Got a problem with my PC, unsure of what it is.

[Efekkt]

there's a prob with my pc, but i'm not quite sure what it is. before i begin, here are my specs:

amd athlon 64 X2 4600+

1GB unknown RAM

GeForce 7500 LE

1 HDD

DVD/RW drive

400w power supply if i'm not wrong

well, i added a new gpu (XFX 8800 GT) like 2 weeks ago and noticed that every time i'm gaming, the pc seems to shut down automatically. it's fine when i'm just doing stuff, but when i get into games, whole thing just goes blaap. i just wanna know whether it might be the power supply having not enough power so my gpu overheats and the mobo reacts by shutting down. or could it be something else?

also, when i added some new crucial ballistix tracer sticks, occasionally while i'm surfing the net or whatever it would go into a blue screen and then shut down before i could read anything. only happens when i'm using the pc though. any clue what it might be?

 

[Ham]

It wouldn't supprise me if that is a psu issue. What make is it?

Also you have plugged in the PCI-E 6 pin havn't you?

What nvidia drivers are installed?

 

[monkey7]

I'm afraid your power supply does not have enough juice. You could upgrade it with for example a low wattage corsair or Antec if I'm correct.

 

[Snafu]

Is the PSU a name brand or generic? 400w is pretty low but if it is a good brand then I would check with a PSU calculator to see if it is being overloaded.

What about heat? Is everything running cool?

 

[Efekkt]

It wouldn't supprise me if that is a psu issue. What make is it?

Also you have plugged in the PCI-E 6 pin havn't you?

What nvidia drivers are installed?

some 400w cooler master psu i think. and yup, course i plugged in the 6 pin.

only the latest from nvidia at that time. i don't think it was a driver problem. :/

 

[Efekkt]

Is the PSU a name brand or generic? 400w is pretty low but if it is a good brand then I would check with a PSU calculator to see if it is being overloaded.

What about heat? Is everything running cool?

nope, most of the time the graphics card ran way hot. i could probably fry an egg on the thing. i was wondering if it's cause of the power supply not supplying enough powar.

also, i would like to add that a fan on my motherboard is not working so i removed it. it's the little fan shown over here:

http : // img.lanparty.tw/Upload/CatalogElement/NF590-SLI-M2R-G_L.jpg

could that be an issue?

 

[°TheMadDutchDude°]

Can you tell us what Amps you got on the 12v rails?

 

[Efekkt]

Can you tell us what Amps you got on the 12v rails?

alright, give me a sec.

EDIT: erm, this will sound kinda weird but i kinda blew up the power supply (don't ask how) and my bro threw it away so i don't even know the model number. could it be due to low amps on the 12v rail?

 

[Ham]

nope, most of the time the graphics card ran way hot. i could probably fry an egg on the thing. i was wondering if it's cause of the power supply not supplying enough powar.

also, i would like to add that a fan on my motherboard is not working so i removed it. it's the little fan shown over here:

http : // img.lanparty.tw/Upload/CatalogElement/NF590-SLI-M2R-G_L.jpg

could that be an issue?

Oh dear. While its an AM2 board, its not a northbridge. But what ever is under that heatsink will need cooling.

Did you remove the metal aswell or just the fan?

It may be a case of the 8800GT utilising the PCI-E bus to the point where the chip is overheating. If that is indeed the southbridge. Get a fan over it at very least asap.

 

[Efekkt]

Oh dear. While its an AM2 board, its not a northbridge. But what ever is under that heatsink will need cooling.

Did you remove the metal aswell or just the fan?

It may be a case of the 8800GT utilising the PCI-E bus to the point where the chip is overheating. If that is indeed the southbridge. Get a fan over it at very least asap.

not the metal, just the fan. and i'm pretty sure that's the southbridge. i'll get a fan over it asap, thanks.

 

[°TheMadDutchDude°]

alright, give me a sec.

EDIT: erm, this will sound kinda weird but i kinda blew up the power supply (don't ask how) and my bro threw it away so i don't even know the model number. could it be due to low amps on the 12v rail?

Yes it very well could be, 8800GTs need around 26A in total on the 12v rails. Please check the label and let us know how many A you have in total

 

[Efekkt]

Yes it very well could be, 8800GTs need around 26A in total on the 12v rails. Please check the label and let us know how many A you have in total

erm, what label?

 

[Snafu]

Well it sounds like you need to get a new PSU anyways. So no point worrying about the old one's amperage - lol

With the g-card running hot, do you know what temps it is at using something like rivatuner?

Low amperage from the PSU won't cause teh g-card to run hot. The PSU may run hot cause it is running at max to try and feed yuor computer.

If I suspect the g-card is overheating then I open up the side and point a desk fan into the case. If the card runs cooler then I suspect poor air-flow through the case and/or cooler on the card. Just an FYI.

I am not sure what is under the fan/cooler on your board (I am not familiar with AMD) but if it came with a fan then it is important to cool whatever is under there. Did you try plugging the fan into another fan header? Just in case that header is gone (doubtful but possible and it would confirm the fan is gone). You could look for an aftermarket cooler like Noctua's NB cooler. It is a twin heat-pipe design and you could add a fan to it.

Let's hear how it goes.

 

[Efekkt]

Well it sounds like you need to get a new PSU anyways. So no point worrying about the old one's amperage - lol

With the g-card running hot, do you know what temps it is at using something like rivatuner?

Low amperage from the PSU won't cause teh g-card to run hot. The PSU may run hot cause it is running at max to try and feed yuor computer.

If I suspect the g-card is overheating then I open up the side and point a desk fan into the case. If the card runs cooler then I suspect poor air-flow through the case and/or cooler on the card. Just an FYI.

I am not sure what is under the fan/cooler on your board (I am not familiar with AMD) but if it came with a fan then it is important to cool whatever is under there. Did you try plugging the fan into another fan header? Just in case that header is gone (doubtful but possible and it would confirm the fan is gone). You could look for an aftermarket cooler like Noctua's NB cooler. It is a twin heat-pipe design and you could add a fan to it.

Let's hear how it goes.

nope, i wasn't monitoring the temps at that time because i didn't know what software to use. it had to be really high for the computer to shut down though cause my mobo only shuts itself down once it reaches 90% or somethin like that. and airflow was never good with my old case. i had to leave the side panel open most of the time and even then, it was still pretty bad.

and nope, i never tried plugging it into another fan header but yeah, i'll do that. and i'll defs get a fan to cover it up. i think it might be the cause of the problems?

 

[Snafu]

Heat may be part of your troubles (heat is never good in computers) but with the PSU now blown then it could have been the main source. The PSU was possibly running at its max to satisfy your hardware and eventually gave up the ghost. Sort of like running your car at or near the redline - not good for the long term.

Are you going to pick up another PSU?

 

[Efekkt]

Heat may be part of your troubles (heat is never good in computers) but with the PSU now blown then it could have been the main source. The PSU was possibly running at its max to satisfy your hardware and eventually gave up the ghost. Sort of like running your car at or near the redline - not good for the long term.

Are you going to pick up another PSU?

yeah, i'm gonna pick up another psu. was thinking of going with either the corsair hx520 or the 620.

and the psu actually blew because i set the voltage to 115 when it was supposed to be 230. that was my bad, i didn't know. :x

 

[Snafu]

Oops!

I am not sure what PSU you will need - particularly on the wattage side of things but I would recommend you use a PSU calculator to see what you do need. If there aren't a few listed on OC3D then have a look at this.

I would be interested in hearing how your system works with the new PSU.