Random Restarts after Upgrading PSU & Graphics Card

jchichizola

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Oct 5, 2011
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Hi All,
I have an HP Elite e9220y and I have been experiencing a few random restarts since upgrading my power supply and graphics card. I replaced the stock Radeon HD4350 with an XFX 1GB GDDR5 Radeon 5670 and as recommended I upgraded my PSU to a Corsair CX430 430w PSU. When looking in the event log, I see a fatal hardware error event pertaining to the AMD Northbridge citing it as event code 20 Watchdog Timeout. I have downloaded CPUID to monitor the temps and voltages and the temps all seem fine idling at around 40c and the video card idling at around 50c. The voltages are throwing me off because it says the VCore voltage is 2.14v which is very high according to what I have read around the web. Additionally, the PSU rails are all showing lower voltages than what is expected. The 12v rail shows 8.38v and the 5v shows in 3.8v. However, I have since played Mass Effect 2 pretty much maxed out for close to 3 hours without a hiccup and the computer has been on for the last 14 hours straight with no issues. I am assuming due to the stability the voltage reading have to be incorrect. From what I can remember the restart occured 3 times. Once after first boot with new PSU, once while runing AMD Auto-Tune, and once while attempting to view the Windows Event Log. Just FYI, I replaced the graphics card a few days prior to the PSU and everything was running fine, although I did not leave the CPU on too much for fear that the stock power supply would not handle the upgraded card. Also, I did not do a clean install of windows after replacing the hardware and I think that may be the next step I take if I receive another restart. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.
 

jchichizola

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Oct 5, 2011
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BIOS is an HP locked BIOS that doesn't display any temperature or voltage information. All the BIOS really has in it is system info tab that displays the processor, drives, memory, etc, a security tab for passwords, and a boot order tab. This is the first PC i have owned that has such a bareboned BIOS.
 

l7ete

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Try running a torture test using prime 95 for stability. Also run Furmark to test the graphics card stability. Finally try a different psu in your pc with the new graphics card.
 

jchichizola

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Oct 5, 2011
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I will try the torture test. I already ran benchmark with futuremark, it ran fine and I received a score in the mid-5000's which it said was similar to other comparable systems. I also ran a windows experience assessment and my score increased from 4.1 to 5.9. The graphics, processor, and memory were all 7+, the 5.9 is from the POS 5400rpm WD HDD HP put in these "Elite" systems.
 

jchichizola

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Oct 5, 2011
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Just to give you guys an update... I downloaded Aida64 (Everest Replacement) and the voltages are all displaying in normal ranges (ie VCore is 1.3v) so I am assuming CPUID was not reading the sensors properly. The only sensor I was unable to verify was the 12v since it is not included in the trial version. Stability has seemed fine as the PC has been on for about 36 hours with no restarts. I downloaded my free copy of Dirt3 and played it on high settings @1920x1080 for a little over an hour with no issues and then I played Mass Effect 2 for about 2 hours with no issues and smooth gameplay. I am assuming at this point that the restarts may have just been windows adjusting to the new hardware. The temps in the case do not exceed 62c. Thanks for all your input and let me know if you think there is still something to worry about.