help with finding issue

jonny512379 · 13 Feb 2015 at 19:09

PC runs fine most the time.

Symptoms are :
Both screens go black (but the monitors do not enter standby),
The PC appears to stay on,
Fans continuing to run at normal speed (not over heating).
All sound goes off too (sound and graphics are on different hardware, not via HDMI),
Keyboard does not seem to respond (Ctrl + Alt + Del does nothing),
So seems to be a full system crash,
The restart button seems to part work, in that when it is pressed the monitors go into stand by, but the PC does not restart.
Only the main (front panel) power switch shuts down the PC.

Once restarted all works OK again.
This happens on average once a day but seems to be random.
This has happened on and off for a few months.

hardware is all of good quality (from OCuk)
PSU = 600 watt Corsair (CX600 i think)
GPU = r9 290 (saphire) (no OC)
i5 2500K (small OC @ 4.4)

I have ran an extended ram test and all is OK
(all ram is Corsair @ no OC)

The problem seems to happen when gaming (but it is my sons PC and getting sense from him is half the problem...)

I am wondering if if is the PSU?

Any ideas welcome

Danny75 · 13 Feb 2015 at 19:23

jonny512379 said:
I am wondering if if is the PSU?

Any ideas welcome

Could be. I wouldn't spec a CX 600 for a 290. Try removing the CPU overclock first and see how it goes.

Cat_J · 13 Feb 2015 at 19:37

You PSU only has 40A on the 12v rail and the 290 draws over 30 or that. With my previos experience of Corsair, if you have to buy from them then you need to over spec more.

jonny512379 · 13 Feb 2015 at 21:23

thanks guys n girls

good to have conformation before i buy a new PSU.....

any suggestions on a good PSU that the r9 290 will be comfortable with?

sastusbulbas · 13 Feb 2015 at 22:03

I would try and make sure it actually is the PSU before spending. Your PSU delivers 40 amps - around 480w on it's 12 volt rail. I am assuming you use 1 GPU with both PCIe connectors connected? Looks ok value for a single GPU rig by glancing on google?

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/corsair_cx600m_psu_review,1.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Corsair/CX600M/
http://www.kitguru.net/components/p...air-builder-series-modular-cx600m-psu-review/

As for PC issues, look through the forum 1st, there are many.
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18654083

There was another thread where some poor guy bought a GPU, then cables, then PSU, then found out the GPU was faulty.

I would be running memtest, checking the temps etc, try running some benchmarks too to see if the issue replicates as you monitor things. I would want to know it is the actual PSU before spending money on a PSU and having the same issue continue.

Nothing wrong with running Furmark to stress the PSU and GPU too. See how the temps go.
You can use HD Tune to check the HDD.

Check for cooling obstructions, dust etc, check wiring.

Type How many watts does your power supply need into youtube, OC3D shows an Nvidia 780 running of a 450w PSU. They are not recommending it, just showing actual running where a 550w to 650w is more than capable.

Check eXtreme Power Calculator for your system power requirement, it's a bit faff, ignore it's usuall 750w bronze advised PSU. Look at the minimum PSU wattage you will see something like 422w, look at the recommended PSU wattage you will see 472w.

Then worry about your current PSU's ability, for instance how have you wired the GPU, on some cards it is best to have two seperate 6/8pin connections from PSU to each GPU socket on a single card. Others are happy with one.

jonny512379 · 13 Feb 2015 at 22:18

@sastusbulbas

thanks for such a detailed reply. I will set my lad off doing some stress testing tomorrow and hopefully this will narrow things down a little.
I do have an antec 620 (and another antec but i forget what the power of this is) so if it looks like the PSU after testing i can always swap it out for one of these.

thanks again for the advice, possibly saved me some pennies!

Danny75 · 14 Feb 2015 at 04:29

When an overclocked system isn't stable, it isn't good procedure to test for hardware or software issues without first removing the overclock. First establish whether or not system is stable with no overclock.

The reviews linked to are for the CX 600M not the CX 600 you said you think you have. They are not the same PSU with the M just being modular. They have different internals and output.

I do agree with Sastusbulbas though, that you shouldn't jump to replace the PSU, even if it's not ideal for a 290 (if it's the CX 600). I was only agreeing with you that it could be the PSU, not confirming that it was. And Cat_J added a little more detail. Could be other things.

Before you launch into hours of tests, please do as I suggested, and report back if the system continues to experience instability .

Cat_J · 14 Feb 2015 at 14:33

The CX 600M is rated for 46A on 12v rail which is 552w a significant difference. How old is the unit as capacitor aging will have an effect, especially on the cheaper models.

It is of course good practice to do basic system diagnostics first but I still wouldn't be comfortable running that system on that PSU with an overclock.

What voltage is you CPU running at?

Cat_J · 14 Feb 2015 at 14:44

I have the paid version of that calulator. It comes out on a brand new PSU as 509W (459W) but more importantly 36.4A on the 12v rail so not a lot of over head there but OK when new most probably. Peak load shoots up to 560w (510W) and 40A on 12v. So thats your PSUs limit brand new at peak load.

Add some mild cap aging then you have:

90% load: 41.3A 577W (527W)
100% load: 45.5A 636W (586W)

That PSU is not beefy enough for you system. It has the total power across 3v 5v 12v but is not rated to deliver the current at full wack. I used cap aging for a PSU roughly a year old but could be even worse.

You could still be having other hardware issues, I just thought this point needed making anyway but I do feel its your most likely fault.