Shutdowns sanity check

[MattF]

Hello all,

 

Appreciate a sanity check on this before I descend into RMA-land.

 

I purchased the above system from a popular online retailer.

 

It arrived via UPS, who apparently played football with the package. Everything appeared to be OK except the video card, which had a resistor snapped off the circuit board and was RMAed.

 

Day 1: After a week's wait the new video card arrived and the system was assembled and appeared to work. Installed drivers, installed software, browsed the web, played HD video downloaded from iTunes, etc.

 

Day 2: Tried to run the Crysis demo. This resulted in sudden shutdowns within minutes of gameplay. After the shutdown, the on/off switch on the PSU had to be cycled before the system would reboot.

 

My first thought was heat or voltages. Monitoring with the Gigabyte EasyTune6 util, Speedfan, etc., showed low/normal temps and voltages across the board - high 30s/low 40s CPU, high 40s/low 50s GPU, etc. Temps listed in BIOS PC Health screen immediately after shutdown/reboot were consistent as above.

 

After some tinkering I was able to get the Crysis demo to play (went through from beginning to end) using "low" graphics settings, still with stable temps.

 

Day 3: Bumped up the graphics settings to medium. Got shutdowns after short periods of gameplay.

 

Went through and updated BIOS and chipset drivers to latest available from manufacturers websites. Then shutdowns began with increasing frequency, including with no applications running and even during startup. Temps and voltages still appeared normal. Shutdowns now occuring on bootup, even while looking at PC Health page in BIOS.

 

Reseated RAM.

Reseated video card.

Removed each stick of RAM in turn and tried different sockets.

Unplugged every component, one by one. Shutdowns continue.

 

Finally disconnected everything except the MB, processor, and one stick of RAM - no video card, no drives. Would appear to post and spin up, sit there for a few minutes, and suddenly shutdown.

 

Unplugged the PSU, plugged in old no-name 350w PSU from my old system.

Post, spinup, sits for half an hour, no shutdown.

 

Re-inserted video card and connected to monitor, still using old PSU, would post, watching PC Health in BIOS for half an hour, no shutdown, appears happy.

 

Reconnected new Corsair PSU in same configuration as old PSU - instant shutdown after mere seconds while in BIOS.

 

What are the chances this is anything other than the PSU?

 

Edit to add: PSU runs a fan and a paperclip adequately, so I guess it could be the MB is not playing well.

 

Thanks,

 

M.

[RAM GUY]

Its possible that the older PSU may not be as sensitive when it comes to detecting shorts or out of spec components, while our HX1000 should shut itself off to prevent damage to the system if something like that were detected. I would test the PSU in a different system if possible and see if you can duplicate the same issues. If it looks like the PSU could be causing the issues, then lets get it replaced! You can use the On Line RMA Request Form and we will be happy to replace it. Be sure to check the box that says “I've already spoken to Technical Support and/or RAM Guy.”

[MattF]

our HX1000 should shut itself off to prevent damage to the system

 

This is a VX550 but I gather the same applies. Thanks for the reply; I will follow up if I figure out the culprit.

 

M.

[RAM GUY]

This is a VX550 but I gather the same applies. Thanks for the reply; I will follow up if I figure out the culprit.

 

M.

 

Yes the same would apply, sorry for the misprint, not sure why I thought you had the HX1000 :eek:.