Random crashes on a new system

My first thought is overheating but A: I'm not positive, and B: I don't know wtf to do if it is over heating in the first place.

Okay, so it usually only happens when I'm playing the FEAR demo after about 15 or 20 minutes... but it has done it with Doom3 as well. I'll be playing a game and then suddenly the screen will flash to black, and I'll hear something in my tower turn of (not sure what it is), but I look over and everything is still running, then I hear a big fan or something else turn on again and start running like crazy. After moving the mouse and pressing keys for a while, I figure out that nothing wants to play on the screen at all and it stays black. I try the reset button two or three times... nothing. Only way I can get the comp back is to shut it off totaly and turn it back on.

Specs:
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe mobo
AMD 64bit 3800 X2 processor
Geforce 6800GTOC
2gb Kingston Valueram
Sound Blaster Audigy2
Pioneer IDE DVD Burner Model DVR-110DBK
400watt power supply (forgot the name, not stock, cost a pretty penny)
I have two 120mm fans and an 80mm fan goin with the stock CPU heatsink and stock mobo fan.

It really doesn't effect me unless I'm playing high-quality games so it isn't totaly tragic if it can't be fixed. But help would be greatly appreciated.

Download Motherboard Monitor 5, enable temp and voltage logging, then go play some games. If it's overheating or a weak PSU then you'll see that by the logs.

Download Motherboard Monitor 5, enable temp and voltage logging, then go play some games. If it's overheating or a weak PSU then you'll see that by the logs.

DLd it but it doesn't have my particular mobo listed in order to log stuff.

why did you only get a 400w ps? thats probably your problem right there, im sure with your dual core cpu and huge gfx card its pushing that puppy to at least 80-90%. I would recommend checking the wattage of your system at idle and then at full load to confirm that though. and if that is the case i would go up to a 500w ps.

and even if thats not the case, you dont want your ps to be running at anywhere near 80% idle, that will shorten your ps life dramatically

Wattage is not what matters, 12V rail current is. I'd say you need about 20-25A at the very least, do you have that much?

why did you only get a 400w ps? thats probably your problem right there, im sure with your dual core cpu and huge gfx card its pushing that puppy to at least 80-90%. I would recommend checking the wattage of your system at idle and then at full load to confirm that though. and if that is the case i would go up to a 500w ps.


Well, my mobo manual said that all i needed was a 400w with that CPU and gfx card. How do I go about testing the wattage?

Wattage is not what matters, 12V rail current is. I'd say you need about 20-25A at the very least, do you have that much?

Wait, sorry for the dumb question, but how can I find out? This is starting to piss me off. Age of Empires III demo shuts my comp off after like 10 minutes now. As logn as I'm not running a brand new game with heavy effects, everything is wonderful.

Open up your case, there should be a sticker on the side of the PSU with all that information.

http://www.orbitalbreadbox.com/Images/powersupply.jpg

20A? That may be your problem right there. You should get a more powerful PSU. Antec, Enermax, Fortron, OCZ, Seasonic, or PC Power and Cooling if you can afford it.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681 7153022

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681 7103929

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681 7104934


There's plenty to choose from, I say get one with ~30A to make sure you have enough power.

What's the 38A that it has right next to the 20A?

Current on the 5V rail. Not really important, the 12V rail powers most devices (drives, vid card, PCI devices etc).



edit: did you make sure it's not overheating?

No, not yet. What's a good porgram to check that out with? I tried Motherboard Monitor 5 but it didn't have my motherboard listed in the setup process and I wasn't going to select a motherboard that wasn't mine.

Best way to rule out overheating is to open up the case and put a room fan next to the comp to make sure it has enough cooling. Also, clean any built-up dust off the components (especially fan grills if you have any). If the problem goes away then you only need to get a couple extra fans, or replace the ones you have with more efficient ones.