15 replies to this topic

[dragnier1]

I am having a problem with my 2 year old desktop where it would freeze when i run games that require moderate to high cpu and gpu processing (MWO, etc). The monitor, mouse and keyboard would get cut off (no power, no feedback) while the power for the cpu appear fine (light on the casing stays on, no flickering).

On occasions when i restart the PC (casing start-up switch) the dvd player would attempt to read (i set the PC to boot from CD first) and nothing else would happen, no display on the monitor nor power to mouse/keyboard. When that doesn't happen i get the prompt "press F1 setup fail to startup" and have to enter the bios setup and exit before i can boot up windows.

Usage of less "intensive" stuff like watching youtube videos don't give me problems, unless i played one or two matches on MWO - that's the most number of games i managed to squeeze out since then. (PC still sputters then crash even if i do nothing after i exit MWO or other games)

I'm quite clueless as to where to start (and how) with diagnosing my PC, would appreciate some advice here.

Thanks in advance.

Edited by dragnier1, 10 April 2015 - 08:47 AM.

[Bezko Ward, wielder of Durandal]

hey dragnier1 sad to hear this is happening to you.

it would be really nice if you could say us your full system specs.

its always better to know that instead of saying something and then its not helping you.

[Goose]

I'm inclined to say dust it, but you may need a new PSU …

[Lord Letto]

Goose, on 10 April 2015 - 09:58 AM, said:

I'm inclined to say dust it, but you may need a new PSU …

Bezko, on 10 April 2015 - 09:23 AM, said:

hey dragnier1 sad to hear this is happening to you.

it would be really nice if you could say us your full system specs.

its always better to know that instead of saying something and then its not helping you.

Edited by Lord Letto, 10 April 2015 - 11:34 AM.

[dragnier1]

Let's see, my desktop has a 3570, 8GB ram, Asus 670 GTX and runs on 64 bit Win 7.

That's all i can remember for now. I'm planning to dust it to see if it helps.

[Bezko Ward, wielder of Durandal]

okay. thats atleast a lil bit i assume its an i5 3570k right? if so. is it overclocked?
also your psu we need to know cause psus loose over life time power.
the symptoms you are describing are actually saying at most times that your psu cant deliver enough power anymore to your system under pressure.

also you should atleast once every half year clean your system.
especially your gpu you should go for an intense cleaning.

i never turn my pc off and i have to clean it once a month cause my system runs day and night at full pressure so my parts will become full with dust fast.

[9erRed]

Greetings all,

Just a note here, why do U have the PC set to 'select' the CD as the prime boot device?
- Use the HD as the prime and set the CD as 'next' device.

It's not finding the windows boot from the CD and waiting the 'set' time U have in the Bios for the next element to boot from.
- Set the correct HD as boot, and shorten the time for the next element.

Are the mouse, keyboard, USB devices?
- And yes, check the PSU power rating and year of manufacture.

Have you updated windows recently? There's specifically a fix for USB power loss during use.

When cleaning the PC , unplug the power cord from the PSU and press and hold the 'on button' to drain any residual power from the system. (don't use compressed air on any fans, it will over rev them and could damage the bearings.)

Note here:
Max GPU temp = 97C
Max Graphics card Power (W) = 170W
Min. system power Req. = 500W
Card requires 2 x 6pins pwr. connectors
(try to feed them directly from the PSU and not tapped off other devices.)

Just some ideas,
9erRed

Edited by 9erRed, 10 April 2015 - 11:18 PM.

[dragnier1]

Yes i'm using an i5 3570k. Not sure if it's overclocked since the set was built by the staff at the store i purchased it from. I didn't touch it for the 2 odd years i had it (yes, that means i didn't clean it for 2 years either ).

Horrendous amount of dust. Had to search youtube to figure out how to take the casing apart to clean it (cm storm 2)
Checked the psu while cleaning it, Cooler Master M2 620W @ 100-240V.

How should i go about to check if the psu is giving me issues?

9erRed, on 10 April 2015 - 11:10 PM, said:

Greetings all,

Just a note here, why do U have the PC set to 'select' the CD as the prime boot device?
- Use the HD as the prime and set the CD as 'next' device.

It's not finding the windows boot from the CD and waiting the 'set' time U have in the Bios for the next element to boot from.
- Set the correct HD as boot, and shorten the time for the next element.

Are the mouse, keyboard, USB devices?
- And yes, check the PSU power rating and year of manufacture.

Have you updated windows recently? There's specifically a fix for USB power loss during use.

When cleaning the PC , unplug the power cord from the PSU and press and hold the 'on button' to drain any residual power from the system. (don't use compressed air on any fans, it will over rev them and could damage the bearings.)

