treewood

I've been having this problem for about the past week and I am unsure of whether it is the video card or the PSU. I'll state my problem, and then system specs to follow.

My computer boots perfectly normal and I get my post beep then windows loads and windows logs on to the desktop. From here, as long as I don't start any visually intense applications (games an such), the video card is fine. I can surf the web or watch videos on youtube, anything. If I start Oblivion or WoW, or COD4, I might get to play for 1-2 minutes max, and my monitor loses signal, but the game is still playing. Same for all games, no crash, just video loss.

I noticed a few days ago that the fan on my psu went out, but i'm unsure for how long it's been out. I've smelt that heated silicon smell a few times before, and I've thought the power supply fan had gone out a LONG time ago, but couldn't get a close up enough view of the fan to determine this, or just gave it a quick glance and thought it was spinning.

I've since removed the video card, cleaned dust from inside the case and re-seated the card, since I haven't touched any of the inside components since I had it build ~1 year ago. This worked for a few minutes. I ran the nVidia stability test for 10 minutes without a hitch. Ran COD4 and maybe 5 minutes into the match I lost video again. If I hit the reset button, all is well and video is restored.

The monitor is a brand new LCD Samsung that I bought last month, and before that I ran it on an old CRT without any problems. So that rules out the monitor. Temp for the card is at 54 C, standard IIRC. Oh yeah, one more thing, I noticed today that I haven't heard the fans kick on high in a long time, maybe indicative of the power supply.

Thanks in advance


System Specs:

Windows: Windows XP5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 2
Internet Explorer: 6.0.2900.2180
Memory (RAM): 3583 MB
CPU Info: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5400+
CPU Speed: 2755.2 MHz
Sound card: Realtek HD Audio output
Display Adapters: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 512 | NetMeeting driver | RDPDD Chained DD
Monitors: 1
Screen Resolution: 1920 X 1200 - 32 bit
Network: Network Present
Network Adapters: Gigabyte GN-WP01GS PCI WLAN Card(Turbo) - Packet Scheduler Miniport
CD / DVD Drives: D: ASUS DRW-1814BL | E: WR9745R ULO932Q
COM Ports: COM1
LPT Ports: LPT1
Mouse: 5 Button Wheel Mouse Present
Hard Disks: C: 465.8GB
Hard Disks - Free: C: 327.8GB
USB Controllers: 2 host controllers.
Firewire (1394): Not Detected
PCMCIA (Laptops): Not Installed
Manufacturer: Phoenix Technologies, LTD
Product Make: NF61D-A2
AC Power Status: OnLine
BIOS Info: AT/AT COMPATIBLE | 04/26/07 | Nvidia - 42302e31
Time Zone: Eastern Standard Time
Battery: No Battery
Motherboard: BIOSTAR Group NF61D-A2
Modem: Not detected
Power Supply: Okia 550W
:

Snoopdogie187

Hi, if the psu fan isn't working, I would recomend not using the computer. If the psu overheats, and gets damaged, then it is more likly to send out more or less power than it should to everything else. This can then damage everything else and you are left with nothing. That is why it is important not to go get a cheap psu.

I think with the 550W PSU you are cutting close to what the system really needs, and if the fan isn't working on this, your psu won't be as effective also.

I would really get a new psu before it is too late, and you have any real issues with the other hardware.

This is really my thought on what is wrong, if anyone thinks/knows anything different please chime in.

Tumbleweed36

Fans not working on the PSU, the PSU needs replaced with a good brand name PSU:

Seasonic – Any Model
Corsair – Any Model
PC Power & Cooling – Any Model
Thermaltake – “Toughpower” Series Only
Coolermaster – “Real Power Pro” Series Only

While we are discussing this, you need a 650 watt power supply for that video card.

treewood

Thank you very much for your insight. I'll admit while I was building the system I was unsure if a 550W power supply would even be enough. Now I have my answer. I'll purchase a new one from your list and install it. I'll update when I do it to let you know if it solves the problem. Again, thanks for the help.

treewood

OK, so here's my update.

After extensive testing, watching, waiting, head scratching, bickering, complaining, anger, confusion, bewilderment, pissedoffedness....

I have 1/2 way solved the problem. (for now)

The reason I was losing video was my video card was heating up to 70+ degrees celsius. Yes, that's correct. The fan was refusing to respond to the temperature of the video card and (my theory) due to a safety feature (or possibly overheating) the video card was cutting off to avoid further exertion and damage.

SOLUTION: I have downloaded Rivatuner and am using it to control the speed of the fan which I run at about 60-70% capacity. Also, I have taken a fan out of an older machine and plugged it into the motherboard and set this directly on top of the 8800 for further heat dissipation. The combination of these keeps the video card in to 47-52 range depending on ambient temperatures. I can now run games and as far as I can tell, full functionality has been restored.

Now the nightmare: I bought a 750W power supply, as suggested by you guys, off of ebay on February 23rd, sent payment, and two weeks went by. No package. I Filed a dispute with paypal on March 9th which is currently in the process of resolution. Since then, I guess my current PSU caught wind of this and decided to kick its fan back on. It is now spinning properly. I bought a can of duster and plan to spray the hell out of everything in the case. So far so good.

Thank you for all of your help.

Tumbleweed36

Glad you are up and running, but not happy about your ebay experience. Hope things work out for you and you get the new PSU in there soon.