Crashes + PSU

[Calindor]

I've got a computer that has bad crash problems (frequency changes based on video card driver (certain ones will hardly let the computer do anything), others will let it run fine, thought it might be a ram problem, but ruled that out...I'm pretty sure its a PSU problem...My main question is would not enough voltage to the 12v rail cause crashes, memory dumps and machine check exceptions, also nv4_disp.dll BSODs? A lot of the time it happens when a video, internet explorer or game is opened up, and when the computer hasnt been running for a while, or running for too long (oddly enough), and once a crash starts, it will keep happening the same way after reboots...However sometimes it gets in a groove and it may not crash for a week.

[Firestar_Jes]

Having dealt with a PSU problem myself, those symptoms are quite common when it can't supply enough power to the entire machine.
What components do you have in the machine? What graphics card do you have? And last but not least, how big is your PSU?

[Calindor]

AMD 3800 x2
4x512mb pc3200 ram (tried with 2x512)
geforce 7600gt (worst video card ever, i've been suffering with it ever since it was new, i hate NVIDIA for this card).
750gb hd
soudblaster x-fi card
and a 550w psu (cheap brand, it doesnt have good reviews)

[zxzlenin]

nv4_disp.dll BSOD's are mainly done because of wrong nvidia drivers,but if you bavent installed any lately you might want to take your video card out and check for inflated Capacitors or exploded Capacitors.

I just experience this problem yesterday im a Computer Technitian.Had to buy another video card for the customer,the one i was fixxing had inflated capacitors and gave random BSOD "nv4_disp.dll.Also you may want to find out how many AMPS your power supply has on the 12V rail.

[Caedes]

Originally Posted by Calindor

AMD 3800 x2
4x512mb pc3200 ram (tried with 2x512)
geforce 7600gt (worst video card ever, i've been suffering with it ever since it was new, i hate NVIDIA for this card).
750gb hd
soudblaster x-fi card
and a 550w psu (cheap brand, it doesnt have good reviews)

Do you now how much Ampere it gives to the 12V Rail and how high is the efficiency? For your current you need around 30A, in the 12 V Rail.

[Calindor]

30a seems overkill, theres hardly any PSU's even with that.

It was a shitty PSU, Coolmax AP -600X (550W), it had 18amp on the 12v rail.




I just got a new one today, a Enermax ED565 (535W). It has 22a at the 12v rail, is that enough? The PSU selection was kind of limited around here, I didnt want to order one in. The only other one they had was 28a at the rail, but it was $200 lol. This one I bought is old I think, but its got things on the box as worlds strongest 12v rail, longest lasting PSU, etc...however I could not find many reviews on it. Its got about 18 reviews on ncix, mostly 5/5's and a few 4's...newegg has some low ratings for stupid things like "connector was too tight", "it was messy", and there are only a handful of reviews on newegg.



ahh wtf...new PSU



My bios doesnt have a feature to check voltages

haha the gpu has an exploded capacitor, that explains it i guess.

[Caedes]

You misunderstood me, allot of the new PSU got around 2-3 12V Rails, i wanted to know the added number of all the Rails.

Your new PSU for example got a added Ampere of 44 12V1 22A + 12V2 22A.

You cant go wrong with a Enermax PSU, they got the best PSU's out there, especially the Pro/Modu 82+ types.

[Calindor]

ohh, both 12v rails are 22, combine 12v is 34 amps

however, my GPU doesnt take a PCI-e 12v connector.

My old PSU says 18amps on each rail, says it has 2...I'm not sure maybe my old PSU was still good.

[Caedes]

Well use it as a backup if you need it :P.

[Calindor]

yeah, but i'd prefer the money back if i dont need my new one

also the frequency of crashes did seem to drop down...I had 2 all day shortly after I started it up, one said machine_check_exception, physical memory dump, the other was just a freeze when launching a game.

but im getting a new comp next week anyway.

[Caedes]

Your old one wasn't very effective, if you live alone and need to pay electrical bill you should stay with it. Since you go and buy a new PC anyway you know best .

BTW, that your experience less crashes just means that your old PSU didn't have any over voltage protections.

Like OVP <-- over voltage protection etc.

[Calindor]

Well the voltage didnt change on the 12v rail...Since the capacitor (says 6.3v on it) is blown up, i have an old geforce 5900, im gonna throw that in and take measures with both PSU's.



http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1032651236

this is identical to what happened with my GPU, same capacitor. I also read a post about a person having blacking out problems playing games and doing mundane things like surfing the web, this is what has happening to me....for a LONG time.

But question about the PSU, could this capacator be the reason with both PSU's my 12v rail is still low? Or could it be some other problem (maybe what caused the capacitor to blow, but this has been common for the 7600gt (told you i hated this card)).







edit: the results are in: (7600gt has the blown capacitor, 6200gt (not a 5900gt...i have one of those but its somewhere else) is healthy and hardly used ever)

new PSU: 7600gt 10.82v to 10.88v ---- 6200gt 10.96v to 11.00v

old PSU: 7600gt 10.32v to 10.46v ---- 6200gt 10.76v to 10.82v

So clearly in both cases the new PSU is giving higher voltage, however the difference is not as significant as i would have thought. Is it significant enough to make a difference? Also curious as to why it wouldnt reach 12v on either card/either PSU, maybe its because I am only using everst as I have no bios options to view voltage.

I'm also buying a new vid card tomorrow, unless 4870's are not for sale here (my only chance is future shop), otherwise I will have to order from NCIX, or more likely another store in my province.



P.S. I never got that Dell, because I lost my job the day after I made the order lol, but a week after that I just found out I'm getting a huge check from my expired life insurance policy...So I'm just gonna build my own.

[Caedes]

new PSU: 7600gt 10.82v to 10.88v ---- 6200gt 10.96v to 11.00v

old PSU: 7600gt 10.32v to 10.46v ---- 6200gt 10.76v to 10.82v




You can see in this table how much voltage should have on the Rails (with a tolerance of +-10% min/max). While you shouldn't give to much attention on the Software since it don't really give clear results but you get the deal.