest ones i'll never know if that's the root of it all, but i can't get rid of it.

I just wondered wanted to know whether my hunch that my PSU is faulty, given the length of the problems was likely.

It may well be that the drivers if broken, and my PSU is too, fixing one might not fix the other, so far this system has had a broken GPU, overheatong CPU, RAM that only works in black slots and not yellow slots - it just goes on and on and on..........

 

[Assman]

why don't get a new psu at a local store, if that doesn't fix your problem return it for a refund

RAM that only works in black slots and not yellow slots

??? that only shows that mobo might be the issue

 

[Malazan]

why don't get a new psu at a local store, if that doesn't fix your problem return it for a refund

RAM that only works in black slots and not yellow slots

??? that only shows that mobo might be the issue

But the thing was, i used to get constant hangs, and BSOD in the yellow slots, and as soon as i switched them to black the hangs and BSOD'S stopped immediatly - therefore leading me to believe that the MOBO were fine, if a little tweaky.

This a ******* nightmare, i could be be anything.

 

[albenza]

I belive (since you say that your PSU can easily run your system) that if your PSU was the problem you would have noticed.. smoke, smell, no power at all.

English is not my native language so forgive me for asking. Did you try reformatting but couldn't do it because of an error, or didn't you do it because you are not sure how to do it, or did you do it? got me a bit confused there...

problem with black and yellow DIMM slots sure indicates something is wrong with the mobo, could still be the RAM though, I would still try em' one at the time just to be absolutely sure they are not the reason for this.

 

[Assman]

As a final resort, you may wish to re-install windows. if you cannot do that for some reason, you may wish to try downloading a linux live disc and using the partitioner that comes with most of them i believe, then you can delete the partitions on your hard drive without using windows, i manage to format my dell laptop doing that as dell blocks it.

agree, good idea.

 

[Mathos]

Problems that cause reboots after short amounts of time, while running a program.

1. Ram instability, may be due to not enough voltage going to the ram sticks. Some boards don't support high voltage ram(2.0v+) Or will have stability problems. Also could be some kind of a problem with the ram. I've seen ram that caused a system reboot pass testing on ram testing devices.

2. Not enough wattage or Amps output from the power supply. This can be caused by manufacturer defect some times, even if a PSU is rated much higher than what is needed. Also don't forget systems with lots of HD's and optical drives use more power than you'd think. Not to mention if there either isn't enough current or power output, the extra load caused by running an intensive program, that has a lot of HD accesses or constantly reads off the dvd/cd, can cause a faulty PSU to overheat. That will cause the psu to shut down or reboot as a fail safe to prevent dmg or fire.

3. Problem with the mobo. Again, may not be able to support the proper volts for the RAM. Or there could possibly be some kind of a short occurring. I've seen that happen before, the mobo was somehow shorting against the board tray.

4. Windows not installing properly on the HDD. I've had this problem personally. Was shortly after I bought my SATA 2 drive. I was running it on a pci add in card since my board didn't have sata ports.. For some reason, the hd would not run stable or format at full size or properly until I removed the jumped that limited the drive to sata 150. After removing that jumper the system would run stable, even though the card it was attached to was an sata 150 card. Though it still wouldn't show at it's actual full size while installing win xp till after I got my new board that supported SATA2. The drive in question is the Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 160gb version.

It would also help a lot if you'd post system specs, that way we know exactly what we're dealing with. Doesn't matter if you're a vet or newb computer builder on that one. If I'm having a problem I always post specs, and I've been working on computers since I was 7 years old.

 

[Malazan]

I belive (since you say that your PSU can easily run your system) that if your PSU was the problem you would have noticed.. smoke, smell, no power at all.

English is not my native language so forgive me for asking. Did you try reformatting but couldn't do it because of an error, or didn't you do it because you are not sure how to do it, or did you do it? got me a bit confused there...

problem with black and yellow DIMM slots sure indicates something is wrong with the mobo, could still be the RAM though, I would still try em' one at the time just to be absolutely sure they are not the reason for this.

No smell or smoke.

I tried reformatting becuase nothing would remove the broken driver, but after what seemd a format the driver was still there and prevented the latest drivers being installed.

Ok, i i have been thru the format process with someone who really knows his way around an OS, and nothing he has suggested will get me a real clean installl with no broken driver. It's been extensive.

I'm on Vista, and just we get to the final part of formatting ans the PC restarts i get a flickering cursor in the top left.

It stays that way until i switch off, i then get to desktop and see what seems to be a clean install, UNTIL i come to load the drivers for my GPU and the old driver is STILL THERE blocking a fresh install with new drivers.

You see my problem?

I can't eliminate drivers, because i can't install new ones.

