Sudden powering off.

despotofmidnor · 11 Nov 2010 at 14:47

Hi guys.
I built this system last year in June:

500w ocz psu
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 7850+ Black Edition 2.80GHz
Corsair XMS2 DHX 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C5
ATI 4850
Gigabyte GA-M61PME-S2P nForce 430 (Socket AM3/AM2+) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
HDD 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache

But it has now started suddenly powering off.
Nothing has been changed or altered.
It will turn on and run for 15 mins then the power goes dead.
Next time its turned on it will get to the Log in screen and die.
Then it dies durring the bios.
And then it wont turn on for a good half an hour.

Durring the 15mins it stays on at 1st i monitored the temperatures n voltages and the temps are all fine and there are no sudden jumps in voltage or anything abnormal and then it goes off.

I re-set the bios incase anythign had changed and it does nothing.

Is it worth me trying a reinstall of windows or testing the sticks of RAM individualy in different slots or does it sound like a PSU issue?
The power light on the PSU (the light behind the clear on/off switch) doesn't go off when it powers down and its doesn't flicker either.

Thanks for any help guys.

Tealc · 11 Nov 2010 at 15:01

It's not windows as that cannot ever have an effect in BIOS.

If it were RAM you'd expect a blue screen, or at least a flicker.

I suspect your PSU is faulty, or even overheating, considering the way that each shutdown happens more and more quickly.

Check the PSU fan is running first of all.

Then I would try reducing the load on PSU by disconnecting things, even right up to the 4850 power lead and seeing if it stays up appreciably longer after that first shutdown. The won't post or anything but it will still load the PSU.

despotofmidnor · 11 Nov 2010 at 15:15

Sorry, i should have said, i made sure the fans were running and i also made sure the inside was hooverd and clean. There is very little/no dust in there atm and all fansare clear and running.
I will try disconnecting the dvd drive and the power to the 4850.
Thanks for the help. I'll tell you if the time is extended or not once tested.

Benihana · 11 Nov 2010 at 15:23

Try to have a 'feel' around the fan exhausts, see if any of the air coming out is hotter than the rest. I would have said CPU temp at first, but could be PSU if BIOS says temps are ok.

If you havent overclocked or made any additions PSU does seem most likely, not seen much info about OCZ supplies though.

1Day · 11 Nov 2010 at 15:57

First thought would be your PSU.

despotofmidnor · 11 Nov 2010 at 16:43

Ok. I unpluged everything that wasn't needed. Exactly the same symptoms:
On for 15 mins, then off
Log in screen, then off
Just after bios, then off

The fan was turning and the air was cold but the PSU felt quite warm to say the short amount of time it had been on.

Ive pulled it out. The warrenty is 'hassle free quick swap 3 year OCZ warrenty'.
I'll contact OCUK now. (or should i go straight to OCZ?)

Thanks for the 2nd opinion guys.

Edit: Ok ive requested an RMA straight from OCZ.