dersami

Distinguished
Oct 30, 2011
5
0
18,510
Heyho

Ive been encountering a problem with my PC for quite some time now. When I either run a full screen flash app in my browser (full screen videos, grooveshark.com) or certain games (shogun 2, darksiders; rage works) or when I copy large files > 4gig on my external hard drive my monitors recieve only a black signal, numlock doesnt work, but the PC continues to run (athough it doesnt respond to anything).
the hds are formatted in NTFS, i tried monitoring the cpu and gpu's temp without noticing anything out of the ordinary.
further, i find it quite confusing that this happens in those 3 quite different cases, the only explanation i could think of up to now might be some kind of power shortage forcing the gpu/cpu or mainboard to shut down.
does anyone have a clue? or am i completely wrong about this?

specs:
Mainboard : Acer FRX780M
Chipset : AMD RD770
CPU : AMD Phenom II X6 1035T @ 2000MHz
RAM : 6144MB (3 x 2048 DDR3-SDRAM )
Graphics Card : ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series
HD : Western Digital WD10 EADS-22M2B0 SATA Disk Device (1000GB)
HD : Western Digital WD25 00AAJS-00VTA0 SATA Disk Device (250GB)
HD : WD Ext HDD 1021 (1500GB)
DVD-Rom: ATAPI DVD A DH16AASH
DVD-Rom : QLC WTEF0P67OLM
Monitor : P196HQV - 19 inchs
Monitor : Samsung SyncMaster - 20 inchs
Network Adapter : Marvell Semiconductor (Was: Galileo Technology Yukon 88E8071 PCIe Gigabit Ethernet Controller
OS : Windows 7 Home Premium Home Edition Media Center 6.01.7601 Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
DirectX : Version 11.00


Drivers / Patches are all up to date.

would be nice if any1 could help.

best,
Sami
 

beenthere

Distinguished
You should run Memtest86+ from a floppy, CD or flash drive to check the RAM for errors. If you get errors with all DIMMs then test each one individually.

BTW, (3) DIMMs in a Phenom II based system is not good because the system runs in single channel instead of the preferred dual channel mode. If the RAM is bad I'd suggest ONE matched, tested RAM Kit of 2x 4GB. specifically approved for Phenom II CPUs. Mixing of RAM especially DDR3 RAM is never advised as it often does not work without issues.

PSU issues are difficult to confirm other than installing a known good PSU.

If you want to objectively, accurately and scientifically determine what PSU power is required for your Vid card and PC in both watts and 12v rail amps., the forum Utility link below will show you how easy it is to calculate this information and objectively determine which PSUs are quality built, reliable PSUs that can meet your needs. Be advised that the available 12v rail amps. is just as important as the total PSU wattage. You need both to be correct.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/314712-28-please-read-determine-power-required
 

dersami

Distinguished
Oct 30, 2011
5
0
18,510
i already tested the dimms, none showed any errors - so it is quite possible that there is an issue with my psu? or could it be something else?
 
You've reproduced it with those specific games? That's very odd. That makes me think CPU or GPU, but the hard drive thing is a strong possibility too. You seem to have some conflicting factors: the CPU/GPU thing wouldn't apply to file transfers, and a HDD problem shouldn't affect full-screen video.
 

dersami

Distinguished
Oct 30, 2011
5
0
18,510
i did - it indeed is very strange - older games seem to work fine btw ... the only thing i can think of is the mainboard not getting enough power and then shutting down - given thought, that this is the only thing connecting the transfers, flash and the games.
 

doc_hemlock

Distinguished
Dec 9, 2011
1
0
18,510
Hi,

From the description of your problems and the description of your system I would hazard a guess that your PSU is inefficient for your system.

How long ago did these problems start? Was it something that occurred after upgrading your CPU or GPU?

P.s. ATi recommend a 450 watt PSU for the 5700 series minimum.