Do I need a new PSU?

[Rowan88]

Hi.

My PSU is about 5 years old. Only reason I am thinking its packing in is because I have noticed some screen glitching or slight stuttering while playing games even though my FPS is over 70 and has freesync enabled. After a bit of research it seems like micro stuttering..

Is there anyway to test a PSU to see if its the cause of this issue??

Also if I was to buy a new one I was just wondering if a 600w was still enough because I installed new hardware since purchasing it so I might even have went over threshold which could be causing issues.

Hardware
Intel core i5 4670k oc 4.2ghz @ 1.23v
8gb ddr3 1600mhz
Sapphire Nitro RX580+ 8GB
NZXT hue+
Corsair lightning node w/ 3x LL120 fans
1x ssd and 2x hdd
NZXT s340 elite

Sorry for big post.

Thanks

 

[EsaT]

PSU itself can't directly cause stuttering, just crashing.
Though higher ripple/drop in voltage regulation could force CPU and GPU VRMs to work harder and heat just enough to cause some throttling, if those are already near their limit.
Using stock setting or lower OC could tell about that.

That card peaks around 250W so 600W is enough. (max gaming load around 350W)
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sapphire/RX_580_Nitro_Plus/28.html

But that PSU is standard cheap PSU using "Corsair means automatic quality" marketing hype and fancy outlook to sell.
http://www.planet3dnow.de/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=406682
Secondary is full of cheap Samxons and 80+ Bronze efficiency is just crap by today's standards. (low end already in start of decade)
Using standard casing and saved budget for better quality capacitors would have been better.

If you're heavy PC user with lots of daily power on hours would definitely put it to likely some wear category.
Unless testing with oscilloscope showing good ripple levels.
It simply wasn't designed to last, like short 3 year warranty should tell.
But hey, at least primary capacitor is high quality one to lower chances of primary dying first with minimal risks to PC parts...
(safe failure mode because primary's failure just shuts down PSU's outputs)



Seasonic Focus Plus Gold is where performance/quality meets price.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/search?sSearch=seasonic+focus+gold
Antech HGC Gold is same PSU in different clothes.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/antec-hcg-gold-650w-80-plus-gold-modular-power-supply-ca-24w-an.html
Antec Earthwatts Gold is pretty much same, just with semi-modular cabling.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/search?sSearch=antec+earthwatts+gold

 

[Rowan88]

Thanks for the information.. appreciated.

I will remove overclock and test from that.

Im wondering if having Corsair iCue and NZXT Hue+ running together was causing it but I really doubt it.

What other aspects should I test or check that cause microstutter?

 

[EsaT]

Im wondering if having Corsair iCue and NZXT Hue+ running together was causing it but I really doubt it.

RGB bling bling programs are certainly known for possibly conflicting.
That could show in DPC latency.
http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon

 

[Disco_P]

Im wondering if having Corsair iCue and NZXT Hue+ running together was causing it but I really doubt it.

I wouldn't. I don't hear great things about iCue and I know from experience that CAM is pure bloatware.

What do you mean when you say "screen glitching"?

How are GPU and CPU clocks/power usage whilst gaming? I've had PSU caused power throttling on a GTX Titan and MSI afterburner showed it clear as day - power usage wouldn't go above 80%. Turned out to be a loose PEG cable.

 

[Rowan88]

I ran LatencyMon and it ran for 16secs and came back You system appears suitable. No page errors.

If I uninstall the iCue and HUE+ does my lighting effects still stay the way they are?

When I used RivaTuner to check stats during gaming all seemed fine that I could see, FPS didn't drop, temps were fine.

I will try and get some video evidence of what I am seeing, its not tearing but it feels like if I rotate around some of the textures take a slight second to load in or lag behind for a second... thats why I assumed it was Microstuttering.

It may just be me but I feel as if I notice something strange even in windows, or youtube, like the flickering... but very slight, enough to annoy you.

Even when I load DOOM, when it comes up the creator logo at the start it looks like its tearing.

 

[Rowan88]

I just done a fresh reinstall off Windows there to narrow out any software conflicts, installing Assassins Creed as I type..

What I did notice though, if I open Control Panel and select one of the options. While windows is "transitioning" to the next page the text goes kind of choppy or low quality for a second, which is getting me thinking its a similar issue to whats happening in games. I connected up my older monitor just to see if same problem occurred and my old monitor is doing it too (different HDMI cables and ports).

So its definetly not an issue with the monitor, or freesync and going by the fresh install its got to be either Hardware or Windows Update issues.


Is there any kind of tests I could do on the hardware, or software to check it? I've already ran MEMTEST which passed fine. I ran LatencyMon and that passes fine.

I have also took off the OC on my CPU which has made no difference either.

Am I right in assuming it would be down to:

CPU - although the temps are fine in and out of gaming I did replace the fan on the BeQuiet with a Corsair LL120 which could be not seated enough on the chip.
GPU - brand new RX580, temps and FPS are fine so surely wouldn't be an issue with that.
PSU - no real tests to check if its the issue, but nothing seems to be pointing to it does it?

Sorry for the long winded posts I am just trying to narrow this down so if there is a faulty part I can get it RMA'd as soon as.

 

[EsaT]

I ran LatencyMon and it ran for 16secs and came back You system appears suitable. No page errors.

It needs to be used long enough to have problems during monitoring.
Only that way it's possible to see if it can tell if there's some DPC latency problem.

 

[Rowan88]

Ok I installed and started DOOM, first part of the campaign very glitchy and dropping to around 30FPS. Tried turning VSync on and off etc, still no help.

Do I just keep LatencyMon running in the background to test the PSU while playing a game?

 

[Rowan88]

UPDATE:

During LacentyMon while browsing and playing DOOM etc I noticed at the bottom so far it says:

Reported total hard pagefault count: 1577

Does that mean the PSU is faulty?

On DOOM, LOW = 100fps seems ok, ULTRA = 37fps, laggy.

I was able to play on ULTRA before so is it the GPU or PSU at fault?

 

[Quartz]

Make sure Game Mode is turned off in Windows.

 

[Rowan88]

I "think" I have it disabled, all the Gamebar, DVR etc is all turned off, and in the Game Mode section it just says this pc supports game mode.

The LatencyMon now says: "Your system appears to be having trouble handling real-time audio and other tasks. You are likely to experience buffer underruns appearing as drop outs, clicks or pops. One problem may be related to power management, disable CPU throttling settings in control panel and bios setup. Check for bios updates".

I use a Behringer U-Phoria UMC22 as my audio interface, just incase that interferes with statistics of this.


Here is some screens if this helps:




I also stripped PC down to basics (SSD, Keyboard, Mouse, Onboard Graphics.. and problem still occurs...

If it was anything to do with the CPU then HWMonitor would show high temps or 100% spikes correct? which it doesnt.. so again leading me on the PSU path.. just wish I had a spare one to test

 

[Rowan88]

I also used HWInfo to check voltages for the PSU and used a multimeter to check PSU do these look ok?






Also when I put DOOM on and there is no enemies I get about 120FPS, the second I turn to face an enemy it drops to around 30-40, which doesn't seem right.

I also kept Afterburner open throughout and on the GPU POWER it showed a steady max of 155.4w during gameplay. Should that card not use 185w?