Solved Power Supply Suggestion

[monster528]

lately ive been having a lot of crashing and freezing and ive basically narrowed the problem down to my weak 500w power supply.

this is my current supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035
and GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150550

needles to say i need a new one and have been looking around for some good deals.

ive narrowed it down to a few and was hoping to get some input from you guys. obviously if you guys have a better suggestion feel free to post a link

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1143938&CatId=5433

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7195038&CatId=2533

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139025

the main thing I dont understand is how important are the 3.3v and 5v rails? i understand the 12v rail is the most important, but is it worth sacrificing the amps on the 3.3 and 5 to get a better 12v rating?

 

[kodi]

The Corsair TX750 will be more than enough for your system and it is priced right.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Of those you list, I would probably choose the XFX as it has a good chance of being made by Seasonic. Some Corsairs are also made by Seasonic, but I'm not sure which since that changes over time.

Or you could just try to find a Seasonic branded unit in your price range.

I would pay attention almost entirely to the 12 v rating. The chances of any decent PSU being too weak on the 3.3 or 5 volt rails is very small. Nowadays, all the power-hungry stuff gets power from the 12 volt rail.

 

[bobkn]

lately ive been having a lot of crashing and freezing and ive basically narrowed the problem down to my weak 500w power supply.

this is my current supply:
Newegg.com - Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green 500W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
and GPU: Newegg.com - XFX HD-695X-CNDC Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

needles to say i need a new one and have been looking around for some good deals.

ive narrowed it down to a few and was hoping to get some input from you guys. obviously if you guys have a better suggestion feel free to post a link

XFX P1750BNLG9 Pro Series XXX Edition ATX Semi-Modular Power Supply - 750W, 80 Plus Silver, 135mm Fan, Active PFC at TigerDirect.com

Corsair CMPSU-750TXV2 Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 Power Supply - 750 Watts, ATX, 140mm Fan, 80 Plus Bronze, SLI Ready, Active PFC at TigerDirect.com

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Gaming Series GS800 800W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply

the main thing I dont understand is how important are the 3.3v and 5v rails? i understand the 12v rail is the most important, but is it worth sacrificing the amps on the 3.3 and 5 to get a better 12v rating?

I hope that the new PSU fixes your problem.

I'm not optimistic that your PSU is the problem, though. See this:

The Truth About Graphics Power Requirements V2 - Atomic 3.0

They have a 6950 as drawing a maximum of 176W, fully loaded. A decent 500W supply (like your Antec) should have no trouble dealing with it, even if you have an overclocked CPU. Your PSU actually has more current available on the 12V lines than a cheap 600W PSU might.

Let us know how things work out, if you like.

 

[essenbe]

The TX750 V2 is made by Seasonic
The TX750 older version is made by Chanel Well -(which isn't bad)
The GS800 is made by Chanel Well
The XFX is made by Seasonic
http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/psu_manufacturers

Personally, I would go with the TX V2, simply because I own 2 Corsair PSUs and have never had a problem

 

[James7679]

I have to agree with bobkn. Look at my system specs. EVGA recommends a 600 watt minimum for my 580. I think youre barking up the wrong tree here. Perhaps a bit more information for everyone here?

 

[monster528]

not sure, im still going to try to PSU upgrade because its the only thing i can think of, but heres my topic from before

http://www.sevenforums.com/crashes-debugging/212753-bsod-when-using-steam-valve-games.html

 

[James7679]

Monster, are you still having the same problems as listed in the previous thread?

After doing about 2 minutes of research on your MOBO, it has a very common issue; RAM compatibility. Have you checked here http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3/M4A79XTD_EVO/#MSL to see if your memory is listed here? Judging by the amount of problems that people have with this board, in regards to memory, you need to be sure.
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3/M4A79XTD_EVO/#MSL

 

[monster528]

yea i already checked this before i even build the computer. its compatible. i also ran over 30 passes on my memory on BOTH memtest86 and windows memory diagnostic. im positive its not a memory problem.

i also ran a hard drive diagnostic and windows fix and everything turned out fine. the only other thing could be the graphics card.

the reason i believe its the PSU is because one of the problems ive been getting recently (1 week now) has been my second monitor gets dim on its own, however its not consistant, nothing triggers that, its completely random. on top of that it takes several tries to turn to computer back on after it crashes, so i have to wait like 2 minutes before trying until it successfully turns on. also sometimes after it does crash and turn it back on, then i leave the computer for about a minute (dont touch anything after it turns on and shows my desktop), ive actually had it turn back off on its own. not a normal turn off though, it looks like it turns off but the fan on my cpu and chassis is still on

also the crashes get worst and worst. once it happens once, it continues to happen as much as 5 times a day, however there are times when it wont crash for 3 or 4 days, its not consistent at all.

ive had this computer for almost a year now, if the PSU is cheaply built and the components are dying, then it could explain the issue.

heres my timeline:

5/30/2011 - computer built
7/13/2011 - added 4 LED fans
12/21/2011 - replaced my NVidia 460 gts with XFX Radeon HD6950
1/17/2012 - replaced my stock heatsink with coolmaster hyper 212 plus
2/15/2012 - crashes being about two per week
3/1/2012 - crashing now over 5 times a day, sometimes wont crash for 2 or 3 days

 

[James7679]

Is your BIOS up to date?

Also, if you install Hardware Monitor, you can monitor voltage to check for drops.

 

[monster528]

yes bios is up to date. ill take a look at hardware monitor

 

[monster528]

what should i be looking at in hardware monitor? nothing really sticks out and the information provided isnt of any help since i can see the same things everywhere else

 

[James7679]

Voltages while under load.

 

[monster528]

nothing happened. voltages stayed the same pretty much

 

[James7679]

Okay, looking at this, I am now very interested in your GPU. If you don't have GPU-Z, download it and run. Post back screenshots for that as well. Please give the exact make/model of your GPU as well.

Your GPU readings appear "off".

 

[James7679]

On the bottom right hand corner of the second snip, your GPU VRM draw shows 93amps. I'm no rocket scientist, but I'm pretty sure that's bad. You need a GPU specialist to chime in here.

 

[essenbe]

I'm not a GPU Specialist by any means, but that value for the GPU VRM has to be wrong. His PSU does not put out anywhere near 93A. A Corsair HX1050 only puts out 87.5A on the +12V.

 

[James7679]

Unless the VRM is bad...

The other three readings from the VRM are normal.

 

[James7679]

Out of curiosity, you do have the GPU powered by a direct PCI-E plug from the PSU, correct? Not by a Molex adapter?

 

[monster528]

i have the GPU plugged in directly from the PSU using 2x 8-pin PCI-E connections. one says PCI-E and the other says P3 thats attached to the PCI-E cable