PSU any good for OC ?

[lmartinefc]

Hi,

Running a Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz with Xigmatek Dark Knight. Temps are nevre a problem, but Vdroop is huge. Also issues when I shut the PC down, the fans stay on and the 'on' button does not work. In fact, have to hold it down to force the PSU off (the way it would function as if windows was still running). I can then press it to boot PC. It's as if the PSU thinks the PC is still on even after shutdown. But only happens now and again.

So looking to buy a new PSU to stabilise voltages and hopefully fix this issue. At present using the stock Antec 500w that comes with the Sonata III. Is this a better replacement, and will it give me the stability I'm looking for :

http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/OCZ+StealthXStream+400W+Silent+SLI%2FCrossfire+Ready+ATX2.2+Power+Supply+?productId=39205

If not, can you recommend any at a reasonable price. If not, I was considering this :

http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/OCZ+ModXStream+Pro+500W+Modular+Silent+SLI%2FCrossfire+Ready+ATX2.2+Power+Supply+?productId=33610

(modular and supports crossfire)

Thoughts/feedback appreciated

Regards

Luke

 

[Lmeow]

I wouldn't get the 400W one - not enough power, considering that you've got a Q6600 and probably some beefy graphics card with it.
If you are planning to do CrossFireX, then you should get the ModXStream 500W or 700W. I'd personally go for the 700W, might as well, only like £18 more for 200W, for guaranteed overclocking headroom and CrossFireX.

 

[lmartinefc]

Sounds good. Not sure I'd need 700w, sounds a bit overkill? But yes I am planning to crossfire. My spec is as follows (with planned changed) :

Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz
4 Gb (4x1Gb) Corsair RAM 4-4-4-12 2.1v (thinking of changing to 2 x 2Gb to reduce power and make more stable? thoughts?)
500Gb 3.5 Sata drive (thinking of adding another 500Gb drive)
Asus P5KC Mobo (thinking of changing to P5Q Deluxe for more Sata ports - currently have 4 but this offers 6)
Xigmatek Dark Knight (keep)
Upgraded Skythe 120mm case fan (keep)
40mm Northbridhge cooling fan (keep)
ATI 5770 GPU card (looking to add another 5770)

Do I need to upgrade the GPU at present? I can run Crysis on Very High (max settings) and runs smooth. Modern Warfare 2 is breathtaking, as is Bioshock 2. Everything I have purchased runs smooth all maxed out. Going to give Fallout 3 a go but again, don't see any issues

What is the most graphic intensive game to test my rig...other than Crysis (with the scary sharks ah!)...

Regards

Luke

 

[lmartinefc]

And by upgrade GPU...i meant purchase another 5770 and have them in crossfire

 

[geofelt]

Your Antec 500w is a decent psu, I doubt that it is the cause of your problems. You might want to check to see if there is a bios update to your motherboard that fixes your power down issue.
I suspect that your Q6600 sample has reached it's maximum OC capability, and you could try backing off the OC a bit.
Yes, two ram sticks will be easier to OC your system, but I don't think it is worth the effort unless you can sell your old kit for a good enough price to make the swap cost free.

In fact, I think I would start saving for a complete i5/i7 rebuild instead of putting more money into a older technology.

I would not bother upgrading your motherboard, just get a sata add-in card if you need more sata ports.

For a single 5770 AMD recommends a 450w psu with one pci-e 6 pin connector, and a 600w psu with two 6 pin pci-e connectors for two 5770 cards.
http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-5000/hd-5770/Pages/ati-radeon-hd-5770-system-requirements.aspx

My preferred psu brands would include Corsair, PC P&C, Seasonic, and yes, Antec. Don't go cheap on the PSU.

I think modular is a non-issue. You will be using most of the leads from a properly sized psu anyway.

 

[Henry Chinaski]

Your Vdrop problem has nothing to do with your PSU. That PSU is a very good one (made by Seasonic) and provides much more power than you need (It can reach 577W). You must look for the solution in your motherboard. A new PSU won't fix this issue.

 

[lmartinefc]

Hi,

Yes I am running Crysis @ 1920 x 1080....beautiful! And smooth. The underwater lighting affects are so realistic.

