Best path for fixing computer

adeckofhands

adeckofhands

adeckofhands

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Joined
3 Dec 2012
Posts
11
Well something in my computer has gone well and truly wrong.

The PC is a self built which I have been upgrading gradually. It recently (Before Christmas) started suddenly turning off at random times. This occurred any time from post checks to hours into use. At that time it would turn back on after the power offs, now the fans simply turn but no visible activity.

I suspected power problems but with no spare PSU it has been very hard to diagnose the problem. I did managed to boot another much older PC with my PSU. This made me think that the PSU is fine and the problem lies in the motherboard or some other component, but I cannot be sure.

So I'm wondering what would be the best start to getting the computer up and running again.

Current Specs are:
  • Corsair Graphite 600T case
  • Intel Core 2 Duo 6750
  • Corsair HX520W PSU
  • 2 * HDD
  • 1 * SSD
  • Combination of different RAM
  • Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R Motherboard
  • Nvidia GTX275 Graphics Card

As you can see its not the newest of PCs but it has been fairing quite well until now.

If I assume the problem is my motherboard i have a couple of options, I could upgrade with a bundle, so MB,Mem and CPU. Or just upgrade the motherboard, but then I need it to be backward compatible with the current CPU.

But also I have been worried about power for quite a while, I have not been sure that 520W is enough to run my system, I understand the Corsair PSUs were very good at the time and considered reliable, but if upgrading will I need more?

Thank you for any advice you can give, I'm sure I will be able to make a better discussion with your help!
 
Thank you,

I did try with one stick of ram when stripping the system down to its essentials, Unfortunately that didn't make a difference. When I get the chance to properly upgrade I will definitely not be relying on a combination of RAM modules.

I also tried with an alternative older graphics card which drew less power but that didn't make any difference either.
 
Would lean towards the psu as the fault next the motherboard, unless you can borrow a spare psu i would personally not throw any money at your system.

Time to upgrade.
 
I have been unable to find anyone with a system that I can borrow so far, unfortunately many people are seem to prefer laptops these days. I will keep looking as this could provide an definite fix.

If I do upgrade should I be upgrading my PSU as well? It has done well but I'm not sure how far 520W can stretch with today's hardware. And it would be nice to be able to power the extra 3 hard drives I have lying about.

Otherwise for upgrading the entire system I would prefer to build again, I would prefer not to buy a tower all in one as I am capable of building by myself. So I would be buying the parts separately or something like the bundles listed on this site.

Thank you for the advice so far.
 
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