350w do i need an upgrade?

[DesertChicken]

Hey, I'm running into problems with my system. It randomly reboots like once every few months. I didn't think that was a big problem but recently I've been doing some pretty system intensive gaming with Bioshock.

I've only been playing a day and the system has reset itself two times while playing.

What I've got:

Antec SL350 PSU
MSI P965 mobo
Intel E6300 duo core
1GB RAM ddr2 800 PC6400
Geforce 7600 GT
8x DVD RW
2 hardrives 72,000 RPM

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Originally posted by: DesertChicken
Hey, I'm running into problems with my system. It randomly reboots like once every few months. I didn't think that was a big problem but recently I've been doing some pretty system intensive gaming with Bioshock.

I've only been playing a day and the system has reset itself two times while playing.

What I've got:

Antec SL350 PSU
MSI P965 mobo
Intel E6300 duo core
1GB RAM ddr2 800 PC6400
Geforce 7600 GT
8x DVD RW
2 hardrives 72,000 RPM

Those 72000rpm HDDs gotta go.

Antec PSUs are poop, get something better in the 400~500W range.

 

[DesertChicken]

So the PSU is what's specifically causing my problems? Is there any other way a system will reboot by itself like mine does?

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

If the reboots are while gaming it *may be* the PSU. Gotta spare to try?
Fully 1/3 of Comp issues are power related. Driver issues and/or capacitors going bad can cause rebooting.
Bad caps might be found on the card, on the motherboard or in the PSU. Ever notice a rotten egg smell coming from the comp?
Like a fart smell, well that would be caps venting. Older Antec PSUs are filled with Fuhjyyu...Google that word.
badcaps.net will offer pics of what you might see. Your HDDs are 7200rpm.

 

[John]

DesertChicken, your rig pulls less than 90W idle from the wall. A quality 300-350W psu is adequate for your rig.

Originally posted by: GalvanizedYankee
Antec PSUs are poop, get something better in the 400~500W range.

Simply because you are anti-Antec doesn't mean all of them suck. The Enhance built Quatro and Seasonic built Earthwatts are quality psu's. The NeoHE's and Trios aren't all that bad either (also built by Seasonic). Could all of the reputable websites (SPCR, HardOCP, JonnyGURU, etc.) that have reviewed these current generation Antec psu's be wrong in their assessment?

"....but some of them have OST on the secondary....blah blah"

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

DC, how clean are the fans and sinks on the vid card and CPU...it might just be heat.
Clean out the case if it is filthy.
Blow a desk fan into the left side of the case with the side cover off.
Run memtest 86 to be sure the RAM is ok.

Talk to us and we can work this problem out.

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: DesertChicken
Hey, I'm running into problems with my system. It randomly reboots like once every few months. I didn't think that was a big problem but recently I've been doing some pretty system intensive gaming with Bioshock.

I've only been playing a day and the system has reset itself two times while playing.

What I've got:

Antec SL350 PSU
MSI P965 mobo
Intel E6300 duo core
1GB RAM ddr2 800 PC6400
Geforce 7600 GT
8x DVD RW
2 hardrives 72,000 RPM

What does the System portion of the event log say right around the time of a crash? Does a memory dump get written to c:\windows\minidump when the box crashes?

 

[DesertChicken]

I don't see any recent memory dumps in minidump.

Ran the first 4 tests in memtest86 last night successfully but then turned it off cause I had to go to sleep.

It has been awhile since I've cleaned out my case. I'll go clean out my case right now.

Oh and last night after a crash, I pulled up Everest. I didn't write down the temps so these are just estimates:

CPU ~ 39C
GPU ~ 69C
HDD ~ 41C

EDIT: John how didyou come up with 90w?

EDIT2: Event Viewer says

The device, \Device\Scsi\JRAID1, did not respond within the timeout period.

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: DesertChicken

The device, \Device\Scsi\JRAID1, did not respond within the timeout period.

OK, so the Windows event log says you've got a disk issue. Simple enough. Are there newer RAID drivers for your RAID hardware? Is the cabling in good shape? Are there any errors in the event log having to do with dumps being written at all right around that time period? It's probably easiest just to send me mpsreports output files...

 

[DesertChicken]

Ok, I got new Jraid drivers from JMicron and that stopped the rebooting. WOOT! Thanks, guys.

Though the game still crashes.

Event viewer says

Application popup: Bioshock.exe - Application Error : The instruction at "0x78147440" referenced memory at "0x00000000". The memory could not be "written".

 

[dclive]

That's a game issue. Check with the publisher.