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Power supply still not powerful enough?

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Hi,

I recently created a thread here, explaining how I got frequent computer crashes after being in graphic mode for 10 minutes with my ATI 4850. I was advised to switch out my power supply (I went from 250 watt to 450 watt) and stuff started working again. I was also told "Some people will say that it does not have enough amps, but it will run fine) Now, I've ran into some new problems:

1) I've played WoW for 8 hours straight. After about 7 hours of play, I started to see graphical artifacts, one hour later I got the same crash (monitor turns black, speakers go all FLAKFLAKFLAKFLAK and I have to hold the power button where it previously took me 10 minutes before crashing).

2) After playing Oblivion on Ultra High for 1 minute, I got the same crash.



Is this still a power supply issue or is it overheating? Is it possible to fix this without having to buy new hardware (I'm open for any solution)?

Thanks LOADS in advance.

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By the way, this is my specs:

System tab
Operating system: Microsoft Windows XP Proffessional (5.1, build 2600)
Processor: Intel (R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q9300 @ 2.50 GHz (4 CPUs)
Memory: 3070 MB RAM
DirectX Version: Direct X 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)

Display tab
Device Name: ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6936 (Engelsk)
Driver Date: 16-03-2009 22:26:14
Driver DDI Version: ati2mtag.sys
DirectDraw Acceleration: Activated
Direct3D Acceleration: Activated
AGP Texture Acceleration: Activated

Reply to Udprod

Use these to monitor tmperatures ~

CoreTemp
RealTemp
SpeedFan
HWMonitor

What brand is your 450W PSU?

Reply to AKM880

Trust
Trying out HWMonitor now

Reply to Udprod

I'm sorry, but I'm obviously not allowed to edit messages :S

This are my HQMonitor results:
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/9929/hqmonitow.png

my PSU is branded Trust.

Reply to Udprod

your temps are fine, I have never heard of that brand of power supply. is it single rail? what are its 12v amps?

Reply to ct1615

+3,3v +5v +12v1 +12v2 -12v +5vsb
--30A--35A--15A----16A--0,8A--2,5 A

Thats what the box says.

Reply to Udprod

Was that picture taken under load or at idle? Also on the PSU does it say how many watts are under the +5/+3.3 or +12v? or did you list everything?

 

Regardless, artifacts generally indicate something other than the power supply though they don't rule it completely out. It does sound like overheating so if you've a desktop fan maybe point it into your computer with the case open and see what happens.

 


eta: a bad psu generally causes a reboot or decreased performance. Though it can also fry components if the voltage starts jumping around.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by Dustpuppy on 06-07-2009 at 02:04:47 AM
Reply to Dustpuppy

60c for the CPU is ok for load, not good if its an idle temp

HWmonitor will list min and max temp for you


Message edited by ct1615 on 06-07-2009 at 02:09:19 AM
Reply to ct1615

Hi,

I listed everything.

Is underclocking perhaps a solution?

Reply to Udprod

nothing is overclocked?

Reply to ct1615

Nothing at all.

Reply to Udprod

Dustpuppy wrote :

Was that picture taken under load or at idle?



I was thinking the same thing...the OP's CPU cores are sitting anywhere from 50C-62C. If those are his/her idle temps, the load temps must be off the charts. OP, what does it say underneath the +12v1 and +12v2 ratings? Is there some kind of box or text that gives additional information? It would look similar to this http://hi-techreviews.com/index.ph [...] ws&id=3710 (scroll to the bottom of the page.)

Reply to efeat

That power supply must be a total POS, look at those voltage readings you have something wired totally backwards your -12V is reading -4.35 and your -5.5 is reading -13.44 along with other issues

Reply to hunter315

urr, I'm unsure on what load or idle means, but I'll assume that load means I was doing something, yes, I've had WoW open for 20 minutes before taking the piccies.

Under the +12v1 it says 15A, under +12v2 it says 16A.

Reply to Udprod

I mean underneath those numbers even.

 

+12v1----+12v2
--15A-------16A--
Is there anything down here?

