PSU choice

MoridinUK

MoridinUK

MoridinUK

Associate
Joined
16 Jun 2014
Posts
396
Hi again all..

My back up pc (Intel core 2 duo e6600 2.4 ghz (never overclocked) on an asus P5B Deluxe, with 4gb ram running an ati radeon hd 5770) is also giving me BSOD issues. I ran the same tests and everything was fine, except that cpuid hardware monitor says the 12 volt rail is only offering 9.3 volts.

Sometimes it works for days with no problems but I've BSOD three times in the last 36 hrs..

Does anyone rate this site as a psu calc:

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

On it's advice I thought to go for this model psu:

XFX TS 550W Fully Wired 80+ Bronze Power Supply

As I can get it delivered for under £45.

Any other suggestions? I want the thing to last a few years.
 
What is make and model is our current model?

Have you tried running men test o your ram to rule out a possible faulty module.

I tend not to trust software for voltage readings, if you have a multimeter to try manually checking the voltage.

Mem test:

http://www.memtest.org/#downiso
 
I dont have a voltmeter, the psu is a Seasonic s12 600 I bought it back in 2006, it has run some very energy guzzling things in its time, including an intel core 2 quad q6600 overclocked from 2.4 to 3.4 ghz and a huge (but now totally outdated) graphics card: XFX GeForce 7950 GX2 1024MB DUAL GPU XT edition PCI-E followed by a Geforce GTX 560 ti twin froz thingy.

It got moved down from my main pc, when it could no longer cut the mustard to the slightly more relaxed build above...

The system runs prime95 and memtest with no issues... if you excuse occasional random blue screens...
 
The 7950 is not outdated :p I run the 7970 :D

None of the specs above would actually tax the PSU, my system with the 7970 and over clocked 4770k pulls around 330w from the mains at full load.

But the fault does not rule out a fault PSU, it worth a try :)
 
RJC said:
The 7950 is not outdated :p I run the 7970 :D

None of the specs above would actually tax the PSU, my system with the 7970 and over clocked 4770k pulls around 330w from the mains at full load.

But the fault does not rule out a fault PSU, it worth a try :)
Click to expand...

This is why I asked about the psu calc, it said it would. My 7950 is dead and long gone, it was the biggest thing I'd ever seen and like £350 back in 06... :)

I think the fact CPUID HWMonitor shows this drop in the 12v rail suggests a psu error no?

I'll run memtest over night to check again..
 
MoridinUK said:
This is why I asked about the psu calc, it said it would. My 7950 is dead and long gone, it was the biggest thing I'd ever seen and like £350 back in 06... :)

I think the fact CPUID HWMonitor shows this drop in the 12v rail suggests a psu error no?

I'll run memtest over night to check again..
Click to expand...

PSU Calc is ok but you have to remember to put in one cpu (some put there quad core as 4) and this gives recommend PSU and not actual power absorbed :)

I dont trust software reading for voltage as on my Gigabyte (past & present) board HW Monitor shows my 12v line to be 3v odd. Having a multimeter to hand is good as you can confirm the readings.

Is it possible to try another PSU from someone else.
 
Yeah I can rip my antex sig 850 out of my main pc.. gulp.. but I don't know how long I'd want to go without that pc to test this one. Yesterday this one managed to run prime95 and the unigine valley test on loop for a good 90 mins before I stopped it with no crash. Pulled the 12v voltage up to 10 volts while it did it... temps weren't too bad either 75c on the cpu and I'm not sure I got a temp out of the graphics card... hmmm:

edit2:
SAuB4yq.jpg


Maybe it is something else, maybe the mainboard is giving up the ghost? I hate these, psu/cpu/mainboard/memory weird issues...

Edit: I put the cpu in as one, and added the exact components and a 25% capacitor degrade to simulate a couple of years usage (I dont want to replace this darn thing again in a couple of years) I also want enough head room to put my intel core 2 quad q6600 in it once I upgrade the bigger rig.

Edit 3: It is drawing even less from teh 12volt rail today...
 
Last edited:
I had issues with my i7 920 system a few years ago and it turned out to be the 2nd set of ram which was faulty even though it passed men test.

I ended up buying a new PSU and and another set of memory and thats how I confirmed it was the memory :(

Unfortunately its trial and error and you will hopefully find the cause of the issue, it is sometime a pain s you don't always have a 2nd pc to test.

The GPU does look a little warm, least you can have a quick go with the Antec PSU and see if HW Monitor changes the voltage.
 
Well that screen grab is a couple of days old, yesterday the 12 volt rail was reading at 9.4 volts today it is reading 9.1!

Edit: the TEmps have always been hot. It is in an odd case, with an old freezer pro 7 on the cpu and stock on the gpu. The case has the psu at the bottom and you shut the wires in a plastic sliding door. It was supposed to create a sepperate compartment for the psu to prevent heat from it getting into the main area with the main board, but I dont htink it actually works very well. It is also deisgned to be very quiet. It's an antec p180 case. Looks good but I dont think it worked as well as hoped from cooling. It is a night mare with a fully wired psu.

Edit2: on the back of my seas sonic there are two red sockects that look like extra 12volt outputs... if I use them for the graphics card or 12volt on the main board could that help?
 
Last edited:
Switched the 8 pin mainboard atx connector to the 4 pin one and the voltage jumped to 9.5 volts.. :S but these should just connect to the same rail dont they?
 
Ok so I've connected one of the 6 pin pci-express 12 volt cables from the seasonic to the mainboard. No change in volts.

This is on a sepperate rail to the atx and the other pci-express that powers the gpu. So I guess without fully replacing the psu (I discovered removing the antec one would be a pain)

I'm not much further along in diagnosing these blue screens.

Any further ideas? Run memtest for hours? Run prime95 for hours?

get real and swap the psu anyway?
 
So I sawpped it out for my antec sig 850, and lo cupid HW monitor still read 9.5 volts for the 12+ circuit. So that rules that out. So what do we do now, suspect the memory or the mainboard or cpu? Which tests to run over night? Memtest has shown no errors? Should I raise the memory voltage a little or cpu?

Where do i go from here?
 
Double check the memory voltage in the BIOS, the memory modules should have a sticker on there giving voltage and timings.

Also just try one again and run Prime for a good 2 hrs and monitor temps.

Few other options could be try a fresh install of Windows to rule out possible corruption.
Try HD Tach and to run a benchmark on the hard drive.

This one is a bit extreme but remove the CPU and check for any bent pins in the socket.
 
MoridinUK said:
Now I've had the cataclyst control center host appliation fail! Argh.. faulty GPU?
Click to expand...

Possible, can you test another card in your machine or vice versa - alternate you could try doing a re-install of the Cats and download the latest drivers from the AMD website.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom