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Severely Underperforming PC

w3bbo said:
You can't really unless you have a spare psu. Unless you have specialised testing equipment, testing a PSU is very hit and miss.

Try and run the pc with the absolute minimum of components. Motherboard, CPU (stock), 1 stick of ram, basic GPU and single hard drive. This is to put the minimum of stress on the PSU. Perform a clean install to eradicate the possibility of driver/OS issues. Only install the drivers for the hardware you have installed then perform a few basic tasks.

It's basicly a process of elimination I'm afraid when troubleshooting. Start off with the basics then add one component at a time to see if you can pinpoint the problem. In your case I had similar issues which was indeed a PSU problem.
Click to expand...

I was afraid you might say that! :p

I've just performed a clean install within the last week though. I installed only the essentials and it has the same errors, more or less. :(

Only thing is that although I tried a single stick of RAM for gaming, and performance was still crap, I didn't keep it in long enough to see if it caused the other problems I've had. I think I will give the system a long run with 1 stick and see what happen.

It could well be that the poor game performance in these games is normal for Vista 64, and the other issues are unrelated.

I will try 1 stick, then a full reinstall of XP (on the most basic setup as you described), and if both of those fail then I don't know! :p
 
Nope just do as w3bbo says. Failing that you may need to go to a local specialist in order to determine exactly which part is the cause of your issues.
 
kerrgreg said:
maybe a volt meter or swaping another in and see if it helps?

its going to be hard with out it under load
Click to expand...

Don't have a spare PSU and dont' have a volt meter. Would be prepared to buy a volt meter if it can determine for sure whether or not my PSU is smoked. Can it?


It's just occurred to me that the BSoDs (all 30 or so) have all happened when either browsing the net, installing or just idle on the desktop.

NONE have happened when watching a video or playing a game. How significant is that?
 
Overslop said:
EDIT: Since reinstalling Vista I haven't had this BSoD anyway. Perhaps in my case it was a driver issue.
Click to expand...

arent those fps about right for a system using vista ?
u say its when there is a lot of action on screen and vista does use a little more cpu power than xp.
 
memory said:
arent those fps about right for a system using vista ?
u say its when there is a lot of action on screen and vista does use a little more cpu power than xp.
Click to expand...

If what you are saying is correct then it proves that Vista is unsuitable for gaming. But I've read a lot that points to the contrary. It would be really useful if I could find comparisons with other people for those games for both Vista and XP.

I'm going to try a newer game as well as 3DMark 06 to see what happens there.
 
Hmmm, it might not be your psu then if it dosn't normally happen underload. Thing is it could be any number of things and it's hard to pinpoint from afar m8. Having all four slots of memory occupied certainly puts a lot of stress on the NB and P35's can be a little but iffy in that configuration. Have you tried with just one stick?

Like I said try it with the bare minimum and then build up from there. It could be anyone of your components leading to the BSOD's. Is your CPU getting the correct vcore (download CPU-z and report back).
 
beh* said:
Nope just do as w3bbo says. Failing that you may need to go to a local specialist in order to determine exactly which part is the cause of your issues.
Click to expand...

But if the system works fine in XP then that would save me a lot of unnecessary hassle (it's still hassle getting that far, but less so).

I would rather do it this way personally, though appreciate the advice.
 
Probably a dumb question but have you installed the latest updates for vista (inc SP1) prior to installing the extra memory?
 
w3bbo said:
Hmmm, it might not be your psu then if it dosn't normally happen underload. Thing is it could be any number of things and it's hard to pinpoint from afar m8. Having all four slots of memory occupied certainly puts a lot of stress on the NB and P35's can be a little but iffy in that configuration. Have you tried with just one stick?

Like I said try it with the bare minimum and then build up from there. It could be anyone of your components leading to the BSOD's. Is your CPU getting the correct vcore (download CPU-z and report back).
Click to expand...

I've read about 4 sticks being problematic also. It would certainly seem to be the wisest place to start, especially as testing is relatively easy with RAM.

I have tried with 1 stick, but so briefly that it wasn't a fair test. I just wanted to see if the gaming performance changed and it didn't. But that doesn't mean that the RAM isn't causing other issues. I will go 1 stick for a few days and see what occurs.

I have been running CPU-Z already and yes - it does appear as though the vcore is correct as I have set it.

Thanks for lots of suggestions btw. :)
 
w3bbo said:
Probably a dumb question but have you installed the latest updates for vista (inc SP1) prior to installing the extra memory?
Click to expand...

I had all 4 sticks in before installing all the updates (I'm completely up-to-date on Windows Update). Is that a big no-no?
 
Overslop said:
I had all 4 sticks in before installing all the updates (I'm completely up-to-date on Windows Update). Is that a big no-no?
Click to expand...

No, but it can cause issues until you install the updates. As you have already installed the updates we can rule that out.
 
Peter450 said:
What CPU speed?

I'd try XP they will help you rule out a driver/operating system conflict
Click to expand...

Normally run at 3.4 Ghz but have experienced all mentioned problems at 2.4 Ghz as well.

Agreed on the XP install - I will dedicate my secondary drive to that and see how it fares.
 
Emlyn_Dewar said:
Did the Antec Quattro 850 not originally have a few problems with high power GPU's?
I'm sure I remember a few people having large issues with 8800's, low power warnings, drivers failing, low FPS, etc...

Maybe not an issue with new cards but I'm sure there were large threads on it.
Edit: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17830178&highlight=antec+quattro+problem

That one has a decent post by an Antec rep explaining the issue. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. However, I think that problem seems to be just with the 8800GTX thankfully (though my 8800GTX performed fine with this PSU, as far as I could tell).

Maybe I didn't Google well enough, but I couldn't see any evidence of problems with other cards. :)
 
Update -

Just been running a little test on Bioshock...

All settings cranked up to maximum except V-Sync switched off and AA turned down to 4xAA (enhanced in control panel).

From the first section where you go into the sea and swim across to the tower, I was seeing frames between 30 and 60.

Once inside I looked around a lot and walked over to the elevator. Frames were generally around 80 here but lowered to 45 at a few spots.

Can someone do a comparison with me please? It's a very popular game and is certified for Windows Vista, so should be a good test. :)
 
Update 2 -

Northbridge already had a voltage overclock, but have bumped it up even higher. So far no BSoDs but too early to tell if that's solved it.
 
Looks like it was the PSU after all. :(

I switched on the other day and it didn't even recognise my hard drives. Can't reformat or anything, but they do register in the BIOS.

I ordered in a new motherboard as I have been tempted to upgrade for a while anyway, and managed to get hold of a cheap Asrock X48...

It arrived, I set up everything and it won't POST. No image on screen or even error beeps. The fans do spin however. I rebuilt outside of the case and did the usual 1 stick of RAM, no sticks of RAM, resetting CMOS, removing and replacing battery and having everything unplugged except CPU, fans and power. But everytime I change something it is the same result.

The motherboard could be DOA, but it's surely a lot likelier that the PSU is the culprit, right?
 
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