MOBO/RAM was the first problem i encountered and you may well be right in suggesting it's still the same problem now, and has been all the way thru. As sson as this Mets game is done, i will try 1 stick of RAM/

 

[altazi]

What is your PSU? Does it have multiple 12V rails, or a single 12V rail? If multiple, have you made sure the amp loads are balanced according to the PSU specifications? Intense gaming would increase the load from the GPU; if you have a system that is "on the edge", that could push it over.

What kind of tests have you run to check you RAM operation? How does your system do with MEMTEST86 and the various sections of PRIME95? I shoot for multi-day stability under worst-case conditions when I build a system.

Regards,

Altazi

 

[Malazan]

What is your PSU? Does it have multiple 12V rails, or a single 12V rail? If multiple, have you made sure the amp loads are balanced according to the PSU specifications? Intense gaming would increase the load from the GPU; if you have a system that is "on the edge", that could push it over.

What kind of tests have you run to check you RAM operation? How does your system do with MEMTEST86 and the various sections of PRIME95? I shoot for multi-day stability under worst-case conditions when I build a system.

Regards,

Altazi

It's an XCLIO Greatpower 750W 4 x 18a 12V rails.

I have no idea how to balance loads, or any way of finding out.

The MEMTESTS are fine, i've never run PRIME 95, what's the point? the system isn't stable when under stress for 5 minutes, who needs to know it will stand up to days of intensive stress?

I'm sorry but "Multi day stability" is completely out of my reach, i just want to know why the hell i can't play a game for longer than 15 minutes without my PC turning off.


I tried STALKER using, one stick of RAM, and it ran for about 15 mins with some settings turned down before a shutoff.

SPECS:

E4300 STOCK
8800GTS 320MB STOCK
P5NE-SLI
GSKILL NQ 6400 2GIG
PSU - SEE ABOVE
VIATS HOME PREM 32 BIT

 

[phantom93]

I had that EXACT PROBLEM!!!!!!! and it ended up my motherboard was fried.
My 580w PSU blew out on me but etherything seemed fine so i bought a new one and used it. During gaming my comp would go into 'standby mode' like everything would shut off except the power light. The crashes became more and mroe frequent during gaming and soon it started happening during regualr use (internet, work, starring at my desktop) so i did safe mode and it was Fine!!! then next day it started that in safe mode and the nwouldnt even boot. My motherboard was toast, it worked but it had an issue that got worse adn worse. But I do think it might of been my windows installation, a file or a group of files were missing or corrupt because it would crash DURING or BOOTING windows

LONG STORY SHORT!
Ethier your
Motherboard
HDD
CPU (probably not)
BIOS
windows installation
is fried and needs to be fixed or replaced. It might be your PSU but to check the HDD run one of those disk check things. also try putting another PSU in it and try doing intenive gaming and if it doesnt crash well... obviously its your PSU.

Good luck

 

[Malazan]

I had that EXACT PROBLEM!!!!!!! and it ended up my motherboard was fried.
My 580w PSU blew out on me but etherything seemed fine so i bought a new one and used it. During gaming my comp would go into 'standby mode' like everything would shut off except the power light. The crashes became more and mroe frequent during gaming and soon it started happening during regualr use (internet, work, starring at my desktop) so i did safe mode and it was Fine!!! then next day it started that in safe mode and the nwouldnt even boot. My motherboard was toast, it worked but it had an issue that got worse adn worse. But I do think it might of been my windows installation, a file or a group of files were missing or corrupt because it would crash DURING or BOOTING windows

LONG STORY SHORT!
Ethier your
Motherboard
HDD
CPU (probably not)
BIOS
windows installation
is fried and needs to be fixed or replaced. It might be your PSU but to check the HDD run one of those disk check things. also try putting another PSU in it and try doing intenive gaming and if it doesnt crash well... obviously its your PSU.

Good luck

I'm going to try a new BIOS, and then RMA the Mobo, i don't think it's the PSU, or the RAM, barring an incompatiability thing.

Shame i don't have anyone near me with a PSU i could whip in and out, heck i might just RMA both at the same time and see what happens.

I think it's the MOBO.

Sadly though, whilever i can't format the HDD thing is still in the back of my mind.

 

[phantom93]

the format thing is strange, and (this is a really dumb question but i have to ask sry) do you delete the partition? and make a new? or do u just put Xp on it? If you have a xtra HDD try using that b4 RMAing the mobo and the PSU

 

[Malazan]

the format thing is strange, and (this is a really dumb question but i have to ask sry) do you delete the partition? and make a new? or do u just put Xp on it? If you have a xtra HDD try using that b4 RMAing the mobo and the PSU

I do delete the partition, i don't have XP i have Vista.

I have an extra HDD but it's about 6 year old from an old PC. Not Sata. I could try it i guess.