A few random issues that occur.

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lentyski

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Hello tom'shardware people!

First off let me just list the two most current issues dealing with my PC. I will try to be as detailed as possible, and yes it is a home built PC (A friend of mine put it together).

First off my specs are:

Memory: 4 GB of RAM DDR3
GPU: 580 GTX
Hard Drive: 500 GB of space
CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 B55 Processor (OC to 3.4 MHz and opened 1 Core - so 3 Cores)

When I run multiple things, spotify, MSN, Skype, Tera etc...my temperatures always seem fairly normal, GPU is really cool, CPU is normally mid 40s maximum.

So I don't think its a heating issue. (Yes today I just updated my Nivida drivers)

But this has happened twice and if it continues I'm not 100% sure what to do, anyways here's what happens:

I will be sitting here, and all of a sudden my PC will still be on but my 24 Inch monitor would go black, than I would hear a "beep" as if my PC just instantly re booted, and it comes back up, any idea why? There is no blue screen of death or anything like that. It has yet to do it with the new drivers updated, but any ideas on what else could have happened?

My other issue happens rarely but more than the above one:

I have two USB ports in the front of my tower, where you could plug in a USB port to charge a MP3 player or something like that. Well my little brother likes to charge his M3P player with my PC, and ever so often, if he un plugs the MP3 player charge (still connected with the MP3 player) the PC will end up rebooting, it does not happen often, but it still happens.

I do plan to do a major upgrade on my PC, as I said in another post, I plan to get a new CPU, motherboard, memory.

I have yet to do an entire wipe of my hard drive, god knows I need to its probably been almost two years and junk after junk has just been building up lol.... Maybe once I get my new CPU / mother board and he installs it all, maybe he might find the issue there with a past wire issue?

Well thanks for reading! :).
 
Solution
Few Oranges
as far as the amperage on the 12v rail you can find that on a sticker on the side of the psu itself. judging by the newegg link it appears as if you have 60amps on 4 12v rails. Im not an expert on power supplies but i think 4 rails is a little unnerving because you can never be certain if the manufacturer uses quality parts that deliver the actual amount. 60 amps is theoretically a great number but like i said im not sure on the internals. if at all possible trying another psu would help either isolate the problem being the psu or tell us that its not
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what brand PSU do you have? max continuous wattage? more importantly whats your amperage on the 12v rail? sounds eerily similar to a power drop problem\

and are you overclocking your GPU at all?
 
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lentyski

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Ok lets open this bad boy up! lol..

PSU is 850W..think its a Dynamo?..hard to see lol (hopefully that answers ur question)

Where can I see the max continuous wattage and the 12v rail? Could I get that from CUPID? (Sorry if I sound like a complete nub lol...still new to all of this).

My GPU I do not believe it is OC...I remember messing with some settings when I first got the graphics card...but nothing to major, haven't messed with OC with the GPU in ages.

This is looks pretty much like my PSU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817517003&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-Power+Supplies-_-N82E16817517003&gclid=CNKOvp70trUCFQhyQgod1BgAkw

Hopefully I am being as much helpful as possible!
 
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haha yeah i think you answered by quesiton, but hey the best way to learn is hands on, so going into your case is a good experience. Now...as far as that power supply goes i am a little skeptical. If there is one thing you should never "cheap out" on in a build its the power supply. not saying you did that here but in the power supply world brand name is actually important. Brands such as Corsair, Seasonic, Antec etc. are names youd like to purchase from. Also after reading reviews online about this particular power supply it seems that more often than not people are experiencing problems with this supply.
Considering you are fresh to the pc component world i take it as safe to assume you dont "have a spare power supply lying around?"
 
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as far as the amperage on the 12v rail you can find that on a sticker on the side of the psu itself. judging by the newegg link it appears as if you have 60amps on 4 12v rails. Im not an expert on power supplies but i think 4 rails is a little unnerving because you can never be certain if the manufacturer uses quality parts that deliver the actual amount. 60 amps is theoretically a great number but like i said im not sure on the internals. if at all possible trying another psu would help either isolate the problem being the psu or tell us that its not
 
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are you referring to the setup that is linked from the original poster in that thread? im not understanding which setup youre saying you would like.

WARNING-----If you are not fully knowledgeable about the innards of a power supply or electrical current for that matter do NOT open up your power supply! even unplugged there are pieces that can retain a charge that would not only causes damage to your system but to your well being. The best way to find out the quality of components in a psu is to google the name with reviews sometimes there will be in depth reviews about where the capacitors are from etc.
 
