I have a i7 950 not overclocked, 12GB of Mushkin Enhanced Silverline on a ASUS Sabertooth x58 mobo and every once in awhile the computer will reboot its self and I think its the ram but I am not sure.
Last edited by 4rre4rt6e; 02 Feb 2015 at 22:32.
When this happens, does Windows complain that it was not shut down correctly every time?
I would suspect the power supply, or the power switch or the reset switch on the case.
500 watts is a borderline size for a power supply running 12GB of RAM, a GTX 630, and 3 hard drives. Not so much when it was new, but as it gets older. This is due to capacitor aging. The total output will get reduced by up to 10% per year depending on the quality of the capacitors.
How old is the power supply?
Another cause could be just a faulty switch in the case. The power and reset switches are dumb contact switches (they literally just touch two wires together). If these become sticky or faulty they can make unintended contact, which will restart the computer.
You can test this by disconnecting the switches from the motherboard and running like that for a while. You can start the computer by using a small flat blade screwdriver to contact the 2 PWR pins on the motherboard (where you pulled the case switch lead from.
Its a evga gt 630 not a gtx
The PSU is not that old its my 2nd one I have had
You could test the power supply with a multitester. You find a spare molex connector and connect the leads to the 12v (yellow/black) pins and then run the PC as usual, watching the voltage the whole time. It shouldn't deviate more than 1-2 tenths of a volt, if at all.
Otherwise do the case switch test.
Any other hardware or drivers faulting while running Windows will normally result in a crash or bluescreen. Only power and motherboard problems will shut the PC down suddenly and completely.
(that is the case, right? - see first line, post #2)
Yeah it says it shutdown unexpectedly every time
I ran the memory test for a couple of hours and said it was fine
What are the +3.3v +5v and +12v lines in BIOS? The +12v can only stay within 10% tolerance range and +3.3v and +5v can safely stay within 5%. This will determine if your PSU is failing via no stress tests. If you decide you need a more accurate measurement TVeblen has noted the multitester.
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