My new 1500W can not handle my computer

Hello..

Computer specifications:

Two days ago I bought a new power supply Thermaltake 1500W after suffering of 1200W Coolmax:




My new 1500W works OK sometimes. For example, yesterday I lift the computer ON with crossfireX enabled and GTA IV game with the highest graphics options for 6 hours and it doesn't blink.. Then I ran stability test using EVEREST Ultimate for more than 2 hours and stressing everything (CPU-HD-MEMORY..).

BUT after I finished all tests I shutdown the PC and turned it on again it ran for a second then stopped ( the CPU fan makes a move then stops).


Sometimes, if I wait for 10 min then turn it on it works.

Or if I unplug the cables then turn the computer on then off, plug the cables it works.

------------------

I feel there is an electrical cycle problem..

Should I change my PSU (it is the third one for this PC).
Can't I reorganize the cables on a way that makes everything work all the time?

My computer is now working fine.. is it reasonable not to turn it off at all to avoid this problem ( for years I mean).

What do you think?

Please Help or tell an electrics expert about this problem.

Is 1200WATT enough for 7 HDD 3 DVD and Two 4870X2?
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] 2#t1928975


By the way, I love the picture of yours it is really nice

The motherboard worked fine with old COOLMAX 1200W.
I did not face this problem with old PSU.

Thank you fro commenting.

So.. Which one should I replace the PSU or MB?

Is there a software that can show me the activities of PSU & MB ?
I have Everest ultimate... can It help to specify the source of the problem?
Can I do tests that discover the bad part?

Hello..

Let me tell you what happens so far.

The problem is not clear yet. When I shutdown the computer and turn it on again it will not work directly. I have to wait more than 10 mins.

I feel that there is an electrical shock in the board and I have to wait till it vanishes.


There is a part of the motherboard that I did not use (I don't know what's the benefit of it).




There is nothing about it in the manual:
http://download.gigabyte.ru/manual [...] reme_e.pdf

This is the motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128361

---------------------

leo2kp, I did try to plug cables in different outputs according to the manual..

Sweet.. I used the lite edition with single 4870X2 and here is the result:
Recommended PSU Wattage: 1236W

Thanks for the site.


-----------------

Can anyone give me an idea about the electrical shock.. I think I have to wait till it vanishes before turning the computer ON.

What about the part of the motherboard that I did not use (I don't know what's the benefit of it).
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412 [...] mthing.tif

if you are touching the outside of the case and getting a shock that is not a regular static charge type of feeling than i would lean towards looking for shorts or groundouts. If you put a multimeter on the case where you are talking about touching and you get a voltage potential with respect to ground you have wiring problems either in the PSU or your electrical outlet at that location. It would not be the first time an outlet went bad or a ground got messed up, it does happen..

or try unpluging some components that are not needed and see if the problem goes away - you could be overloading a particular rail on your psu. make sure that the load is correctly distributed. or you might want to try a single rail type PSU like the PC power and cooling models.

IF there IS somehow a problem with your PC it's not because you don't have enough power from your PSU. There may be a grounding issue, there may be a dead PSU issue, there might even be something else that you're missing. I ran a similar system on a HX1000 and never had any problems.

Maybe you should take the time to remove your parts one by one, try swapping in the old PSU, try different slots on the mobo.

Again, you could have run all of that on a GOOD 1000 Watt PSU. Don't throw away any more money, if you DO want to throw away money, take the PC to a proper shop and have them look at it. That'd be better than wasting more money on a 1500 watt PSU.

Using that site with your specifications, even doing an extreme overclock, using 100% TDP and system load and adding in things that I "guessed" you might have, I couldn't get above 1100.

Even with all of that, I would be somewhat surprised if you could actually in reality overload a good quality 1kw, such as the Corsair HX1000W. You definitely wouldn't be able to overload a 1500W PSU, such as your current one. Basically, if there is a problem, it isn't your PSU.

If you mean the golden stands that link the motherboard to the case.. Yes, I did each one of them.

Someone may ask so, at the power options I choose high performance: Never turn off the display, never put computer to sleep.

The computer is working perfectly while it is ON the performance are great..
In fact, yesterday I stress CPU & Memory 100% using Prime95 (64bit) - 25.8 for about half an hour whit no problems at all.








The only problem now is turning the PC off after a long use.. I have to wait, as I said, more then 10 mins before turning it on again.

You spent $1000 on an i7 965 just so you could OC it to 3.33ghz?!? What is wrong with you?!!!!!!!?

1/2 hour is not enough time to determine whether your OC is stable...it gives you a good idea, but you should run it for at least 12 hours, preferably 24, and make sure you enable round-off checking, otherwise your PC will not flag the errors it encounters and will keep testing. Although at 3.33ghz I doubt you are encountering errors.

first make sure that the video cards are being fed by the larger +12v rails, that would be 3 and 4.
see if that makes a difference

Then, try running just one video card for a while and see how that goes.
pull one card out then benchtest for 24 hours, remove that one, replace with the other. retest for another 24. If you get no failures, that points to three possibilties

1. second pci slot is possibly bad - a remote possibility

2. your power supply just cant handle the load on a particular rail - switch to a single rail type.

