Ram or PSU Causing repeative system LockUps / Restarts

[cirdan_taralom]

Hello,
System Issues.
System will lock up and restart for no reason, No reason given in Event Viewer for this behaviour either. I am wondering if it could be my Hardware?

Hytec 650watt PSU
Asus P5N-E SLI
Asus 9600gtx 1gig Ddr3 GPU
Intel E7300 Core 2 Duo 2.66ghz CPU
WesternDigital HDD 500gig x2
Kingston Ddr2 800mhz 4gig
Samsung Dual Layer Dvd Burner x2

Could I be having issues with the Ram? (Of which I have tested each stick one at a time and have had no lock up or system restart in aprox 1 hour of testing) Or could it be my PSU is letting me down?

Note; This issue only started about one week ago when I installed the 4gig of ram (4 1gig sticks)

Since I have tested the ram and the system works, I believe it to be the PSU but I would like to get a second opinion, Please help! If off the same opinion, Should I upgrade to an 850watt PSU (Which I can pick up new for $85 AUD)

Thank you for your time.

[Luke122]

Welcome to TBCS!

Power supply can be tested very easily.. disconnect the optical drives, and try using the PC. If the problem is gone, then it's likely that the PSU is unable to provide enough power for system stability.

Is it possibly a problem with temperature of either the cpu or the GPU?

I would also test the memory in pairs, though the possiblity of a bad memory slot exists also. If it is a memory addressing problem, then a BIOS update may help.

There's plenty of troubleshooting to be done to diagnose this problem, so lets see if we can help you solve it. :)

[cirdan_taralom]

Hello,
I plugged in all my Ram, Unplugged my Opitical Drives & Updated my Bios to the latest version, I have as off yet not experinced a single system lockup/freeze... If I do get a LockUp/Freeze again I shall post back into this here forum for further advice. But so far it seems to be working.

Should I upgrade the PSU? I did buy my 650watt 4years ago now. Do you think a 850watt would be sufficient? or should I go 1000watt?

Thank you for your time and help.

[Luke122]

No problem, happy to help!

I would start by stressing the system a little.. start gaming or something to see if you duplicate the error. If not, add one optical drive and repeat the testing. If there are still no problems, add the second optical drive and repeat.

If you still have no errors, then the bios update has solved your issue.

If you do have the problem again, then a PSU upgrade is a likely solution, though I would try to get one to test first to confirm it before spending money on it. A 1000w psu would be overkill unless you are planning on adding a second gpu to your system. :)

[cirdan_taralom]

Hello,
I realized I made a mistake regarding my System Specs,
I should of put a x2 after the GPU, I am running in SLI mode
two 9600gtx 1gig Ddr3 GPU's

Would the 1000watt be suitable?

Thank you for your time and help.

[Luke122]

:D

Knowing that, I would say the 1000w is plenty powerful for your setup, and will be more than enough power for future upgrades as well.

[crenn]

A 4 year old 650W PSU? I'd say that your PSU is too old and is providing about 400W or so.

[FuzzyPlushroom]

It's not the age or output of his PSU that concerns me, it's the fact that it's from a company of no particular merit, and it's considerably more likely to be filled with duck crap than to ever have been capable of over 400w without hardware-killing voltage fluctuations or a light show.

Another 650w power supply from a reputable company should serve him just fine.

And yes, my money is on the PSU being the problem.

[cirdan_taralom]

Hello,
Thank you all for your help so far,
The power supply that I can afford at the moment is as follows;

A-Power, 860watt PSU (Gold Label) SLI Ready, Three Fans (120mm, 80mm x2)

Would this be suitable? I can purchase this for $85 AUD, If not suitable, Can anyone else suggest a good PSU for $85 AUD for sale within Melbourne / Victoria / Australia...

Thank you for your time and help.

[FuzzyPlushroom]

Your video cards require auxiliary six-pin power connections, right? If so, this (http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/97910/POWERSUPPLIES_500W_-_599W/CoolerMaster/RS550-PCARE3.asp) can put out more power than that A-Power and seems (http://www.coolermaster.com/products/product.php?language=en&act=detail&tbcate=22&id=5888) to have two video-card power connectors. It'll run you around $100, though. If you can budget a bit more, there are some good choices there and on Aus PC Market; we can help you find one.

The Cooler Master's not actually a 550w - probably somewhere in the 460-500w range - but it's still more powerful than any suspiciously cheap unit like that A-Power. Take a gander at the bottom of this page (http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/1040636.html), the only information I was able to find on that one...

[cirdan_taralom]

Hello,
I had a gander at the PSU, I has 3 six pin SLI Connectors, Suitable to run 3 9800gt + GPU, a friend of my told me about the Power Supply as he is using it to run 3 9600gtx cards, has been for a year. But it is not the most stable system around.

Which would be a better brand?

Antec, Coolermaster, QPC etc...

My mum had a QPC a while ago, It was a real good PSU.

Thank you for your time.

[nevermind1534]

Antec, Corsair, OCZ, and Cooler Master, to name a few.

[FuzzyPlushroom]

Antecs are all good these days. If you pick up a used one, make sure your case is well-ventilated and test it first; the capacitors inside do NOT handle heat well, and Antecs aren't known for powerful fans.

Corsair, as well as the OEMs they use (SeaSonic and Fortron Source [FSP/Sparkle]) are quite good, and OCZ and Cooler Master tend to be overrated by about 10%, but good-quality and go on sale often enough to be worth buying. Topower's also not a bad choice on-the-cheap.

I'd recommend Enermax, Seasonic, and PC Power and Cooling (now a high-end division of OCZ) if you have a bit more to spend.

JonnyGURU (http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Review_Cat&recatnum=13) and the folks that write for him know their stuff. If you have a question on a particular model, see if they've reviewed something similar, or ask about it in their forums (http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/) - some of the members there are veritable fonts of information on power supplies.