psu problem - system lockups

Apexs · 11 Jul 2007 at 21:15

hey guys over the weekend i installed a new psu
(Akasa ultra quiet 650w power+ iQ active PFC ATX2.01) and gfx
(Leadtek 8800GTS 640mb pci-e)

install went fine and all seemed well until i started playing wow, while in wow i kept crashing, pc just locked and i could not do anything apart from hit the reset button.

after rebooting and going back in to wow, this kept repeating, sometimes after 5min sometimes after 15 or more, so off i went and updated every driver that i could get an update for, also ran 3dmark 05 and 03, 05 ran ok but 03 caused the crash almost stright away.

so a few formats and reinstalls later, i decide to take the gfx card back out and replace my old Leadtek 6600, so now all seems fine again, i contact ocuk and they give me a RMA for the gfx card, so off that goes in the post.

a few hrs later, im playing wow again an hour goes by and i lock up again, but this time i get a bsod, this happends about 5 times over 24 hrs, and 2 other times i manages to alt tab out of wow and no crash occured.

the bsod was driver irql not less or equal, and one of my nic drivers was listed, so i took out my nic and used the onboard instead, next time i got a bsod i decided it was time to also remove the psu and replace my old one, ( Akasa ulta quiet 400w paxpower active PFC ATX2.2)

now my system is running perfect again, so i guess the psu is at fault? but im worried that if i get it replaced and put the new parts in again i will still have the same problem, am i missing something? whats the 650w doing to my pc that the 400w is not? what psu should i try if not this one again?

my current pc spec:

Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64
Processor : AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4400+
Mainboard : ASUSTeK Computer INC. A8N-SLI Premium
Memory : Corsair 2GB DDR XMS3200C2PT TwinX (2x1GB)
Graphics Adapter : Leadtek WinFast PCX6600TD 256MB (PCI-Express)
Monitor : Viewsonic VP191B 19" LCD
PSU : Akasa Ulta Quiet 400w Paxpower Active PFC ATX2.2
Hard Disk : IBM Deskstar (60GB)
Hard Disk : Western Digital WD2000JB (200GB)
Hard Disk : Western Digital WD2000JD (200GB)
DVD : PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-107D
Sound Card : Creative SB Audigy 2
Keyboard : Saitek Eclipse
Mouse : Razer Copperhead
Case : Thermaltake Aguila
Headset : SpeedLink Medusa SL-8790 5.1 Surround

thanks for your help

Admiral Huddy · 12 Jul 2007 at 08:45

I've always founf that the BSOD you're getting is memory related but since you've swapped out the PSU for a higher rated PSU, is does sound like a faulty PSU.

Since you have an ASUS, try installing and running Asus Probe and look at the voltage legends over a period of time on load.

They key is to have stables voltages within an allowable tolerance. So you will have to allow for some deviation of around 5% either side. So for 5volts you need to allow between +4.8volts and +5.3volts and for 12volts between 11.4volts and +12.6volts.

Anything outside this range is certain to be a problem with the power supply.

also, you have plugged in the supplementary ATX P8 12V power connector yeah? The is necessary for dual core systems and you may get instability (BSODs) if not installed.

Let us know how it goes.

Apexs · 12 Jul 2007 at 12:16

Hi, yes both power connections where connected, everything seemed fine like i said, only started having problems within wow thats why i thought i was gfx related, i have just been sent the card back and nicely charged £10 + postage sigh

Admiral Huddy · 12 Jul 2007 at 14:04

I would have certainly eliminated your PSU before sending the card back or you might be charged a re-stock fee should nothing be wrong.

Most suppliers are quite good and if there is anything wrong, they would normally pay for return postage too. I know our hosts are very good for this.

I would have been tempted to take a multi-meter reading from the 6pin connector, just to make sure.

Apexs · 12 Jul 2007 at 14:36

i phoned up to get a RMA for the psu, but was asked to put the 650w psu back in the system and take out everything apart from whats needed to boot, as he thinks one of the rails is getting overloaded.

ok so i do this and it works, but what do i do then? what about my other hd's and cards! id like them in there and everything working aswell, and my 400w psu is running everything fine!, umm i only got the psu because it says the 8800 needs 500-600w, maybe i should try it with the 400w just to see.

would help if my thermaltake aguila case had better access to install a psu lol i have to keep removing my cpu and fan to get it in.

oh and i did install Asus ProbeII before taking out the new gfx and psu, from what i could tell it looked ok, just looking at it now with the 400w in,+3.3 is @ 3.23 +5 is @ 4.76 and +12 is @ 11.84

Admiral Huddy · 13 Jul 2007 at 10:10

I'm actually compiling a PSU diagnosis check list as we speak.. I'll post it today

But he's right to say strip every down...

Here's a snip from the doc i'm producing:

6. Strip down the bare essentials

If you’re down to this step, then everything is working as expected; you’ve checked the cables, the connections, the voltages etc and still the problem hasn’t been determined. It’s looking more likely that it isn’t a PSU problem but you need to completely eliminate it first before looking else where. It’s time to take some dramatic steps.

Firstly, you can take out non critical devices such as sound cards, TV cards, NICs, CD/drives, floppy drive, USB devices, non essential fans etc. If you have more than one physical HDD, then detach these leaving only the boot HDD. Everything you can get away with basically. Then test.

If everything works fine, and works fine for a while under load, then it looks like one of those devices you’ve just removed is the route of your problem.

Add the items back into the system one at a time and test until all items are back. If it becomes unstable on re-instating one particular component, then you may have found your culprit or the PSU isn’t supplying the required wattage but you checked this earlier, didn’t you?

Apexs · 13 Jul 2007 at 10:30

im currently in the process of doing some backups then im going to put the 650w psu and 8800 back in, strip my system down and then run wow to see if it crashes still.

i just dont see why a new 650w cant run what my 400w can, very annoying, i will make sure to run asus probeII once the 650w is back in and take note of the voltages