Just some ideas,
9erRed

Thanks, will check on those. I didn't take note of the manufacture date of my psu while cleaning though.

Windows update is set to auto update, except optional ones.

Edited by dragnier1, 10 April 2015 - 11:40 PM.

[Lord Letto]

dragnier1, on 10 April 2015 - 11:19 PM, said:

Yes i'm using an i5 3570k. Not sure if it's overclocked since the set was built by the staff at the store i purchased it from. I didn't touch it for the 2 odd years i had it (yes, that means i didn't clean it for 2 years either ).

Horrendous amount of dust. Had to search youtube to figure out how to take the casing apart to clean it (cm storm 2)
Checked the psu while cleaning it, Cooler Master M2 620W @ 100-240V.

How should i go about to check if the psu is giving me issues?


Thanks, will check on those. I didn't take note of the manufacture date of my psu while cleaning though.

Windows update is set to auto update, except optional ones.

could this be the one: http://www.coolermas...nt-pro-m2-620w/

[Flapdrol]

When I had black screen crashes I reckon it was the power electronics on the gpu going into some kind of safety mechanism. Maybe the dustbusting already fixed the problem. Unless it's something else of course.

[dragnier1]

Lord Letto, on 11 April 2015 - 06:42 AM, said:

could this be the one: http://www.coolermas...nt-pro-m2-620w/

Yep that's the one. I estimated that it would provide me with 60v as a buffer, didn't think i needed a bigger psu at that time.

Flapdrol, on 11 April 2015 - 09:17 AM, said:

When I had black screen crashes I reckon it was the power electronics on the gpu going into some kind of safety mechanism. Maybe the dustbusting already fixed the problem. Unless it's something else of course.

Perhaps so, i haven't tried running a "heavier" program like MWO. The gpu monitor shows a reduction of about 3 degrees overall. I might try out a couple of games on MWO to test it out.

[Durant Carlyle]

dragnier1, on 11 April 2015 - 09:46 AM, said:

Yep that's the one. I estimated that it would provide me with 60v as a buffer, didn't think i needed a bigger psu at that time.

Unless you're running dual graphics cards or a lot more hardware than you listed, you have a LOT more than 60W of buffer from that 620W PSU.

Most single-GPU gaming builds (8GB RAM, multi-core CPU [yes, even the badazz 6 or 8-core Intel Extreme CPUs], one SSD, one HDD) run 250-350W peak during gaming. A quality 400-450W power supply would be enough.

[Lord Letto]

dragnier1, on 11 April 2015 - 09:46 AM, said:

Yep that's the one. I estimated that it would provide me with 60v as a buffer, didn't think i needed a bigger psu at that time.

Durant Carlyle, on 11 April 2015 - 07:07 PM, said:

Unless you're running dual graphics cards or a lot more hardware than you listed, you have a LOT more than 60W of buffer from that 620W PSU.

Most single-GPU gaming builds (8GB RAM, multi-core CPU [yes, even the badazz 6 or 8-core Intel Extreme CPUs], one SSD, one HDD) run 250-350W peak during gaming. A quality 400-450W power supply would be enough.

I could be mistaken, but there's a Difference between Volts & Watts, They are also Different than Amps & Ohms
*Flamesuit On*

[dragnier1]

If i recall correctly voltage is used to calculate what your cpu, gpu, harddisk, ram, etc will need. I used a pc builder website to get an estimate for the power needed for my desktop.

Small update:

As of now i have run 4 games, 3 under group matches and have no problems thus far. It does look like some "safety mechanism" that was triggered due to the hot air trapped by all that dust i collected in there xD

Edited by dragnier1, 11 April 2015 - 10:28 PM.

[Durant Carlyle]

Lord Letto, on 11 April 2015 - 08:45 PM, said:

I could be mistaken, but there's a Difference between Volts & Watts, They are also Different than Amps & Ohms
*Flamesuit On*

Funny. There is indeed a difference.

dragnier1, on 11 April 2015 - 10:21 PM, said:

If i recall correctly voltage is used to calculate what your cpu, gpu, harddisk, ram, etc will need. I used a pc builder website to get an estimate for the power needed for my desktop.

The voltage is constant (outputs at +3.3v, +5v, +12v, -12v, and +5VSB on all PSUs), and therefore irrelevant.

Wattage (Amps x Volts) is the important stat. And you have plenty, so that's not the problem.

-----

Edit: Nice to see cleaning the PC fixed the problem (so far). Hopefully the heat didn't cause permanent damage.

Edited by Durant Carlyle, 11 April 2015 - 11:32 PM.

[dragnier1]

Thanks to all that helped.