Full crash @ Full tilt

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Xentinel

n00b
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Nov 17, 2009
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So here's the deal, for like half a year my computer has been crashing with an instant reboot, no errors, whenever I play newer games at maxed out settings.
We're talking 1920x1200, 4xAA, 8xAF at least, however that doesn't mean it won't do it at lower settings if the game is demanding enough on the GPU.

So in order to try and get rid of this very annoying crashing, I have done the fellowing:

New and more powerful PSU.
Overclock/underclock/standard clock.
New Motherboard.
Fresh Windows 7 install.
Fresh Windows XP install.
Various GPU drivers, even the new ones released today by nVidia.
Tried my GFX card in another computer, worked just fine.
Removing 3 of 4 memory sticks.

This is what's in my system:

Q6600 2.4GHz - tested at 1.8, 2.4, 3.6GHz with the same result
4x 1GB GEIL 800MHz DDR2
Asus Maximus II Formula P45 (the previous motherboard was a P35 in a shuttle)
MSI Geforce 275 GTX TwinFrozr OC

I'm truly running out of ideas here, so any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks in advance.
 
Under the things you've tried list, I didn't see any memtest, prime95, nor furmark stress testing results. Have you run any of those utils whlie monitoring GPU/CPU temps?
 
Thank you for the suggestion.

I'll give all of those a spin. Any special settings recommended? I'm running Prime 95 right now on all 4 threads, the default setting.

[Update]

That's 7 completed tests in Prime 95 so far. To compare, Trine crashes after a few seconds.
 
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Alright, so furmark does the trick. On my first run it triggered the insidious crash instantly. Didn't even have time to change the resolution. I'd set it to my desktop res though, in stability test mode and extreme burn.

Second go I just left it at default settings, so 1280x1024, benchmark mode, same instant crash.

Third and last time, I unticked full screen and set it to the lowest resolution possible, in stability test mode, no extreme burn mode. Using lower settings usually keeps it stable for longer. Here it showed the fuzzy donut for 2 seconds, then crash.

So this is definitely where the problem lies.

I'm just not sure what to do with this information. I would like to try my card in my friend's computer and see how that works out.
 
Yes, try it out in your friends system with Furmark. If it crashes there, too, then its a problem with your vidcard (RMA time). I'd ask for temps, but it doesn't sound like it ran long enough to bake. :p
 
Alrighty then. I've been doing more tests with Furmark. I'm able to run it stable if I use Rivatuner and clock it like this:

core to 475 (down from 666 default)
shader to 1052 (down from 1476 default)
memory left as is.

What I did was first, I turned the sliders down all the way in Rivatuner, then ran furmark, and I was somehow pretty happy to see that it didn't crash, I then brought memory back up to default, still stable, and I've been increasing shader and core together slowly ever since. I crashed at 500 core pretty quickly. I then decided to bring my CPU back to 2.4GHz, and it was able to run 500 core for a longer duration, but still crashed.

This naturally leads me to believe my PSU is inadequate. I think I'll give it a full furmark test in my friend's computer first. If it crashes there too, RMA, if not, then I'll be damned if it isn't my PSU, I'm not prepared to just buy a new one, so I might try running two PSUs, I've got the 400W from my shuttle lying around. Should be interesting.
 
Anyone know how to kickstart a PSU? I'm not looking for a guide to do the whole wiring process where both of them start at the same time following the main one, plenty of those online.
 
Thank you for the replies enginurd. Having something as clearly cut as Furmark to work with was a great help. So finally I guess I have an answer. You see what made me think it wasn't the PSU was that I was running on a 400W initially, with the problem, then I put in the 500W and it didn't do affect it at all. That's what caused me to start thinking it was the motherboard.

Anyway, I guess I can start looking for a new PSU :) I'm sure it'll be well worth it.
 
Which PSUs were you trying? Model #'s please, as not all 400W PSUs are made equal, etc.

Jumpstarting a PSU: on the main ATX 24-pin connector, short the green and any black wire with a paperclip.

Did you try the card in your friends system?
 
it was a pretty generic 500W PSU and a 400W from Shuttle.

I tried it in my friend's system and it ran perfectly through Furmark, he's got a 650W Corsair HX.

This is good enough to me, and it all sort of makes sense now, so I've ordered a 850W Corsair HX, it should arrive tomorrow. I know it's a bit much, but I like having lots of extra, and room for upgrading :)
 
lol, no doubt a nice PSU, but too overpriced, IMO. Heck, even a 650W would have been overkill for your system. ;) Your system, at full load, should be under 425W, according to what you've listed.
 
Well I do have 4 harddrives and a blu-ray writer in it, all SATA though.

I just want the thing to last a really long time. I've learned to hate buying cheap, that's what got me the 500W in the first place.
 
Not all 500W are equal. Just because you want better quality does not mean you need more wattage. ;) A good quality unit like the TP-550 would have been much cheaper than the HX850 and would still give you adequate headroom, and the TP-650 or HX620 would have been overkill but still cheaper. Many people miscalculate their power needs, but having headroom is fine -- I just try to minimize the extra cost of the headroom. :p As long as you get a good quality unit with sufficient power for your needs, you'll be fine.
 
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