BleepingComputer.com: Am I having a power supply issue?

I have been experiencing some crashes followed by difficulty booting back up on my computer.
Problem is, like many hardware issues, it is pretty much impossible to reproduce.

Probably should list the relevant hardware
Most power consuming devices are:
Nvidia GTX 570
Nvidia GTX 275
Intel i7 920
Western Digital 7200RPM hard drive
Powered by a 750 Watt Corsair PSU
Cooled by 4 80CFM case fans

In the last week I have had 3 events where the computer froze during use, there was no BSOD, no error message, just a complete freeze; no option but to force the power off.
When I restart it has behaved differently on different occasions, so I'll have to describe all 3 occasions.

1 Failed to detect the RAM
* Was watching a video at the time of crash
In the BIOS, it doesn't show that there is any RAM, doesn't POST.
Resolved by unplugging, letting it sit for a minute or so, plug back up, power on.

2 Failed to detect the hard drive
* Was playing a game at the time of crash
In the BIOS, it gives the name the hard drive "bzbzbzbzbzbzbzbz"
I swear, I'm not crazy, other people have had similar problems
Topic on Overclock.net
Resolved by unplugging, letting it sit for a minute or so, plug back up, power on.

3 Failed to detect the RAM
* Was playing a game at the time of crash
In the BIOS, it doesn't show that there is any RAM, doesn't POST.
Resolved by unplugging, letting it sit for a minute or so, plug back up, power on.



I am concerned that this might be caused by a weak or failing power supply, or possibly overheating.
The most recent change to my hardware is the addition of the Nvidia GTX 570 video card.
When I got it I wasn't sure my PSU would support two video cards, but it has doing fine with no problems for about a month now.
What can I do to better diagnose and solve this problem?

Hello and welcome to Bleepingcomputer.

You have two video cards, both happen to have the same power consumption rating, which happens to be 550 Watts and 38 Amps.

That is a total of 1,100 Watts plus 76 Amps!

This is the specs on the Geforce GTX570

http://www.nvidia.com/object/product-geforce-gtx-570-us.html

This is the specs on the Geforce GTX275

http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_geforce_gtx_275_us.html


Your power supply which you state is a Corsair 750 Watt unit, since you did not include the power supply model number, I can not check the output rating per rail against the power demand being put on it.

Now the ratings I mentioned above for each video card are the required amounts but the cards can still function with less then 550 Watts each, but not at full capacity.

You have two of them drawing off the same PSU, your PSU may be able to power both cards at full capacity, but without my knowing which 750 Watt model you have, I can not say this for sure.
Plus you have to take into consideration the other hardware you also have draining off of the power supply at the same time.

Can you please post what you see on the label of this PSU as far as its total output and please include the model number.

Bruce.

The other possibility is the motherboard is bad but let's check out the power supply first.

Thanks for your help

The model number on the PSU is CMPSU-750TX
Info on Newegg about it here

And the only other devices present is the RAM, 3 sticks of 2GB.
Specs says 1.65V
And the DVD writer

Also, these 2 cards are not connected for SLI, they cannot be.
The secondary card is really only used for my secondary monitor and a television output

So tell me if you need any more info about this

This post has been edited by The_Juggler17: 27 May 2011 - 10:14 AM

The psu only gives 60amps on a single rail.

Allright, do you think a power deficiency can cause this?

I run dual evga 570s and had started with a PC power an cooling 750, and it is pretty much a solid psu and it wouldn't handle the 2 570s where there had been 2 BFG 260's running fine.
You sound like you gonna need at least 1000 watts. Personally I went for 1200 to be on the side of room to grow later.

The_Juggler17, on 27 May 2011 - 10:07 AM, said:

First off you are most welcome for the help you are receiving from me!

I realize you would not be able to set th cards up for SLI because your GeForce GTX 275 video card does not support SLI, it is basically a low end video card with only two DVI ports.

EDIT: crossed out statement above because my information on this video card was incorrect

Have you tried removing one of those video cards and only using one at a time, doing a trial run with it, then power off the computer and try the other video card and see if you come up with successful results with just one or the other?

Try doing this, then post back to us how the tests went.

Bruce.

This post has been edited by MrBruce1959: 31 May 2011 - 02:09 AM

MrBruce1959, on 28 May 2011 - 01:09 AM, said:

Oh it was pretty close to top of the line when I bought it more than a year ago
And it does support SLI, but couldn't with the newer GTX570
But now I'm only using it to power my television output, secondary monitor, and as a dedicated Physx card.
So as far as usage, it doesn't get much stress of any kind. A much lesser card could do what I'm doing with it, but it's what I have and that why I'm using it.



So I've been trying to recreate this problem and have been unable to.

I've tried running the same games and applications with both cards in, and just the GTX570, and have not experienced the freezing again.
I have also been using a program called Furmark
Link to Furmark'
It's a benchmarking program that puts a high amount of stress on the GPU, gets it to its maximum stress condition.
I'm trying to get it to crash while running this like the random crashes I've had before.
Again, with both cards and just the one, I have not been able to recreate the problem.

Any suggestions for other tests?
Perhaps I was having an isolated incident?
Anything else I should do?

This post has been edited by The_Juggler17: 31 May 2011 - 01:20 AM

The_Juggler17, on 31 May 2011 - 01:10 AM, said:

Oh my bad, you are absolutely correct.

Feature Support:
NVIDIA SLI®-ready* 2-way/3-Way


I over looked that in the specs, I'll correct my statement above, because I was incorrect with that statement.

Any suggestions for other tests?
Perhaps I was having an isolated incident?
Anything else I should do?

Perhaps you fixed the problem by removing the cards to which may have had a connection issue with the slots contacts.

Bruce.

Allright, well perhaps we should call this one closed then.
If I have this issue again, I'll reference this topic.

Thanks MrBruce1959 and thanks for comments and assistance from everybody else.
I'll let you know if I have any other problem.

You are most welcomed from my end and if you run into any further problems with this issue, please feel free to revive this topic any time.

Topics are never closed here at BC, that is of course with the exception of topics that violate the forum rules.

Bruce.