Computer randomly restarts during gaming

[anthony1]

I built a computer about 3 months ago, and its been restarting after random periods of time (10 min, 2 hours, etc.) when I play games such as Call of Duty 4, Bioshock, and not until recently, Team Fortress 2. The specs on my computer are:

- Gigabyte GAM57SLI-S4 mobo
- AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ (stock CPU fan)
- OCZ 2GB DDR2800 (2 x 1GB)
- 320GB Western Digital HD
- ASUS 20X DVD-R
- XFX 8800GT 512MB
- Raidmax 630W PSU

Everything is updated, and I don't think its that any of the parts are overheating. I have a large tower case with 3 fans going, and when I check the CPU temp with the gigabyte tool, it only gets to the mid-50's degrees Celsius while gaming. I don't know how to check the GPU or mobo components for temp, so I can't say anything about those.

I'm quick to blame the PSU for the problem, but I'm not ready to just dump $150 on a new one just yet until I'm sure it's the problem. Any help/comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[royalcrown]

If your in the us you can get a good power supply like a corsair 550 for 79.00 at newegg, it's more than you need. I'd suspect the raidmax too !

 

[sailer]

I'd suspect the Raidmax PSU as well. One other thing you might check is what voltage the ram is set at in the BIOS. Often the BIOS defaults ram voltage to 1.8v, but the ram specs are for higher voltage. If the default is too low, a game can crash out at unpredictable times.

 

[stoner133]

First thing I would check right after you make sure the RAM voltage is set correctly is to run Memtest86 on the memory. OCZ quality control could have let a bad one ship by accident, happens to all the good companys from time to time. It doesn't cost you a dime to run Memtest.

 

[jsc]

You could have driver problems, but I would suspect your PSU first.

Raidmax is a Tier 5 manufacturer:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=108088

It may be rated as a 630 watt PSU, but a lot of that power is unusable. 36 amps is pretty light for a 630 watt PSU. Based on the 12 volt rating, it's more like a 450 watt PSU. My 650 watt Antec can provide 52 amps.

What is probably happening is that under heavy CPU and graphics load, the 12 volt output drops out for a moment. The PSU detects this and drops a control line called "PSGood" (pin 8 - gray wire) to 0 volts. This automatically forces a hardware CPU reset. Your PC probably runs fine during normal applications or 'net surfing.

 

[anthony1]

You could have driver problems, but I would suspect your PSU first.

Raidmax is a Tier 5 manufacturer:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=108088

It may be rated as a 630 watt PSU, but a lot of that power is unusable. 36 amps is pretty light for a 630 watt PSU. Based on the 12 volt rating, it's more like a 450 watt PSU. My 650 watt Antec can provide 52 amps.

That's exactly why I'm blaming the PSU. It does run fine during normal applications and just surfing the net. I've been looking to get a Silverstone 750W PSU with a single 12V rail, as I've been hearing lots of good things about a single rail. I just want to be sure that it would solve my problem.

I have yet to run memtest, but I'll post if it turns out there is a problem with the RAM.

 

[evongugg]

Look at your voltages in the bios. That might provide a clue. If they fluctuate more than 10%, you have a problem.

Top Tier PSU:
http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiered+PSU+Listings?t=anon

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=108088

http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1460

Silent PSUs
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article699-page1.html

AMD Certified PSUs (Single+Crossfire):
http://ati.amd.com/online/certifiedpsu/index.html

Certified SLI-Ready Power Supplies
http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_build_psu.html

 

[night_wolf_in]

to me. it seems powersupply issue. could be over heating as well. but i wont count on it.

just stress your system.

primer95 for cpu.
ati tool for gpu.

 

[Shadow703793]

I'd suspect the Raidmax PSU as well. One other thing you might check is what voltage the ram is set at in the BIOS. Often the BIOS defaults ram voltage to 1.8v, but the ram specs are for higher voltage. If the default is too low, a game can crash out at unpredictable times.

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