Random restarts

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Forealz

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 7, 2007
Messages
253
My computer has been randomly restarting lately. I'm can't identify the problem, so I am hoping Hforums will shed some wisdom on my suffering. The restarts are random, typical restarts that go straight to the boot up screen, and the restarts don't seem to cause any problems. They typically happen when I am playing games.

I think it is either overheating, power issues, or my video card messing up.

It could be over heating because my temperatures are very high in the bios. I always thought the temperature was bugged though. It typically starts at 60c and goes up from there in the bios. I use a stock intel heatsink. The temperature just seems too high, no one else with a similar setup has such high temps. Because of this, I always thought the post temp was glitchy. Airflow is not a problem because these restarts occur even with an open case. Also, why would this problem be surfacing with environmental temps dropping?

It could be power issues causing this. I have a 465w Enermax with 33a on the 12v+ rail, and I always thought that this was plenty. I've been running all summer without much problem. Some may say that this is underpowered for my system, so conceivably it could be this.

Another possibility is that my video card is messing up. I sometimes see graphical artifacts while playing, rarely, but they have happened. This could also be linked to my overheating or being underpowered.

My specs
C2D E6600
8800 GTS 320
4 gig DDR2 667
Raptor 120g
465w enermax
Gigabyte MB (forgot the spec, it was the highly recommended one on all the hardware sites.)

Thanks for your thoughts, I'm not sure what I need to do. Anyone have any experience with issues like this?
 
I recently had this issue with a new 8800gts 320mb build.

At first I thought power (typical of random reboots) but the problem turned out to be the 8800 overheating. I put a 92mm fan blowing against it inside the case and it stopped the rebooting.

So yeah, try running with your case side panel off and with a spare fan blowing in just as a test.


If that makes no difference then it probably is your PSU. But as you say, 33A on the 12v should be more than enough.
 
just how hot does the:
a) cpu temp get
b) case temp get
c) gpu temp get
?

if the extra cooling to your vid card doesn't help, try rolling back your vid card drivers to the edition that came with your video card, see if it works then. or try uninstalling/reinstalling drivers for your vid card.

alternatively, if none of that works, try memtest86+ to see if it's a RAM issue, though i highly doubt it since it doesn't sound like that.


these restarts don't happen when you're not using 3d accelerated graphics? seems to suggest a video problem.
 
Update
Two weeks ago I reseated the heatsink. That did not do any good. So then I went out and ordered a new power supply and heatsink, the Corsair 520 and a Tuniq. I thought my problem was solved at that point. Then after vacationing a week, I played some games and it happened twice in a short time. I'm about ready to pull out all my hair, toss my computer into the river, then live life as a techno phobic monk.

I will tinker with the video card drivers at this point. I suppose this could be an issue with my video card, possibly overheating.
 
Have you tried setting a spare fan to blow onto the card like I suggested?
 
Actually I had a relatively big fan blowing into my open case at different times in my pursuit for a fix, and it did not seem to have much effect. The restarts would still happen with or without the large external fan.
 
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