PSU too weak for video card power needs?

Brad Schoonmaker on 10/12/2009 at 01:41

I used Driver Cleaner Pro (freeware version) to clear out any old video drivers and installed the latest Visiontek ones, but the problem with Oblivion restarting the computer persists. The game plays if I keep the texture size at medium, but I was able to pretty much max it out on the old x800 card so something still ain't right.

I was probably gonna need to get another psu anyway since the old one was making noises I didn't like hearing. On it's way out, I'd say. Replacing it didn't fix the restart issue, though. The new one is a Thermaltake Purepower 500w ATX 12v 2.2 and it's total on the +12v rails is 34 amps. I'm stumped as to what's wrong. I've seen lots of people saying how this card works great for even Bioshock so why it's not working for Oblivion I don't know. It can handle the graphics better than the x800 for sure. The game will work at max settings within cities and I can see the improvement over the old card.
Should I list the system specs? I doubt it would matter since the psu and the vid card are the only changes I've made since I was using the x800.

I'm not selling the x800 card since if I can resolve this, I can put it back in for other projects like video editing. It's an AIW, after all. I was never able to really have a go at that.

Ladron De La Noche on 10/12/2009 at 09:45

Your system specs are not necessary. Is the system stable? Do other games make the system restart? Try other games as well and see if they make the system restart.

Run the DirectX diagnostic. Go to Start/Run and type 'dxdiag' w/o quotes.

You can update DirectX using the web installer, DirectX 9.27.1734. (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2da43d38-db71-4c1b-bc6a-9b6652cd92a3&displayLang=en) link

Brad Schoonmaker on 10/12/2009 at 23:38

I'm using the DirectX version that came with Oblivion. The only thing showing up as wrong is the file ati2dvag.dll not being digitally signed. Do you think getting the latest version of DirectX will make a difference?
It's pretty clear that D3D is not working properly since the computer restarts when running the second test for 3D Mark 2003. This always worked for other cards I've had. Also, my demo for Rollcage 2 just won't start up with D3D. That one never worked, though so I don't know if it means anything.

I'll download the latest DirectX tonight. Thanks.

Brad Schoonmaker on 12/12/2009 at 02:00

Well, the latest DirectX didn't stop the computer restarting. I'm left with 2 options. Reformat the drive and only install what's necessary to test the stability of this card in Oblivion or try to RMA the card. I've not seen this issue resolved on any tech forums I've checked so I can't be sure it's the card.

Any advice is welcome. Thanks everyone.

Brad Schoonmaker on 21/12/2009 at 04:59

I've spent a lot of time looking for answers to this reboot issue with no solution in sight so I hope this latest update will spur some support from someone here.

After replacing my old psu with this Thermaltake model, I decided to just put the old video card back in to see if at least my original heat problem was resolved. I didn't see any sign of scorching on the new connector, but the card still heated up pretty good. Although, it was mostly centered on one area instead of all over. Bad news was that when I started up Oblivion, the computer rebooted just like with the new card. This didn't happen before, so I'm guessing either I didn't clean out the HD3650 drivers properly or this new psu is the culprit.

I reformatted the hard drive this morning, then I installed Windows XP with SP2 and the latest HD3650 drivers, too. When I then played Oblivion I started a new game. Once outside of the sewer, the game played without a stutter for about 10 seconds. Then the computer rebooted. Before that though, I could see a vast improvement in visual quality. That tells me the drivers do work.

Clean install of everything rules out driver conflicts, but it leaves the psu as the likely source. This would make sense, except I can play the demo for Bioshock without a hitch so that tells me it's not the psu after all.

I'm going in circles with this one, but maybe you all can help me. Thanks.

Ladron De La Noche on 21/12/2009 at 07:09

Quote Posted by Brad Schoonmaker

This is nothing to worry about. It just means MS has not reviewed and certified that particular driver version. ATI/NVIDIA release many versions throughout the year and MS doesn't review all released versions.

I see you have reformated and its still restarting. Check the cpu heatsink and make sure its properly seated and not loose. The bios will cause a system restart if the cpu passes a temperature threshold, its built in all mobos. Also, grab a PSU tester if possible to check your old and new PSU. Its always good to have one and also spare parts whenever problems like this arise. Newegg.com has a few here. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=power+supply+tester&x=0&y=0) link

lost_soul on 24/12/2009 at 22:34

Smacking the side of the machine and having it stop making a bad noise definitely sounds like a fan problem.

I once upgraded to a Radeon X1300. It recommended at least a 300 Watt PSU, which is what I had. I thought the card would work fine because I only had one HDD and a single core 3200+ like you. I even stress tested it by playing games and charging my Ipod off of the USB ports. Everything was fine for a week or so... then one day I was importing a CD in Linux and *Croak!* the machine just turned off. I waited a wile and turned it back on and it still worked... for a bit. Then it died completely (I could not turn it back on).

Now I have a 400 watt PSU in there and an x2600xt I'd like to install. This card requires a minimum 400 watt PSU though, so I'm not gonna try it again. I don't want to destroy another power supply. :)

Brad Schoonmaker on 25/12/2009 at 08:36

I've been checking the cpu temp by way of ASUS's probe utility and it never gets above 143 degrees Fahrenheit. At idle, the temp is only 132 degrees so I doubt there's much worry about it. Could be totally wrong of course. BOOM!

That smacking I did shows just how low tech my methods are. It was the fans making all that noise. Two are case fans and I just have to put my finger in to stop the blades whenever they start misbehaving. Another was from the old psu. Hence my ulterior motive to replace it finally. The other was from the X800 card. That was the worst noise maker.

I checked my setup with (http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine) eXtreme Power Supply Calculator to see if I needed more power than from this 500watt psu, but it claimed 235 watts was enough. I can't see that being enough, myself. As it is, the card just seems incompatible with games like Oblivion. Don't know why. I finally found a copy of Bioshock and have had no issues really. Only thing is when first starting it up, the textures are all low quality for a short time then become high quality.

Good luck with that new card. I think 400 watts is fine for it.