New build problem

[isain]

So I ordered pc parts from new egg and put it all together about a week ago with no problems, started right up and i updated all my drivers and all that good stuff. I played Skyrim for about fifty hours in the last four days at almost maxed out settings, but yesterday all of a sudden my computer crashes, not a video card crash but completely loses power and I can't start it until i close the circuit and unplug the power. I'm assuming it's a faulty power supply knowing that I went into buying this one with some risks. I tried using a different hard drive and it still crashed, and it seems as though the crashes are becoming more sudden because at first it would only crash playing skyrim, then other games, and finally just at the desktop.

My build:
AMD Phenom II X4 965 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-730SS 730W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152036

PowerColor Radeon HD 6870 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131378

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231402

GIGABYTE AMD 970 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128521

I also built this build almost exactly the same for my cousin except i used a rosewill hive serious psu instead, but decided against it for my build because the price shot up 30 bucks (probably due to its reliability).

So all in all i guess I'm just asking for some clarity before i decide to buy a new psu

 

[r0aringdrag0n]

The most obvious culprit is the PSU. Raidmax isn't all that of a reliable company, something like Antec, Corsair, or Seasonic is more reliable

 

[AbdullahG]

+1 on a new PSU. PSU is the most important part in a build IMO. You want something that's solid and can run your system clean and effectively.

Save $5 and get an X4 955. You can easily bump up the multiplier slightly to get up to X4 965 speeds.

 

[r0aringdrag0n]

The PSU is important because it has the chance to either make your system run or break your system. If the PSU is crappy and fails, it could possibly fry your CPU and motherboard

 

[isain]

Yea i was aware that raidmax is cheap with there psu's and I knew i shouldn't of lol, now i know for sure. And i got the 965 because it was on sale for the same price as the 955

 

[AbdullahG]

It's out-of-stock ATM though.

 

[jsc]

except i used a rosewill hive serious psu instead, but decided against it for my build because the price shot up 30 bucks (probably due to its reliability).

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Sorry - a little.
Rosewill PSU's are not much better than Raidmax.

The following is part of my standard troubleshooting response.

Running fans and drives and motherboard LED's do not necessarily indicate a good PSU. In the absence of a single short beep, they also do not indicate that the system is booting.

At this point, you can sort of check the PSU. Try to borrow a known good PSU of around 550 - 600 watts. That will power just about any system with a single GPU. If you cannot do that, use a DMM to measure the voltages. Measure between the colored wires and either chassis ground or the black wires. Yellow wires should be 12 volts. Red wires: +5 volts, orange wires: +3.3 volts, blue wire : -12 volts, violet wire: 5 volts always on. Tolerances are +/- 5% except for the -12 volts which is +/- 10%.

The gray wire is really important. It should go from 0 to +5 volts when you turn the PSU on with the case switch. CPU needs this signal to boot.

You can turn on the PSU by completely disconnecting the PSU and using a paperclip or jumper wire to short the green wire to one of the neighboring black wires.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FWXgQSokF4&feature=youtube_gdata

A way that might be easier is to use the main power plug. Working from the back of the plug where the wires come out, use a bare paperclip to short between the green wire and one of the neighboring black wires. That will do the same thing with an installed PSU. It is also an easy way to bypass a questionable case power switch.

This checks the PSU under no load conditions, so it is not completely reliable. But if it can not pass this, it is dead. Then repeat the checks with the PSU plugged into the computer to put a load on the PSU.

 

[isain]

At jsc: Thanks for the info I thought about testing it like that just been on the lazy side haha, I'm also aware of Rosewill's quality but all in all its still better than raidmax haha definitely going to be buying a corsair this time around.

 

[isain]

Best answer selected by isain.