PSU problem?

lm2k

lm2k

Journeyman
hello
one of my friend has a pc with following config
amd athlon ii x2 240(stock)
2gb ram(1gb*2) kingston@800mhz
biostar t790gx mothreboard(am2+)
wd blue 320gb hdd
one sony cdrw dvd rom
one lg dvd rom
philips SHP1900 head fones
and monitor resolution is 1600*900
1 *320gb external seagate hdd(frequently connected)
and lastly *odessy 450w generic psu(10A on 12volt)*


now earlier she was using windows xp pro, then sysem would randomly freeze(even caps lock wont turn on) and again recover when ever anything graphic intensive application(even firefox) was launched. Then things got worst and system wont recover at all(restart was only option).
So I installed windows 7 to it(thinking it gpu was a driver issue)
but after some time same symptoms appeared,also external hdd would frequently connect and disconnect(on its own showing the autoplay and scan for errors window frequently).
now many times screen goes off(even caps lock wont turn on)---then restart and after a few trials system would run fine
sometimes horizontal lines(not permanent lines but temporarily) are seen on screen and system hangs (even caps lock wont turn on)*farm9.staticflickr.com/8177/8053771784_630866b4fb_h_d.jpg

now what i tried was-
1)reinstall driver(gpu)--no gain
2)ran occpt cpu stress test(after removing all external devices) for abt an hour---temp goes to 50deg and system works normally(no restarts)
3)removed external hdd, usb modems,head fones and mobile phone(Samsung b2100)-----system does not hang but sometime when we turn it on for the first time in day it needs a couple of restarts(same as mentioned above)
4) cleaned cabinet for dust------no gain

i now conclude that its a psu issue but again it is wise to consider other opinions(if any)
if it is a psu problem pls suggest a psu upto 2500rs , now again there is no chance that this person buys a discreet gpu(mostly onboard) since sole purpose of machine is like a browsing rig.
 
d6bmg

d6bmg

BMG ftw!!
Either motherboard or monitor gone.
RMA the motherboard at first and then if the problem continues, then look at the monitor.
At last, change the PSU.
 
OP
lm2k

lm2k

Journeyman
d6bmg said:
Either motherboard or monitor gone.
RMA the motherboard at first and then if the problem continues, then look at the monitor.
Click to expand...

But how could this be?:-S
I mentioned in my first post that the lines on the monitor are just temporary n occur only when system freezes. Can a faulty monitor cause a system freeze ?
 
The Incinerator

The Incinerator

Human Spambot
Your mobo is dying , I believe the GPU part. Connect a Discreet GPU and check if the problem persists. And do remove the drivers and completely disable the onboard one .

Do try another PSU from a freiend before drawing conclusions and spending.
 
OP
lm2k

lm2k

Journeyman
^ Onboard gpu,while playing cs 1.6 the players sometimes do appear like made up of small pieces(mostly triangular) of torn cloth(will post a screen shot 2moro). So cud this b related to a failing gpu? Can a mgpu stress test confirm that mgpu is culprit?
Also can this generic psu(with 10A on 12V rail) handle a 8400gs
 
topgear

topgear

Super Moderator
Staff member
by crushes did you mean system will show bsod and then restart ( or need to be manually restarted ) -- well this may not happen always, I've experience with bad ram modules and because of that I've never faced any bsod -- pc will freeze and after say a minute or two will start working again normally sans all the gfx looked weired or while in games the pc will just freeze, pc won't start up normally - had to presss the reset button couple of time to make it work normally though every OS will just install fine - after changing the faulty Starlite DDR ram module every issue got fixed.
 
d6bmg

d6bmg

BMG ftw!!
Yes, by PC crush I mean BSOD.

PC freezing can be a result of 3 possibilities:
1. Inferior PSU.
2. Bad RAM module.
3. bad motherboard.