3. possible overheating in a particular area or chip that only happens when both cards are installed. two cards of this size will generate HUGE amounts of heat
and the PSU also puts out huge amounts as well. try running with the case open maybe put a fan blowing in cool air. retest.


BTW - is your PSU , certified for this configuration?

check here- http://game.amd.com/us-en/crossfir [...] 04870%20X2

- The computer did not faces this problem with previous PSU (if faced a different problem).

- The new 1500w which I have is 2007 model but they said, in the box, it supports nVidai SLI and ALL Multi-Core GPU technology. In the manual they wrote: .....Toughpower 1500W is able to support NVIDIA SLI & ATI Crossfire technology and multiple high end graphics cards.

I could not find it in the list.

I'm learning....

xthekidx, don't push me.. I'm going to overcolck it to 3.8 / 4.2 ..but not right now..
First I want to end the power problem..
I'm working slowly..

By the way 3.33Ghz is the default.. I did not overclock the CPU yet..

The PSU is certified by Nvidia SLI, check this page:
http://www.thermaltake.com/product [...] /w0171.asp

It has all information about my PSU.

3.2ghz is default. You have turbo mode enabled.

OLD --> You are right, should I try the extreme mode with the regular intel fan?

ADDITIONAL:
OH Wait.. That was not true.. I change the setting to standard mode and it is the same 3.33Ghz.. I guess it is the default for one of the cores (just guessing).

I tried 950w and it was not enough for two 4870X2..

I upgraded to 1200w and few days later I smell something burning in the room, it was IT!!

Then I upgraded to 1500w and this problem appeared!!

Don't you think that there may be a problem with the Motherboard?

I faced over heat problem with the north bridge with the old 1200w..
(the red led was flashing or at least ON which means it was over 80C during a heavy load.)

I thank all for commenting, I'll replace the motherboard tomorrow and see..

If you still have any suggestions please let me know.

Here is a link to the official ATI list of 4870X2 certified power supplies.
http://game.amd.com/us-en/crossfir [...] px?p=3#ATI Radeon™ HD 4870 X2

Yours is not on the list, but some lower powered variants are.

Unless it is defective(which I doubt), I don't think the psu is the source of your problem.

Looks like i was wrong about 850W working with 2 of those cards. But i bet you if i tried it i could get it to work. I used an 8800GT, Q6600 and 2 500GB HD's in RAID and an external 150GB HD on an Intel board OC'd with a small 400W PSU with extra's if that tells you anything.

Macbook and desktop cannot be compared in power... That shock you get is just static (normal)...desktop (even a 400W PSU can fry your brain) PC's obviously use more.

If i were you, i would leave the 6TB's you have in RAID for now, take out all the other HD's and take out one of your graphics cards (for testing only). Plug one thing at a time until it gets unstable again!!

Man, if this doesn't work for you i really don't know how to help. I'm a newbie too, but it doesn't take rocket science to figure out you are using a ton of power. Can you pay my light bill please?! LOL! Again, you need another PSU because it is generating far too much power!!

You have a real nice computer the kind of computer that keeps most of use awake at night!

I would take one 4870x2 out as someone suggested then make sure you have the most up to date bios version for your motherboard. Then see if your problem remains.

Good luck!

Just discussing PSU's on another thread. You probably need to find a single rail PSU instead of a multi rail!! But that would mean sacrificing modular cabling...

Wusy you have some really good points, but never say NEVER. You do get lower emissions with multi rails, that may not seem important unless you are trying to get the CE Mark for your product.

Croc, I am not what you would call "in the industry". I am just a design engineer that helps design power supplies. I spend most of my time at test labs. Here is what I can tell you about certifications:
UL/CSA (US and Canada) - mainly test for safety (shock hazard, leakage current, etc). They test and examine all components attached to the mains.
CE Mark (All countries in the European Economic Community) - They also check for safety, but they also look at (these are my fields of expertise) 1. Radiated emissions, 2. Conducted Emission, 3. ESD Immunity, 4. Radiated Immunity, 5. Conducted Immunity, 6. Magnetic Field Susceptability.
FCC (US) - Similar to testing that is done for the CE Mark

There are other Certifications but these are the main ones used around the world. The standards that are used for the testing are many and are determined by the wattage of the supply. That is one reason that 700 watt and above PSU's are so much more expensive (they fall under more stringent standards for Emissions, etc). I hope this helps. If you would like more info just send me an E-mail. I am sure most people on the forum would get put to sleep reading about EMI Testing. Only the nerdiest of the nerds gets involved with EMI/RFI.