athlon64 reboots when running 3d apps

[bjut]

hi guys! hope somebody can help me with this since i'm not really a hardware guy.

pc specs:
athlon64 3000 S939
ECS A939 mobo
512 DDR
Inno3d GeForce 6600 256MB PCI-E
P4 Dynamo 400W 20-pin PSU

if you guys need anymore info, like BIOS stats, please ask me about it by also telling me where i could find it in the BIOS. hehe sorry....

anyway, here's what happened.

bought all the parts. put it all together. 1st time I assembled a PC too so it took me a while. turned it on. wanted to install Windows 98 (for running old apps/games) so that I could dual boot with XP. didn't work. Windows 98 would install correctly but after the reboot, it would stay on the Windows splash screen forever. so I took it out. figured it could be a mem problem since I only bought a generic mem. i was under a budget. hehe researched and downloaded some mem testing programs. forgot the names. sorry again. but so far no errors were found.

installed windows 98 again. same thing happened. gave dual boot up and installed winXP instead. it worked but haven't installed service pack 2 yet. installed drivers. PC worked fine. we were able to surf and play games. just a game actually. Installed Serious Sam:First Encounter. It's an old game so figured the PC could handle it with maxed settings. I think the PC suddenly rebooted once or twice while I was playing. didn't mind it because I was able to play it for 4 hours straight at the longest after that. I thought it was just some random anomaly. Oh yeah. I was also able to run 3dmark2005 on it too. After a few weeks I tried to stress test the CPU. Got CPU BurnIn. Ran the test for 24 hours. PC didn't hang or reboot. Stopped the test. Played Serious Sam. and BAM! instant reboot after just a few minutes of playing. checked the CPU temp on the BIOS. it was on 50+ i think. Prior to the CPU Burn In test, I was confident that Serious Sam would run. but now, I'm confident that Serious Sam would reboot the system in less than 10 mins of playing instead. 3D mark also hanged the system during the 3rd test (the pixie light thing floating in the forest test). I don't think it's a CPU heat problem since the same thing happened immediately just after the PC was newly booted up. read the temp and it was just at 40+. even had air conditioning turned on in the room hehe for now, the only thing we could do on the PC are office stuff (surf and MS Word). no 3D apps.

sorry bout the long story. what could be the problem with this? is the 20-pin power supply an issue here?

thanks for any replies!

 

[Kaieye]

xp?

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

I think your PSU is probably too crappy and making your system restart. Get a decent brand name PSU with good amps on the +12V rail. Cheapo PSU's just won't cut it.

 

[bjut]

oooook...it's getting worse now. my sister tried to surf, run media player (MP3) and play hangaroo (kind of a text twist game) all at the same time and it rebooted again. in just less than 5 mins of use. can't be a thermal problem there since it was just running for 5 mins or maybe not even a video card problem since there weren't any 3d apps used. feels like the PC would blow up the next time i use it hehe.

yup i'm using XP with no service pack 2 yet. o yeah, when i say "rebooted" what i mean is that the PC resets, but doesn't go into the BIOS screen. the screen just stays blank then a "beeeeep" sound would go off in regular intervals? i think the memory is breaking down, you think?

what are good PSU brands? and if a PSU has enough wattage, does that mean that it's already a stable PSU for that 12V rail thing? hehe

will be trying some stuff like swapping power supplies or mem chips and installing latest drivers and i'll keep you guys posted. keep the suggestions coming! thanks! thanks again for the replies.

 

[DrZoidberg]

its sounds like PSU problem to me too. random resetting especially in games when power is needed most. Antec, Fortron, Seasonic, Enermax, PC P&C, OCZ powersupplies are good. Can u RMA your cheap PSU? Just because it says 400W or 500W doesnt mean its good especially if its a unknown cheapo brand. The cheap PSU's normally have inflated specs.

 

[bjut]

thanks for the quick reply. a PSU problem? not a memory problem? yup i've found some enermax and antec PSUs that are available here. quite expensive hehe i'm just not sure if it would solve my problem though. no offense. hehe just want to be sure before i shell out more cash. i'll try to bring my pc to the shop then test the new PSU there before buying it. yup i can return the cheap PSU and just add some more cash to get the enermax i think. are Task PSUs any good? and it would be better to get a 24-pin also right?

 

[Generalen]

Try out your ram with MEMTEST86 aswell, to rule out memory errors. Let it run for a few hours.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

People have cheap PSU problems all the time. The advertised wattage doesn't matter at all. A 500W PSU can have low amps on the +12v rail. The PSU is one of the most important parts in a system. I wouldn't recommend spending less than $50 on a good one. Even if it's not a PSU problem, you definitely should have a decent PSU instead of some POS noname brand. It may be a memory problem as well though. Do what Generalen said and run Memtest86 for a couple passes. Then try the SuperPI 32M test if it passes Memtest.

 

[CraigRT]

I vote PSU as well... but I then vote ECS, since I've never had any success with any of their junk...but that's just me.

 

[bjut]

hello! lots of replies! yey thanks!....however, the mem's "GONE". i tried running memtest again. produced 7000 errors on the first test. turned the PC off. tried removing the mem then re-inserting it again but nothing happened. the PC just stayed on with nothing on the screen. tried re-inserting it a couple of times in case i put it in the wrong way but still nothing. mem's officially dead. will be replacing it tomorrow with Kingston.

anyway, before that happened, i was able to copy the voltages from the BIOS monitor. what do these things mean?
CPU Core Voltage 1.39V
Vcc 3.3V 3.28-3.29V
Vcc 2.5V 2.49V-2.51V
Vcc 1.5V 1.45V-1.47V
Vcc 1.2V 1.18V-1.20V
Vcc +12V 11.64V-11.71V
Vcc 5V 4.99V
Voltage Battery 3.16V

some of the values are written with min and max ranges because they were fluctuating or changing values now and then. is that nornal? are these voltage values modifiable? and what's a DIMM Voltage Control, and a hammer FID (is this right?)

thanks again! will be updating when I get the mem replaced.