 

Also, try closing everything down (including wow) and making a new image of your CPU core temps. The only way to get usable data is to check when your CPU is at 0% use (idle) or 100% use (load.)


Message edited by efeat on 06-07-2009 at 02:19:20 AM
Reply to efeat

your CPU cools very fast the second you stop gaming try playing wow again and then look at your min/max temps for your CPU after 10 min.

you can download coretemp also, they show a high low temp

Reply to ct1615

i think dustpuppy is right, the 4850 tends to warm up a case.

Reply to ct1615

At the moment, this is the only information I can give:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trust-TRUS [...] B000ATJ4JO
I can find the box tomorrow if needed

Reply to Udprod

Idle CPU temperatures:
CPU 0: 57 degrees celcius
CPU 1: 54 degrees celcius
CPU 2: 50 degrees celcius
CPU 3: 46 degrees celcius

Reply to Udprod

i think your CPU is overheating and causing your issues, those are rather very warm temps for an idle CPU

the desk fan option can work as a temporary solution

Reply to ct1615

Anyway, thanks for all the replies everyone.
I'm gonna check back tomorrow.

I really appreciate it

Reply to Udprod

 

Yeap :) , but only if you got one don't run out and buy one just for this. I mentioned it because it's an easy quick fix/diagnoses if you have one sitting around.


Message edited by Dustpuppy on 06-07-2009 at 03:23:15 AM
Reply to Dustpuppy

Your Cpu does seem a tad warm for idle, but it should clock throttle when it gets warm, not crash the system, another thing, have you tried memtest on the Ram, you could have a faulty stick in there, also, how long have you had the OS installed, lets not forget it is windows after all, and a buggy os will cause these problems as well,

1) reseat your heatsink with new thermal paste 9 I take it its the stock intel cooler) and retest temps at idle and load (Use prime95 to get load whilst it is in desktop)
2) If the temps are still to great remove side panel and use a normal deskfan aimed at the side to add extra cooling and check temps, if they drop considerably then the case may be to warm, check exhaust fans on case and check Psu fan is running correctly and clean of dust
3) remove ram and test one stick at a time, this will conclude if there is a faulty stick of ram causing the probles
4) If you have a spare HDD use that to install a fresh copy of windows and re-test to see if this resolves the problem.

Unless its a really dodgy Psu which is bad luck, systematic testing is the only way forward really to get to the bottom of this.

Download Prime 95 and run it to see if the mcahine is stable running with the cpu and Ram runnng at max, run th test with the most amount of heat produced (Small ftu I think) and then run large Ftu test for max ram.

What temps is the graphics card running at, HWmonitor from the same guys that make cpuz is good for checking cpu and gpu + HDD temps whilst running machine.

------------------------------ CM Scout Case|Asus P5Q|Intel 7200 @ 3.8ghz|Artic Freezer 7|4Gb Tracer 1066mhz 5,5,5,12|HD 4870 @ 850/4400mhz|750w Corsair TX|1Tb Samsung F1|1Tb Hitachi 7500k|500Gb Seagate|250Gb Samsung|80Gb WD in Icy Box|2x22" 1650x1080|G9 mouse|G15 KB Win7|Vista|XP|Mint
Reply to moricon

just re-read the posts again, was it a trust psu, not sure of the quality of the trust psu, they do not have great efficiancy, and your quad does need stable juice to run effectivly, I think after testing you may well have to get a better psu, like corsair 650w

------------------------------ CM Scout Case|Asus P5Q|Intel 7200 @ 3.8ghz|Artic Freezer 7|4Gb Tracer 1066mhz 5,5,5,12|HD 4870 @ 850/4400mhz|750w Corsair TX|1Tb Samsung F1|1Tb Hitachi 7500k|500Gb Seagate|250Gb Samsung|80Gb WD in Icy Box|2x22" 1650x1080|G9 mouse|G15 KB Win7|Vista|XP|Mint
Reply to moricon

+1 for a new PSU, I haven't heard of any brand called "trust"

Reply to AKM880
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