My computer restarts during intensive gaming / multi tasking

99F

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Hi,

When I play a intensive game or play a non-intensive game in windowed mode while chatting to friends on AIM, my computer will restart. I have a house fan blowing into my case to see if it was heat but it still does it.. The hottest the CPU gets is like 68*C. It's a Celeron D so I'm not sure if thats normal or not.

Could it be the CPU overheating or my PSU cannot handle supplying everything (I think it started when I added a CD RW drive)
 
Hmmm

Since it's summer, I would think that high temperatures are to blame. 68C is too hot and could be the main culprit. However, the PSU could also be the problem. However, I would doubt that adding a low power device such as a CD-RW would cause the PSU to have a hard time. What are the temps like with the house fan?

JAN :D
 
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well it's idle at 57*C and underload its up to like 68*C

i dont think summer is to blame because i have the A/C running all the time and its like 50*c in my room
 
50*c in my room
i think you got that wrong there mate, that is hotter than the desert

could be one of 2 things,
1 - cpu overheating
2 - psu flacking out

maybe trying reading your vdroop from idle to loads (use any cpu stressor to get the loads, eg superpi on 1M )
keep an eye on temps and volts
note whats happening to them, it may help you target the fault
 
Aye, a human would dehydrate in a couple of hours in a room of that temperature. In fact I reckon you'd perish. 50 Fahrenheit sounds more reasonable.
 
alright so I took some pictures.. right before I loaded up flight simulator and one where i switched out of the game while flying over NYC with all settings high.. 20FPS lol.

Before:
b4.jpg


Once I switched out:
after.jpg


oh Fan 1 is 0rpm because it doesnt exist lol
 
66*c is high, try improving cooling first ( a cheap fan can be bought for a few bucks)
there is a bit of a droop on the +12v which i concerning, but ill let one of the psu experts look into that
 
if Speedfan is saying that 12v rail only has 11A then im a bit concerned because i heard 7600gt needs 18A

do you think thermal paste would improve cooling more than the fan? thermal paste hasnt been applied since it was built (december 2005)
 
if Speedfan is saying that 12v rail only has 11A then im a bit concerned because i heard 7600gt needs 18A

do you think thermal paste would improve cooling more than the fan? thermal paste hasnt been applied since it was built (december 2005)

thermal paste (if applied properly) should last many year.
Dont get volts and amp mixed up
 
oops i got them mixed up.

so how can i find out if my PSU is whats messing up or are we just waiting for a PSU expert to look at my SS and determine?
 
You'll want to find a program that logs in real time your voltages and temperatures. Then stress test it with the program that crashes it most often and look at the log to determine what was going on. Alas I know of no program that does this although someone else may do so.
 
Try ASUS PC Probe 2 it is fast with updates by the second and you can really see everything from voltages to temperature up to date...
 
Your +12V rail is far too low. ATX specifications allow for up to 5% variance, so anything below 11.4V is out of spec.

Readings as low as yours will very often cause the sort of instability you're describing. While software readings aren't completely reliable, I'd be willing to bet that your PSU is at fault.

If you need recommendations for a replacement unit, please post your budget and system specifications.
 
My budget is as cheap as possible please because I am getting a new motherboard, CPU, and LCD monitor.

Celeron D 3.0Ghz
AsRock P4VM800
7600GT 256MB GDDR3 (it needs a power connector thats all I know)
One IDE drive
One Raptor SATA
One CDRW drive
 
Okay, I'm checking out that PSU without the rebate right, but I'm concerned. Power supplies mount on the top of my case, and this one has a big ol' fan on it.. What do I do?
 
where is you current psu, can you post a pic??
99% of psu have inbuilt fans, only specialist ones dont
 
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