I already flashed the BIOS but the issue persist...removed the MOBO and rewired it all. Only happend now and again, usually when it's been on for a while and been under load. The behaviour is like its still running...(well the behaviour of the power button....long depress to turn off as it would if the OS had posted)

I have ran the chip up to 3.6Ghz @ 1.4875v but it crashed under PRIME95...voltage gradually drops then fails @ around 1.312v

Regards

Luke

 

[lmartinefc]

Further from last...this 1920 x 1080 is on a 22" Asus monitor.

Maybe its the mobo giving me probs then. Or is there some feature that keeps the fan(s) after shutdown the cool the CPU to acceptable levels?

 

[geofelt]

Further from last...this 1920 x 1080 is on a 22" Asus monitor.

Maybe its the mobo giving me probs then. Or is there some feature that keeps the fan(s) after shutdown the cool the CPU to acceptable levels?

Your OC has made the cpu unusually hot. It would make sense to keep the fan running long enough to cool down the cpu before turning off the power. If you leave it alone, does the PC eventually turn itself off?

 

[lmartinefc]

I thought this...I will check this evening. Is this even a feature of Asus boards?

Even under load the temps only ever touch 42oC and never really go above this...after 2 hours smashing away on Crysis or Modern Warfare 2.

It never crashes and temps are stable. So....makes me think it either a duff PSU, duff MOBO or some cool down feature I don't know about

 

[geofelt]

I do not have much faith in temperature measurements and their absolute numbers. Relative changes are probably OK.

What happens when you run prime95? Run the small fft test with rounding error checking. Run it long enough to get the temperature to it's maximum and stabilized. If your OC is good, you should get NO errors. While you are doing this, verify via cpu-z or other means that your multipliers are not being reduced to spare the cpu.

Your OC seems unusually high for a Q6600 to be fully stable.

 

[lmartinefc]

Hi,

I thought this. It is the G0 stepping model so should not be a bad chip. At present i have to set the Vcc to 1.4v in the BIOS to get it run stable. If I clock it anymore then the voltages get silly, and the core the voltage drops to 1.3125v (as per CPUz) under load.

I left it to run PRIME95 for 24 hours previously, no errors, ran great.

I will upload some BIOS screenshots if you don't mind, see where I'm going wrong. All other voltages in the BIOS, including FSB VTT and Northbridge are set to auto.

Maybe it is the RAM thats crashing out of the Northbridge becoming unstable. The RAM is running at 2.1v as this is the manufacturer spec.

Just can't believe I see such a huge Vdrop on the CPU.

Regards

Luke

 

[lmartinefc]

Running at x8 anti-alias...the max available... and all other settings on very high...the max available. Here's a video I shot on my nokia just now. The shaking is me trying to film with one hand and play with the other :

http://www.gruffe.co.uk/temp/29032010.mp4

Here are the screenshots from the BIOS...and CPUz (after 10 mins on Crysis)

Any help appreciated

Regards

Luke

 

[lmartinefc]

"So we can see that your not telling the truth..." (BTW it should be you're, not your!)

Not sure I appreciate your tone. You sound like a very bitter little person to come and accuse me of being a liar in a forum where I am asking for help. Why not focus your attention on answering the relevant questions I asked. I did not come in here singing and shouting I had made some groundbreaking acheivement. I mentioned in passing that I run Crysis at full settings, and the effect this has on the system. The topic of this started as being about my PSU...and the subsequent Overclock settings. So why are you turning this into some blog to make a personal attack over what can and cannot be run on this system. If you weren't such an arse I would invite you to my house to see it running. Runs smooth for me, not sure what FPS it is, but runs great.

So, justification aside, does anybody have an input on the ACTUAL question I asked, or the screenshots I have posted. Many thanks to those of you who have offered valid feedback to date, very much appreciated.

 

[lmartinefc]

Againm, very mature response. I like how you speak quoting the experience of others rather than going out and testing things yourself. As i said. I do not know what FPS it runs at. By smooth I mean I can play it with no disruption, no judder between frames. Smooth is a matter of opinion - and opinions are naturally different between people. By calling me a liar you are turning this into a factual debate, which does not make sense. That's the difference between real gaming, and simply running a benchmark. I did not quote FPS or provide any analysis. I made a statement. Why not play the game yourself on an identical rig and see how it runs, rather than reading numbers off a sheet. And in Tom's own words he was testing if it ran "Perfectly Smooth" which I did not claim to. I said it ran "Smooth". It would also appear you have not read Tom's article correctly either, your facts are all mixed...

So, any relevant input on my actual questions(s)?