Restarting during games

merGEE

Posts: 13   +0
My computer randomly restarts during certain games such as COD4, BFBC2. I've stressed the ram, even switched it and it still restarts. I thought maybe my CPU was overheating so i opened up the case and put a fan right in front of it, it still restarts even if my CPU temp is around 43 Celcius. I downloaded EVGA precision to see my GTS 250 GPU temp, while in game, it's around 65-70. I even formated my computer. This all started about 2 month after i switched my 8600 for a GTS 250. Some people tell me my 520 watts PSU isn't enough. I dont know where to look at, is it my CPU temp, my GPU temp, or PSU is too small ...? Thanks for your help

> Mainboard : Unspecified Unspecified
> Chipset : Intel P31/P35
> Processor : Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3000MHz
> Physical Memory : 4096MB (2 x 2048 DDR2-SDRAM )
> Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250
> Hard Disk : Western Digital WD3200AAKS-00B3A0 (320GB)
> DVD-Rom Drive : Optiarc DVD RW AD-7201S
> Monitor Type : 22 inches
> Network Card : Attansic (Now owned by Atheros) L1 Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000Base-T Controller
> Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Professional 5.01.2600 Service Pack 3 (32-bit)
 
A little update, i've ran EVGA precision on my graphic card( GTS 250) temp, and sometimes it goes up to 80 + in games. I've tried a Furmark stress test, and it went up to 95 in a short lapse of time, i would say 5-10 mins. ATI tool didnt go that high, i stopped it at 75+. I'm trying to find why my computer restarts randomly during gaming.
 
Run the stress tests for reasonable period of time say 1-2 hours, you may even try OCCT, which is a reasonably good tool to stress test GPU + vRAM. According to nVidia 450W PSU is required, what is the brand/specs of your PSU? If it is an older unit it may have degraded overtime and is unable to cope with system demands.
 
Well, its a 520 watts Rhino model, a lot of people tell me i should change my PSU, but a 450 watts is required for this card. I've searched a lot about the GTS 250 and ipeople say the 200 series are running at high temp, the GPU is always over 70 + while gaming. Thanks for helping me.
 
I've no idea about the quality of Raidmax PSUs ..... so I wouldn't comment how good or bad they are.

Anyway, run GPU Memtest & GPU OCCT tests.

Another point which wasn't discussed earlier, when was the last time you updated your graphic card drivers ?
 
I ran OCCT for 1 hour, no errors found and i've just installed windows 7, and it still crashes in games. I think windows 7 updates all your driver, even in xp i had the latest versions.
 
There is no BSOD ?

Check your system logs in Even Viewer Logs (you can find it in Control Panel, Admin. Tools), and see whether something use is being logged.
 
Event log : The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.
I pretty much think it's my power supply, here's what's written on it : RHINO ATX12V Power 520 watts. I will run AIDA to test my PSU tomorrow, now it's late, thanks for the tips guys.
 
I ran AIDA to check my powersupply output and it was around 11.870 - 11.920 sometimes it went down to 11.750, i dont want to run OCCT power supply test, it might blow out my shitty RHINO ATX12V Power 520 watts.
 
Allright, I got some important news right now, I ran a GPU full screen stress test with error check on OCCT. Results, white artifacts started to appear over 75 celcius, GPU temp went up to 98 celcius, errors went up to like 3 billions. Final results : 38 183 errors.... Could this be the problem and not the PSU?
 

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It seems to be, I assume this card is in warranty, my suggestion is that you should RMA it for replacement.

Also just to make sure, try running your system with old card, if that works ok ...... then there is no doubt about this.
 
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