(Numbers mentioning the priority)
 
OP
lm2k

lm2k

Journeyman
Ok so as u guys suggested i tried a vip400r psu(20A on 12 volt), now system starts properly and no freezes and restarts so far.
Did mem testx86 for around 2hrs--- no errors
but while putting in the psu i saw some dust on cpu heat sink and i foolishly flipped the heatsink clip and it came out so i immediately placed it back, effect was immediate. When i turned on the system temps were around 41(idle) and around 58 to 66(full load) but still no restarts.
Now i want to put thermal compound on cpu but is it necessary to clean the older one? any suggestions about which one is better?
again with what to clean it?

also i did 3dmark 2006 test and all test show up like this


*farm9.staticflickr.com/8452/8066321255_782ef47218_b_d.jpg
*farm9.staticflickr.com/8320/8066325320_ecaffe44f7_b_d.jpg
*farm9.staticflickr.com/8029/8066324040_07085d575d_b_d.jpg

cs 1.6 also shows similar problem.
but again GOW 2 runs fine without any such faults(on ps2 emulator)
also i tried 3dsmax2012 and nothing such was there( renderring and perspective window).
what has caused this?
 
The Incinerator

The Incinerator

Human Spambot
Now try with a discreet GPU and check if the problem persists.

Thermal Paste: How To Correctly Apply Thermal Paste | Hardware Secrets
 
aloodum

aloodum

Journeyman
throw that generic oddyssey psu to the garbage can :D
Some nerves to run a system with 10A on the 12v!! Im sure the smps has a atleast a blow cap on it.

From the signs of it, the artifacting(the wierd display) can be attributed to a dying/overheating vid chip on the mobo or f-ed up drivers. If the mobo is in warranty get it rma-ed. If not get the vid chip reballed(bga reballing). And yes try it with a discrete card and let us know the results.

Honetsly, i would not have stressed the system with the cpu stress test. From the given config, this smps is ages old.. i mean a rebranded p3 psu ...when max current was on the 5v rail...check it out, you'll see more current on the 5v rails, sometimes close to twice than that on the 12v rail..these cheap psu makers..as if forgetting that PC's since the days of p4s draw more current on the 12v rail and not the 5V.

Let this be a lesson for your friend. A dying psu can take a lot of things down with itself...most badly being affected is the motherboard, with various random slots stopping to function
 
topgear

topgear

Super Moderator
Staff member
@ for thermal paste look for Noctua NT-H1 or DeepCool Z5 and about the gfx issues do what aloodum has told.
 
OP
lm2k

lm2k

Journeyman
@The Incinerator: i ll try a dgpu asap. From the link u gave me i learnt 1)get isopropanol and clean the previous paste with cotton bud.
2)apply a spot of the new thermal grease ,too much is not good. thnx
@ topgear:DeepCool Z5 seems nice ,i ll order one from ebay tonite.
@ aloodum: odessy is also in the psu black list of in our forum(TDF) and even vip
u know on 5V it shows 27A but when i connected a external portable hdd it frequently got disconnected,and when a usb modem(ZTE-reliance netconnect) and mobile fone was connected the pc would freeze(even caps lock wont turn on) so what i understood is that 27A on 5V when all the other rails are off . now i have removed it and replaced it with a vip400r for some time and thinking abt corsair cx430.
abt gpu i ll try a dgpu asap and report the results, but as u said " f-ed up drivers", i ll frist try to reinstall the system and then drivers. because god of war on ps2 emulator works fine , also neogeo(emulator) games work fine.
rma of mbo is a sure option when all efforts fail.
 
aloodum

aloodum

Journeyman
@@lm2k: chalo you got ur hands full :D
See that is/was the issue with generic smps. They make a mockery of prevalent ATX standards.Even a few years back companies like zebronics made "Platinum 600" smps with the fancy LED and heatshrink sleeved cables but forgot that their psu still gives a bloody 30A on 5V compared to a lowly 27A on the 12V.
We hope the smps chaange coupled with the RMA(if driver reinstall fails-first chipset and then vga or is it in a single driver package for onboard?) should see a big grin on your face.
 
OP
lm2k

lm2k

Journeyman
ok so i have now installed windows 7 and drivers(that came with mbo cd) and did 3dmark 2006 and really it gave no such display issues
*farm9.staticflickr.com/8187/8076168965_06efb824d9_b_d.jpg

*farm9.staticflickr.com/8051/8076161134_f2d5d37c69_b_d.jpg

everything worked as it should:razz:

but when i tried to install newer drivers(from AMD) same tearing of pictures occured . so far it seems like a driver incompatibility issue. i m on older ATI drivers and now it works fine.
and waiting for the thermal paste to ship.

about psu , corsair cx430 is single rail but vs450 is dual. which one is better ?
 
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