I Think Its The PSU

[Jimbob956]

Hey. When I play on 3D games like gta vice city after about 45mins the computer restarts unexpectedly, I immeadiatley press the del key to go into BIOS and check the temps. It says my CPU temp is 66°C. I think this is a bit too warm. My PSU is only a Powerman/inwin 250w. I only have one 80mm akasa case fan aswell. I think the power supply is causing it, as there is only one output fan on it which looks shoddy. Then on the other side of the PSU there are small vents. The air that comes out of the PSU is quite hot. I think an antec psu with two fans (one on the back and the side of it) would be better. I have played on many 3d games and my comp restarts. However if I play a game with a proper house fan shooting air at the computer it doesnt restart, andafter I've finished playing the game I check the temp and it isaround 45°C. Any of your views would be nice about the psu, if you think its inadequate. Here are my specs by the way.

amd athlon xp 2700 (2.17GHz)
MSI mobo
512MB ram
120gb hard drive (cant be sure of rpm speed)
dvd-rw + dvd-rom drives
geforce 4 mx 128MB
56k modem

Cheers

 

[Bug]

This is an issue with heat. The PSU might be another issue, but the processor hitting 66C is not good. At around 70C the motherboard will probably have a safety shut down setting. This is more than likely the cause of the reboot. I would first make sure that enough air is getting into the system and out of the system by adding 80 mm fans. There should be one in-take fan in the front or on the side of your case and one out-take fan on the back of the computer below the PSU.

I recommend getting a 300 or 350W PSU in the event that you plan on upgrading.

Bug

 

[Jimbob956]

I think I might get a new psu, maybe an antec true power 430w. I bought this pc already built ready to go (OEM style). I think them companies are all out for money n profit, they don't care what kind of components go in. I have checked inside the case, there isn't a fan installed at the front, but there is space and a mount for one, so I will get one. There is one at the back which is an akasa sleeve bearing fan, i mite buy a new one for the back as well, get a ball bearing one, less noise.

Cheers bug, im not a hardware expert, so thanx for recommending there should be a fan at the front.

 

[SNGX1275]

Well if your comp runs fine for a while the PSU isn't the real problem. I think you've recognised that yourself. What you need to do is improve your airflow if possible or maybe get a new HSF for your processor. You didn't mention an air intake fan. Ideally you'll have a fan blowing air into your case and at the minimum your PSU fan blowing air out. No case (and subsequent airflow) should be bad enough that you overheat playing games, I think you just need a better heat sink and fan on your processor and better overall airflow in your case, perhaps even get rounded IDE cables.

Buying a new PSU might get you a bit more airflow out, but you really aren't curing the problem, you are only psudofixing it.

 

[Rick]

I've seen plenty of systems shut down in the upper 60* temperatures.

There is little doubt in my mind that your problem is heat related.

 

[Jimbob956]

Thanx SNGX1275 and Rick for your thoughts. I think I'll just buy an antec true power range psu and get a case fan for the front. I would really rather not mess around with the heatsink (i am not one for hardware, if I broke anything, that would be such a bummer, I think I'll not tap into the heatsink just yet. My current psu is 250w,i am goin to get a new video card in the future, maybe an xti x300 or x800 one. no way a 250w psu can handle one of those, no way.

 

[Rick]

Did you buy the system from someone else? If so, was it "home made" or store bought?

If one of your friends made it (or something along those lines) the heatsink could be on backwards.

Because of the way it is notched, it will only fit one way properly. But if you put it on backwards, it will let you use the computer for a short time, then shut off because only the edge of the CPU core would be touching the heatsink.

 

[Jimbob956]

Hey Rick. It was store bought a while ago. It would be pretty poor if a computer manufacturer put the heat sink on the wrong wayround in the factory where it was built. I have an akasa AK-785CU Heataink. On the website it shows they are capable of cooling with the AMD XP 2200/2400/2600/3000+ (I have 2700+). I am definitely getting an air intake fan. Just one thing, i have seen the fan guard, how can I determine the case fan size I need to fit into the fan guard cover. The fan gaurd cover measures 105mm | 90mm | 70mm (WxHxD). There is already an 80mm case fan at the back, the fan gaurd at the front is bigger than the oen at the back, i do know that. Like i say in my other posts, am no hardware genius, i may sound stupid, but hey, we all cant have the power to be a hardware master, well we can, but av never really explored into the hardware world, but lately, im starting to look into it. Cheers once again.

(Ive come back to edit) BTW i have just measured the fan template thingy, you know the holes cut in the metal where the air can be blown out. Now that measures 80mm x 80mm, so why is the case so weird in measurements. The circle at the back where air is blown out measures 80mm x 80mm also, but that has a samller case cover. Any help or advice would be nice.

 

[RealBlackStuff]

See if there are pre-cut holes to mount the front-fan in.
You are looking for either an 80x80mm (probably) or 90x90mm fan (most likely by your measurements). The mounting screws are on the corners of those fans, so if the distance between 2 holes horizontally or vertically (in your cases's front) is nearly 80mm, you need an 80x80 fan, or when 90 you need a 90x90 fan.

When you mount it in the front, make sure that it blows INWARDS. There should be an arrow on the narrow side of the fan to indicate the direction.
Check if your motherboard has extra fan connectors. If not, get a fan that hooks into one of the power-supply cables. You may need a so-called y-splitter if you have no free cable left.

 

[Jimbob956]

Am bak. Am still havin trouble.you wouldnt believe it, someone having trouble with a case fan. Let me get one thing straight. Do ya mount the fan in the metal on the case, or do you mount it on the cover. realblackstuff, I think there are pre-cut holes, al av to look later to mek sure. Here is a pic of the case fan cover, maybe you can tell me wot that big ring is for, and where the fan mounts, even if it does mount in the cover, laf all ya want, am rubbish wen it comes to hardware. Cheers to all them who have replied so far, and all them who continue to reply, ur a gr8 bunch .

 

[RealBlackStuff]

I have never seen an outside cover to go over a fan. I also haven't a clue as to what that ring may be for. What are its (the cover's) dimensions? Perhaps a photo of the front of your PC (with that cover removed) might make things clearer.

Normally, these fans are mounted on the inside of the case, sometimes making it necessary to move the disk-drive(s) a little bit further back to accommodate the fan.

If your photo is indeed of a fan-cover, you may be able to mount it on the outside of the case, then put that cover over it.

 

[Bug]

The plastic cover you show is to place the fan inside of. Then the cover is attached to the inside of the case. An 80mm fan should slide right into this cover (make sure to note the direction of the airflow. You want to have air coming into the case) The four plastic tabs inside the cover should hold the fan in place. And then the cover will connect to the inside of the case.

Bug

 

[Page2564]

I have an I have a very similar setup.
A7N8X-VM 400
AMD Athlon 2800+
4 gig of ram
I have an antec 450W Power Sup. with 2 fans on it
2 fans on the front blowing in
1 on the side blowing in
one on the back blowing out
1 on the top bloing out
My CPU stays around 45-50 deg. C

I think you need more power for you system to run at its best, and more fans to protect your investment. I think my 450W may be overkill, but I didn't want all the extra fans to pull power away from the rest of my system.

 

[Page2564]

Sorry to look like I am spaming the thread, but I forgot to say that the fan direction is key.. I played around with different setups and my temps with the same # of fans was larger than I thought it would be, from 45 C to 65 C.. 65 C is to hot, but I got it down to 45C without spending any more money.