GTX 295 & Power Supply

[pnic101]

Hi guys,

I've been having problems with games causing my system to reboot as soon as they load. I'm using a GTX 295 with a Thermaltake Toughpower 750W PSU. This happens most often when I try to run games at high resolutions. For example, I can play the witcher at a lower resolution, but when I put it to 1920 x 1080, the computer shuts off instantly and reboots itself. Some games -- Tropico, Risen -- Will do this as soon as I start. I have 6 gigs of 1600 mhz ram and the i7 920. From what I've read, this sort of problems seems to be a PSU problem. I'm thinking about upgrading to an 850W unit, but I wanted to hear everyone's advice first.

Oh, one more thing to note -- I do have a lot of peripherals -- external hard drive, blu-ray drive -- but even after unplugging them the problem occurred.

Thanks!

 

[liquidsnake718]

Hi guys,

I've been having problems with games causing my system to reboot as soon as they load. I'm using a GTX 295 with a Thermaltake Toughpower 750W PSU. This happens most often when I try to run games at high resolutions. For example, I can play the witcher at a lower resolution, but when I put it to 1920 x 1080, the computer shuts off instantly and reboots itself. Some games -- Tropico, Risen -- Will do this as soon as I start. I have 6 gigs of 1600 mhz ram and the i7 920. From what I've read, this sort of problems seems to be a PSU problem. I'm thinking about upgrading to an 850W unit, but I wanted to hear everyone's advice first.

Oh, one more thing to note -- I do have a lot of peripherals -- external hard drive, blu-ray drive -- but even after unplugging them the problem occurred.

Thanks!

This may not be a PSU problem as your power supply is ample enough for the GTX295. I think it has more to do with your software drivers. Do you have the latest Nvidia drivers? Since this is a new build this is a common mistake among newbies but Im not saying you are one but check the connection of the DVI/HDMI output and check if its inserted properly or if its connected to the GPU to LCD as you may have accidentally plugged it into the motherboards output....

Perhaps you also need to make sure your system and CPU is cool enough. Im sure your CPU fans and casing has some vents and decent cooling as I dont see why your system should overheat or shut down due to heat or power....

Another thing, have you tried to play other games besides Witcher, Tropico, and Risen? Maybe the settings are not set for DUAL GPUs since your GPU is a dual gpu it is basically SLI..... so check out all the options and graphics settings in those games first... I can say your PSU is adaquete enough at 750W. It should be a good brand and 80plus...

 

[pnic101]

I should say, I've played a number of other games that have worked very well, including ones in 1920 X 1080. I should also mention that my PSU will rattle slightly from time to time; this is one of the main reasons I thought it might be the culprit. The temperature and the drivers are fine. I am a newbie, but what puzzles me is the sudden nature of the shutdowns -- the system never chugs, and runs perfectly fine except during these times when it reboots with no warning.

 

[apache_lives]

run some testing tools - prime95 and atitool and see what they find

 

[pnic101]

As I said, I am a bit of a newbie -- what am I looking for in those tests?

 

[bliq]

another noob thing to check, make sure all the power cables to the card are plugged in properly (there's probably two right?), some cards will start up without the aux power plugged in.

 

[pnic101]

Well, I tried a friend's Corsair TX 850 and it's running like a charm. I suspect, because of the clicking noises, that my PSU was powerful enough, but just faulty. Thanks for the help guys.