[Coeco]

Hello geeks, Wanted to see if you could use your detective/tech skills to solve this one for me.

So i bought a new Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD3P motherboard to support an 3,4 AMD Athlon Quad Core Processor and everything seemed to work fine, updated BIOS/Chipset/Graphics Drivers without any problems but when i try to run certain games or the Windows Index Experience, the PC would cut its own electricity half way through. I talked with some people and they think its an WATT output problem so i swapped my Radeon HD 5770 for an very older graphics card (which draws way less WATT) and it would work to load through windows experience index and play games that would normally crash instantly. But just moments ago i had the PC shut off by itself yet again even with the older card (With good temperatures). I have a 500W power box and I checked tons of calculators, all pointing that i have more than needed electricity to support the hardware.

I have carefully checked all the temperatures with and without games using several different and they are all cool-standard. Triple-checked the cooling paste on my processor and it too is absolutely fine with no spills or smearing using the CPU fan i got with the processor so only thing i suspect left to change is some settings in BIOS (Which i have zero experience with)


Notes:

I can run my newest graphics card with max graphics playing World of Warcraft without any problems but when i attempt to play some newer-notch game that is when the shut-downs happen.

The attached dxdiag is with me using my old graphics card.

Thankful for any replies.

Attached Files

•  DxDiag.txt   30.81KB   0 downloads

Edited by Coeco, 22 July 2010 - 06:36 PM.

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Your psu may be 500W but it may also be failing (not providing stable power)
what is the make & model of the psu?
How much RAM have you got & have you tried removing it/them & blowing out the
slots or try each stick individually & see if one of them fails.
I would also recommend running between 5-8 passes of memtest86;
http://www.memtest.org/

[phillpower2]

Your psu may be 500W but it may also be failing (not providing stable power)
what is the make & model of the psu?
How much RAM have you got & have you tried removing it/them & blowing out the
slots or try each stick individually & see if one of them fails.
I would also recommend running between 5-8 passes of memtest86;
http://www.memtest.org/

[amw_drizz]

I 2nd the PSU as the culprit as well. One thing to consider now a days is what is the amps being put out on the PSU rail? Also how old is this PSU? I have a 2yr old Roswill(sp) 400w PSU and it can barely run bare computer. (AMD Athlon XP 2400+, ATI Radeon HD 2400pro, 80gb ide drive, 2gb of DDR memory, all sitting on a Biostart M7CD Main board). But soon as I drop a good power supply in to that setup it is fine. So if you can get your hands on a known good PSU try that.

[Coeco]

I was wondering if i could theoretically CHECK this somehow instead of throwing even more money down the sea for PC parts because some of the stuff I'm experiencing doesn't match up with an low electrical output. I even removed 3 chips of ram, Swapped graphics card for an older one, deplugged my disk reader and it is still giving me the same stuff theoretically having the electricity around 250W at that point. (Being below my OLD spec which worked perfectly fine) so before everyone asks me to buy more parts, give me an way to check this issue.

As for my PSU, It's around 1-2 years of age and my RAM is perfectly fine. I bought two brand new and throughly tested them with zero issues. If you need more information, please download my dxdiag attachment.

Edited by Coeco, 25 July 2010 - 01:34 PM.

[amw_drizz]

Who manufactured your power supply? If it isn't quality name brand, Corsair, Enermax, etc then it won't work well with any age. If it came with the case honestly be happy it lasted as long as it has. Find a friend borrow there PSU and drop it and see if the problem goes a way. If you can't get one take the PSU to any reputable Computer Repair shop in your area; DO NOT BRING IT to GeekSquad or name brand retailers, Have them do a test on the psu.

What your describing is one of a few things, all of which are expensive to debug. Memory, Motherboard, and PSU. A good 450watt PSU from corsair on newegg will run you about $50.00 after Instant rebate and about ~$30. after MIR. Memory, anywhere from $30-100+, motherboard $50-$150+ depending on options, brand etc.

[phillpower2]

I was wondering if i could theoretically CHECK this somehow instead of throwing even more money down the sea for PC parts because some of the stuff I'm experiencing doesn't match up with an low electrical output

A failing psu can manifest itself in many ways due to the varying outputs it delivers, if it goes it can take out all your hardware so if it should never be dismissed as a possibility.
Here is the canned text of Digerati explaining how to test a psu;
To properly and conclusively test a power supply unit (PSU), it must be tested under various realistic "loads" then analyzed for excessive ripple and other anomalies. This is done by a qualified technician using an oscilloscope or power analyzer - sophisticated (and expensive) electronic test equipment requiring special training to operate, and a basic knowledge of electronics theory to understand the results. Therefore, conclusively testing a power supply is done in properly equipped electronic repair facilities.

Fortunately, there are other options that are almost as good. I keep a FrozenCPU Ultimate PSU Tester in my tool bag when I am "in the field" and don't have a good spare power supply to swap in. While not a certain test, they are better than nothing. The advantage of this model is that it has an LCD readout of the voltage. With an actual voltage readout, you have a better chance of detecting a "failing" PSU, or one barely within specified ATX Form Factor Standard tolerances. Lesser models use LEDs to indicate the voltage is just within some "range". These are less informative, considerably cheaper, but still useful for detecting PSUs that have already "failed". Newegg has several testers to choose from. All these testers contain a "dummy load" to fool the PSU into thinking it is connected to a motherboard, and therefore allows the PSU to power on, if able, without being attached to a motherboard - great for testing fans, but again, it is not a true load or suitable for conclusive testing.

Swapping in a known good supply is a tried and trued method of troubleshooting, used for years even by pros. If you have access to a suitably sized, spare power supply, carefully remove the suspect supply and replace it with a known good one and see if the problem goes away.

I do not recommend using a multimeter to test power supplies. To do it properly, that is, under a realistic load, the voltages on all the pins must be measured while the PSU is attached to the motherboard and the computer powered on. This requires poking (with some considerable force) two hard and sharp, highly conductive meter probes into the main power connector, deep in the heart of the computer. One tiny slip can destroy the motherboard, and everything plugged into it. It is not worth the risk considering most multimeters, like plug-in testers, do not measure, or reveal any unwanted and potentially disruptive AC components to the DC voltages.

Note the required voltage tolerance ranges:



And remember, anything that plugs into the wall can kill. Do not open the power supply's case unless you are a qualified electronics technician. There are NO user serviceable parts inside a power supply
Thanks to Digerati for the above instructions.

As for my PSU, It's around 1-2 years of age and my RAM is perfectly fine. I bought two brand new and throughly tested them with zero issues. If you need more information, please download my dxdiag attachment.

What tests and how many?
I am unable to read your dxdiag attachment, I get this message;
[#10173] We could not find the attachment you were attempting to view.