farstar89

Hello,
The other day my computer started overheating and shut itself off. I figured it was because it was hot in the house but I disconnected it and cleaned the processor fan thinking it was that and I cleaned more of the surrounding area.

When I rebooted I defragged, ran an anti spyware, and canceled a few things from starting up with the system and none of it seemed to work. I play computer games and when I start a program its much more choppier than it used to be almost like I have a terrible graphics card. Everything else outside of the gaming seems to run normally, perhaps a little slower but the gaming is unbearable. (I use a Radeon X 1800 btw)

So my question is, could it be the power supply thats faltering, or is it the graphics card?

I also checked the fans to see if they were faltering and they all are working properly.

So im thinking its these two possibilities or maybe something else? I unfortunately DONT have another power supply or card to switch out to test to see if its the
issue.

Thanks in advance

edit: also forgot to mention I have a Truepower 2.0 550 Watt power supply

The cpu usage seems a little high as well, I cant recall what normal usage is but it seems to idle at 3-4% and randomly spikes up to almost 100% at times

Net Jockey

A Truepower...power supply...is not recommended...as a quality...Unit.

What one needs to know about...the relation of the negative effects of heat on the computer...That can be caused by the power supply.

Manufacturers test their PSU's at a set temperature...from this their rating is determined... for most this No. is 25 degrees Celsius...which falls short of the temperature that most computers are capable of achieving.

Given that a PSU will actually lose 2-5 watts per one degree of heat above the 25 Degree Celsius testing temperature...coupled with the fact that computers tend to run at 10 degrees higher than room temperature... In the summer time when the room temperature can easily reach 80 degrees F... your computer will be running at 33 Degrees C. or 90 Degrees F.

So the...math can make...your 500 watt power supply into a 460 watt unit.

In addition to this...what needs to be taken into account is that each degree that your computer components are operating at...under powered...adds more heat to the equation.

Consider also...the possibility...that ratings given by the manufacturer of single components...such as graphics cards...need to be treated with skepticism... Manufacturers may minimize support issues and under rate the power required...in order to make a larger profit.

The above has not taken into account...the issue of high quality vs poor quality units...Power supplies convert voltages from wall outlets to lower levels used by the PC. During this conversion, some power is lost as heat. The efficiency level of the PSU determines how much extra power must be put into the power supply to run the PC. A high quality PSU can help reduce the noise and heat generated within a computer system. The higher the efficiency rating the less heat the PSU has to deal with.

Therefore heat is the computers enemy...The hotter the temperature your PSU is forced to run at...the poorer the supply of power the rest of the components will receive...which has been known to lead to such things as crashes, freezing, rebooting, BSOD’s, and video distortion, as well as partial and complete failure of other components.

The fact is very few PSU’s are capable of producing the wattage that the companies advertise.

For a very good comprehension of recommended brand names, wattage, and models in listed categories...Plus much more...check out this link. Power Supply Information and Selection

Tumbleweed36

We need more information like your computer specs including the video card, so please post those for us.

Second, check the temps and voltages in the Bios and report them back here..

Third, I bring you bad news, those Antec True Power supplies are junk. Therefore, that is suspect, but give us the other information first and we can work through possible problems. The last one I had was a brand new 500 watt and it would not even put out 11.2 on the +12 volt rail. I quit selling those dudes in my shop a long time ago because warranty exchanges on them cost me a bundle for the free service I had to give in replacement.

I do hope it is not the power supply, but we will evaluate that with the added information.

farstar89

Specs are the following:

Intel Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.60GHz
2.00 GB of RAM
Windows XP
Radeon X1800 Series

processor temp 93 c
internal temp 43c
remote temp 32 c

V12.0 12.187
V5.0 5.05
V3.3 3.302
V1.5 1.516
Vccp 1.324

Processor fan speed is around 2800-3100

farstar89

Im thinking that my heatsink might be dysfunctional, the fan is running but is it possible it needs to be replaced? And does that explain the choppy graphic occurance while running a game? My heatsink paste is a little old but I wouldnt think that it would make a huge difference replacing it.

Tumbleweed36

You need to clean off the old thermal paste and replace it with new Artic Silver on that rig. The CPU is way too hot for operation.


Applying Artic Silver Thermal Paste

farstar89

The thermal paste by itself should make a dramatic change?

Tumbleweed36

If you clean off the old paste as per directions and follow those directions exactly with the grain of rice application, yes, it can make a great difference.

You might also tell us which case fans you have, where they are located, and which direction they are blowing, because you may have more than one issue with that high of temp. I would give us this information and then start with the thermal paste to see if we can get those temps down.

farstar89

1 rear fan blowing out, 1 front fan blowing in

Tumbleweed36

As long as your heatsink fan is blowing down on the heatsink, that should be enough in most cases. I would change that paste if it were mine.

farstar89

Ok, will update with the situation tomorrow.

oldjoe

My first thought is PSU failure. As stated above, TruPower is NOT a quality PSU.

farstar89

now it starts up for about 5 seconds then turns itself off any ideas?

farstar89

* makes a beeping sound as well when its powering up

farstar89

it will hardly let me get to bios

Tumbleweed36

Four things to check:


1) Make sure you have the CPU clear down and tight. Take your fingers (when it is cool and you have grounded yourself) and see if you can move it side to side...if so, then secure it. It sounds like it may not be tight enough.

2) Check the beep code to see what it is telling you when it beeps:

BEEP CODES

3) Take a house fan and blow it on the CPU and see if it stays on longer.

4) Take all the memory out except one stick and see if it works..and, if not, then swap another stick in there...you get the picture on the sequence you need to follow until you have checked them all.

farstar89

1. cpu is tight as can be

2. there are what seems to be 2 beeps but both are same length sounding and somewhat short so im not sure which that criteria that falls under.

3. I managed to get into BIOS and the processor temp was even higher than before reaching over 100-109 C not sure how thats happening but it was constantly rising even with a house fan blowing on it before it shut itself down (possibe temp sensor issue?)

farstar89

says error code shown on screen but there wasnt any shown

Tumbleweed36

I hate to redundant, but did you clean off all the thermal paste with something like Artic Silver Cleaner or 90%+ alcohol before you put new paste on?