PC restart during graphic-intensive tasks. PSU issue? GPU issue? Mobo issue?

[NakedTyrant]

Hey, I recently put together a PC and I've been having problems with it since. When I initially built it, the specs were:

i7 920 2.67GHz
Asus p6t Motherboard
8gb RAM
500gb Sata II HD
ATI Radeon HD 3870x2 (the card with with 2 GPU's)
500W unbranded PSU
1 added 120m coolermaster fan

Shortly after I started using my PC there was a power surge that knocked the power supply out. I recently got a new power supply. A 650W Silverstone PSU that I thought was more than enough for this. The problem that would occur now is that the computer would restart during games and sometimes while processing/rendering videos in adobe premiere.

When I would enable the 'crossfire' option on my card (to enable both GPU's to work) the computer would no longer just 'restart' the entire screen would hang or the colours would go out of sync shortly after which I'd have to restart the computer. This having happened I assumed the problem was with the graphics card, not the new 650W silverstone I got. I upgraded to a newer card; Asus Nvidia Geforce GTX460 768mb. The specs are now as follows:

i7 920 2.67GHz
Asus p6t Motherboard
8gb RAM
500gb Sata II HD
Asus Nvidia Geforce GTX460 768mb
650W silverstone PSU
1 added 120m coolermaster fan

After upgrading, games like modern warfare 2 will restart in missions that has a lot of smoke, during a standard windows assessment process the computer will also restart.

There is no overheating issue, the temperatures are normal.
Total power requirement falls well below 650W.
The graphics card is brand new.

So now I'm thinking it is either the PSU that is faulty or the mobo that got screwed during the surge or possibly... given my general luck in things... the new graphics card is faulty but since i was having the exact same problem with the old graphics card that seems unlikely.

Any help would be appreciated, I've been at this for over 2 weeks now with no end. Thanks.

-A

 

[Archean]

You've got Asus motherboard, hence the first thing I'll look at considering the issues you are having, is at RAM settings/voltage in the board's BIOS, these should be exactly the same as on RAM packaging, but even that doesn't guarantee that it may not be the issue, so basically you'll need to fiddle around a bit with settings/voltage in case default specs doesn't work.

You may also consider stress testing your graphic card using OCCT (including vRam). Regards

 

[NakedTyrant]

Hey, thanks. So I went and added values in manually applying '1.5v' replacing the 'Auto' but it sets the value to 0.653 or something like that. I'm not entirely sure how BIOS and all works, a little illiterate with that stuff. Recently I downloaded ntune to do a stability test and I get a blue screen shortly after I put it on, this mind you is before I even start the stability test! WHAT is going on!??!

- computer restarts during heavy games
- computer restarts when I refresh the windows experience index, it restarts at 'load texture assessment'
- computer gives blue screen when I activate Ntune
- computer occasionally restarts when processing or rendering footage in adobe premiere

 

[dividebyzero]

Did you experience the restarts/BSoD prior to the original PSU frying itself ?
If no, then it sounds as though the boards' chipset (northbridge/MCH) or power delivery (voltage regulation) has been damaged when the PSU went belly up.
If yes, then the RAM could possibly be the problem. If this is a likely scenario could you post the memory modules information (Manufacturer and kit part number) as well as what DIMM's (memory slots) you have populated. 8Gb of RAM on a triple channel motherboard is not a usual usage situation (3, 6 or 12Gb is more in line with X58 boards).

 

[NakedTyrant]

Nope, this restart issue is most definitely post-PSU frying itself. So it probably is the Mobo then? Recently getting the blue screen suggests it could be the ram as well. I really hope it isn't the graphics card.... its brand effing new.

 

[dividebyzero]

Likely either the memory controller hub (MCH), the voltage regulation providing voltage to the MCH, or faulty (or incorrect settings used) RAM. If you could provide the information I requested in the previous post it would help possibly narrowing down the issue.
I would also suggest downloading Memtest86+ (the bootable .ISO file v4.10) and burn to CD or USB flash drive.
Remove all the RAM sticks except for 1 stick in DIMM_A1 (orange slot closest to CPU socket)
Boot into the BIOS and make CD or USB (whichever you burned the Memtest86+ to) your first boot device. - make sure the USB stick is connected (or the CD in the drive)
F10 to save and exit.
Memtest86+ will initialise once the board POSTs.
Run the test for at least 7-10 passes. Memtest will notify you if there are any errors -it will be apparent. Each "Pass" is made up of 8 tests. If you are using 2Gb modules then ~25-35min per pass.
If the module is without error after this time, stop the test and shut the system down. Swap the RAM module of one of the remaining modules. Repeat the Memtest test (and for all remaining modules).
Once the memory runs have been concluded, reboot into the BIOS, reset your boot order to your preference (most likely hard drive), F10 to save and exit.

 

[Archean]

In addition to DBZ's suggestions, please have a look at your Event Viewer logs, these may provide some insight.

 

[NakedTyrant]

Thanks a tonne for the support guys, I really appreciate it. I feel we're getting closer to the problem. Alright, so the RAM information is:

Kingston 2GB stick, KVR1333D3N9/2G, BKME1611019, 1.5V
There are 6 ports, 3 orange and 3 black. I have 3 plugged into the orange slots for triple channel and 1 plugged into the black.

The Event logger had 1 entry under 'critical' and it was:

Event Type: Critical
Event ID: 41
Source: Kernel-Power
Log: System

I'm growing more and more certain that this is a mobo problem, but to be sure i'm going to check my card out in my friends PC, just in case the card hasn't been damaged by the random restarts.

 

[Archean]

Please ensure that all the installed motherboard/chipset drivers are up-to-date.

Your error means that "the last sleep transition was unsuccessful, this error could be caused if the system stopped responding, failed or lost power during the sleep transition". In many cases, this error occurs often whilst playing graphics intensive PC games.

So we may need some patience to explore this, until we can find a solution. To start with, I would suggest that you should disable all power saving options including hibernation on this system, except the ones related to your monitor; and see whether this improves the situation or not.

DBZ, can it be the case that PSU is somehow fails to deliver enough/required power under load?

 

[NakedTyrant]

All power saving options are off. I don't know where to get the Asus p6t chipset drivers from, having trouble finding them. Any idea?

 

[NakedTyrant]

Got them, nevermind.

 

[dividebyzero]

DBZ, can it be the case that PSU is somehow fails to deliver enough/required power under load?

Unlikely in this case I would think. Even assuming the PSU is the lowest spec Silverstone ( Strider/Element), it should still be outputting ~50A (+12v) -Most Silverstone units are 80 Plus rated. So, assuming that the graphics card is not overclocked and the CPU is at stock frequency I doubt the system is using more than 320-350w maximum draw. Much more likely that the MCH has suffered damage - or possibly a burnt trace, although that would most likely show up with a careful examination of the board.