Do I need a different PSU?

[SebRogers]

Hi Toms Hardware members,

My PC has been turning itself off randomly (after a few hours) without warning and will not turn back on straight away; I normally wait a week and it works again.

In order to make sure I wasn't going to do permanent damage to the system I took it to a repair shop who say that I need a more powerful PSU.

My system is as follows:

MSI P67A-GD53 mainboard
AMD Radeon HD6870
2 x 4gb Corsair DDR3 Ram
Corsair Builder Series 600W
1 dvd drive
Samsung 7200rpm hdd
Asus D1 sound card
Case with front fan controller and LCD display
2 140mm fans
5 120mm fans

I didn't think that I would need much more power than 600w but the guys at the repair shop made me laugh when they said I needed a 900w psu. Should I just get a 650 - 750w psu?

Thanks in advance.

 

[o1die]

This one (extra 10% off) if you don't care about the warranty: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121069
This one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151100 for value and warranty.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Anyone who tells you you need 900 watts for that system is either a straight up idiot or lying to your face to make money. Either way they deserve to be ignored if not laughed at directly in their face for having so little basic knowledge and trying to pass themselves off as computer techs.

As you can see here the ENTIRE system with a power hungry overclocked X58 based i7 965 and a single HD 6870 pulled 295w at load.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6850-6870-crossfirex-review/4

I would feel very comfortable running your system with a quality 500w and up power supply. I would probably use 550-600 watts to to give myself some upgrade headroom just like you have done.

You could have a failing power supply no doubt but you do not have one that is too small for your system.

What are your temps? Are you overclocking? Have you run memtest to rule out bad RAM? Are you doing anything specific when the computer shuts down or is it random? Have you run Prime 95 to test overall system stability?

It sounds suspiciously like a heat problem to me.

 

[dalmvern]

I would have to agree with anort's statement that it sounds like a heat problem, and anyone who thinks you need 900W to run that system needs to go back to GeekSquad school.

 

[Onus]

I agree with anort. Such "computer techs" deserve laughter and jeers, not your money.
As he pointed out, a quality 500W PSU should be sufficient. Your PSU is certainly large enough, and it should be good enough.
Question about your fans...are they balanced, creating a flow through your case, or are they all (or almost all) exhausts? If the latter, your PSU could be unable to pull any air through itself, causing it to overheat.
Other than that though, if you aren't able to turn the PC back on relatively soon (i.e. within 10-15 minutes), it isn't simply overheating, and it does sound like a problem with the PSU. Corsair is a good brand, but you could have gotten the rare dud.

 

[bucknutty]

That computer draws around 300-400 watts from the wall. A 900 watt PSU is insane. I hope you laughed in that guys face.

Take the side off and inspect the fans and heatsinks. Give them a gentle wiggle to make sure they are mounted tightly. Make sure the fans spin easily when pushed with your finger.

It could be a defective PSU, or a heat issue. Use a program like core temp to watch the temps of the CPU. If the chip gets to hot it will shut down.

Use MSI afterburner to check the temp of the video card. Same deal if that card gets to hot say 110 it will shut down.

If temps look good see if some one can loan you a PSU for testing or just chance it and buy one.

 

[SebRogers]

I am picking up the pc form the shop tomorrow so I will be able to run a ton of system tests.

I don't think I am doing anything specific to cause it to shut off, but because it happens after a few hours it is probable that it is getting too hot.

Memory is definitely fine as I already tested that.
Temps also seemed ok but I have not been monitoring them as the pc shuts off.
I will leave prime95 running with Realtemp on to see if I can get some more information.

Thanks for the help so far.

 

[nukemaster]

Unless the power supply has failing(doubtful) it will run the system with ease.

I agree with all the others above that say that "Tech" is just looking for money.

I7 2600K @ 4.4
5870(takes more power then a 6870)
2 Drives + ssd and just 4 fans 120mm fans
The rest is not important

Either way, i have to work to make it draw 300 watts(I mean work hard and still am just under 300 from the wall). To add to this, the idle power use is more in the 90-110 area.

Picking up a good power meter may be an option if you are curious
I have this one
http://www.upm-marketing.com/products/em100.html

 

[o1die]

My suggestions were if you don't want to wait on an rma for the corsair. If you have a spare video card, give that a shot also.