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lentyski

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Yeah I know about the whole PSU electrical stuff haha

Ohh sorry I was not more specific, yeah I wanna upgrade my CPU but in order to do that I need to update my motherboard and I am also wanting 8GB of more RAM...and buying a FAN....so that is my budget so a new PSU, if that was the issue, not sure how that all would work.
 
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okay i see, well if you wanted the i5 3570k then in reality you would only "need" 4 more Gb for a total of 8 assuming this is a gaming rig. Otherwise its kinda overkill. if you are planning on upgrading i would at least try to isolate which piece of hardware is causing the problem for you. Im still thinking its the psu considering there are a couple instances in which it actually caught on fire for some consumers. what is your current budget for this upgrade
 
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lentyski

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Ohh (sorry tripple post haha) the motherboard I wanna get...comes with a free 8 GB RAM Stick...but Idk what would do better / faster...8 GB 2x stick (new) my current 4 GB, or 1 8GB stick for free xD!

 
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assuming the different ram options are either 1333mhz or 1600mhz it doesnt matter which is which, *theoretically*
I for instance have 16Gb at 4 sticks. Also after usage the heat and movement of parts in a psu degrade over time (i know thats obvious) but so does the efficiency of output and there may lie you problem. With charging devices it seems like there is not enough power going through and so your system does a slight stutter.
when you overclock your cpu are you raising the blc? Because this increased bus speed is directly related to the voltage on the pci-e lanes and therefore can effect the behavior of your GPU.
 
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lentyski

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Well...I got a little lost in all of that hahah...when I did OC my CPU (I just raised it .2 MHZ and unlocked 1 core) I pumped a little bit more into the voltage..

So where exactly do you think we stand right now?
 
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i think you should try to drop the overclock you have to stock again and see if you perhaps still get the problem. In my opinion i think it may be your power supply that is at fault, but there are always a million ways something can go astray in a computer haha. If you can get ahold of a psu tester you can see if the output is reading correctly
 
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lentyski

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How do I get one of those =O.

and alright :). I really hope its not the PSU haha...do not really want to throw another 100$ into the budget -.-.

I could cut my cost...take out the 50$ RAM...either use my current RAM or the 1 stick 8 GB they give me with my MB.

Any ideas Oranges? Thanks for ur patience and assistance!
 
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lentyski

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Oh and might I add Orange...when the whole 'USB' thing did occur...its as though it unlocked either the 4th core (which is a bad thing) or it went back to stock, but when I started it up, got a CPU error (This was with the USB issue)...

What I would do is, just go back into my CPU settings, either un clock it than re open the 3rd core or put it all back to stock than get it back to where it was...

If that all makes sense..

So he unplugs the USB cord > Re boot > Thing says "Press 4 to activate core unlocker" (Normally it would only say 3 Cores is Activated) than a CPU error comes up, makes me get back into the settings to fix it...

 
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yeah use the free ram for sure, ram is ram lol, but as far as your cores being open and such doesnt really matter, your computer should not use more than one core unless the load its under needs the extra strength. If these anomalies dont occur that often then im sure its not a major issue however if it is a psu problem i would hate the voltage regulation to get screwy and risk the chance of frying the system, just food for thought
 
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lentyski

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Alrighty, well...

Should I continue with my normal purchase? Maybe just take away the 50$ 2 stick ram, save some money, maybe tell the guy who built it about the issues, maybe he might come around on something?

Been wanting a new CPU for a while to match my GPU x.x!

Any suggestions from your expertise will be taken really into consideration!

AND!

IF!

I had to get a PSU, any ones you suggest from newegg? :).
 
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yes i would and if your mobo comes with 8 gb you sure dont need to spend money on any more ram sir, and definitely ask the guy you purchased it from, even ask him if he ever noticed that as a problem.
as far as psu's go like everyone in the world suggests...a corsair is always a keen option
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139048
^^im basically a strictly modular guy when it comes to psu, i love being able to only plug in cords i need i have an antec 620w psu the one in the link below, i have put it through stress tests and the works and it performs flawlessly, also comes with sleeved cables and a bunch of them at that

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371059
 
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Yes 600w is more than enough for overclocked and full load especially of the brands listed, in fact if you really wanted to you could even sli but that's a world of complications I'm itself
 
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lentyski

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SLI, is basically two gpus isnt it? xD I think ill hold off on anything along that for a while ^^. Just ordered that new Intel I5 CPU, motherboard, and the fan (Took away the ram!)

I wonder how much of a difference the Intel I5 3570k will be VS my Phenom II X4 B55!
 
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Like riding a bike vs driving a sports car, large difference. You should still be fine on ram 4gb is a decent amount until you decide to get more
 
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