Reboot while gaming and other strange issues

[Uber Monger]

Hello all,

Recently, I have been experiencing issues with my custom computer. I've had the computer for over a year and have had no issues with it until recently.

My first issue is when my computer is shut down it will start up, as in all the lights and fans come on, but will not boot. If I turn off the PSU and let it sit from a random amount of time, usually an hour or two, sometimes all night, and turn the PSU back on the computer will boot. Sometimes I do not even have to turn the PSU off, but usually I do. Now this leads me to believe I have a bad PSU.

But, my second issue involves my computer randomly restarting while computer gaming. This only started happening about a week ago. So far, all of my games I own have been playable for a random amount of time before the computer will restart. The only problem I have with this is that as mentioned before, the computer will not reboot unless the PSU is turned off and left to sit for awhile. I still think it may be a bad PSU, but this also makes me wonder if my graphics card is going and I really hope it isn't.

I also have never really heard of crashing due to PSUs while gaming, but I assume it is possible. All of my temperatures are normal while gaming and just browsing around on the desktop and web. My graphics card remains around 55-60 degrees Celsius and my CPU remains around 29-33 degrees Celsius.

Here are my specs:

Power Supply Unit : Rosewill 600W ATX2.2 RD 600N-2DB-SL-BK Stallion Series
Mainboard : Intel 975X Bad Axe 2
Chipset : Intel i975X
Processor : Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 2400 MHz
Voltage CPU : 1.31 V
Physical Memory : 4096 MB (4 x 1024 DDR2-SDRAM )
Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX
Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Professional 5.01.2600 Service Pack 3, v.3311

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[AdioKIP]

Sounds like your power supply may be going bad. I had an issue with my computer rebooting during gaming. At first I thought it was a heat issue but it ended up being my PSU. Gaming tends to put the most strain on the PSU because everything starts working at maximum (processor and video card especially). Gamings is pretty much the only thing that is going to fully utilize your video card and make it draw the most power. It could be that your PSU has enough life left to continue running under normal conditions but can no longer handle the power draw your video card puts on it while your gaming, thus it would reboot. When this happened to me I had to cut the PSU off with the switch in the rear and wait for it to reset before it would turn back on. Download a program that will give you the voltage readings on your PSU and have it monitoring in the background while you game. If it is your PSU be careful, if it goes out completely it may take a few other components with it...

 

[Uber Monger]

Thanks for the input, I'll probably go buy a new PSU this week. I've been doing a little more research and

"When this happened to me I had to cut the PSU off with the switch in the rear and wait for it to reset before it would turn back on." -AdioKP

sounds like exactly what I'm going through.

Can you suggest a program for checking the PSU? I have PC Wizard 2008, but it doesn't include PSU info.

 

[outlw6669]

Yeah, your Rosewill PSU is a tier 5 piece of junk and it sounds like it is failing.
Replace it with a 500w+ Corsair, PCP&C, Seasonic, Enermax or Antec Earthwatts PSU.

 

[AdioKIP]

Personally I was able to use Asus probe because I run an Asus motherboard. When I was running probe, as soon as my video cards ramped up the 12v rail on my PSU would drop, as soon as it went below 11v instant shutdown followed by having to reset. As far as a different program, off the top of my head I dont know of any other programs that read voltages but I'm sure there are some out there. Based on the description and the symptoms though you can be pretty sure its your power supply. One thing to remember, never skimp on your power supply. Its worth paying the extra money to get a good brand and brand is more important then output watts. The PSU I had to replace was a 700watt which should have been more then enough to handle my system but it was a cheap brand. I replaced it with a 750watt certified psu and have never had a problem since.

 

[jsc]

Oh, yes, indeed. Replace the Rosewill with something better.

What is happening is that, when gaming, the load on the 12 volt rails increases, in your case by about 6 amps. The load causes the 12 volt output to drop out of tolerance. This kills a control signal called something like "PSGood" (grey wire, pin 8) from the PSU to the motherboard. That forces a hardware reset. The computer reboots (the 3D load having gone away).

Actually, you are pretty lucky. Cheap PSU's have been known to catastrophically fail under those conditions.

 

[Uber Monger]

Thanks guys, I just bought a CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V for a really good deal off Newegg. It won a 2008 Best Power Supply Manufacturer by Custom PC award and its above 80% efficient, so hopefully, and it sounds like it will, solve my problems.

Again, thanks for the input.

 

[nickhoff]

You can never go wrong with Corsair!