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Troubleshooting P8Z68 DELUXE/GEN3 Build



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 11th 14, 08:06 AM posted to alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus
Tater
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 10
Default Troubleshooting P8Z68 DELUXE/GEN3 Build

I'm trying to pin down a problem with my P8Z68 DELUXE/GEN3 system that
I built around two and a half years ago. The problem is that the
system will suddenly shut off and reboot, usually when the GPU is
pulling extra power (during gaming (Diablo 3), running Windows
Experience Index refresh, or when initiating a GPU stress test with
FurMark). The system will shut off completely (power light on case
goes off), and then will reboot by itself several seconds later.

I've run MemTest86+ and Prime95 extensively which would seem to rule
out the RAM and CPU. I have gone into the case and reseated all
cables, including the modular cable on the power supply. I've run
thorough OEM diagnostics on the SSD and HDDs. Power supply voltages in
BIOS look normal. I've even tried reverting to the previous NVIDIA
driver with no luck.

With the current GPU (MSI GTX 760), it will occasionally shut off when
I click the Burn-In Test button in FurMark. If it doesn't crash
initially, then it will run FurMark ok with the GTX 760. If I replace
the GTX 760 with the card I originally built the system with (an EVGA
GTX 580), it will shut off every time I attempt to run the Burn-In
Test in FurMark. Obviously the GTX 580 is a much more power hungry
card than the GTX 760, so it's looking like current draw has something
to do with the problem.

This was a totally stable system until just a couple weeks ago. When
I first put it together, the system ran 24/7 doing distributed
computer projects including CUDA, so the CPU and GPU (the GTX 580)
were running full power all the time, and I never had a problem with
that.

At this point I'm suspecting either the motherboard or the power
supply (Corsair CMPSU-850HX 850 watt Silver series) - the question is,
is there any way to further determine what the problem is without
throwing new parts at it? If I could narrow it down to the power
supply, that would be a lot easier fix than the motherboard.
Unfortunately I'd have to cannibalize another system in order to get
another power supply to test it with.

Systems specs:

MB: Asus P8Z68 DELUXE/GEN3
CPU: Intel I7-2700K
RAM: 4x4GB Corsair Vengeance low profile DDR3-1600
GPU: MSI GTX 760 or EVGA GTX 580
SSD: SanDisk Extreme Pro 480GB
HDDs: 2x1TB WD Black
PS: Corsair CMPSU-850HX
OS: Win 7 Home Premium SP1 64Bit

Thanks for any help and suggestions.

Jerry
  #2  
Old August 11th 14, 09:52 AM posted to alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus
Paul
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 13,364
Default Troubleshooting P8Z68 DELUXE/GEN3 Build

Tater wrote:
I'm trying to pin down a problem with my P8Z68 DELUXE/GEN3 system that
I built around two and a half years ago. The problem is that the
system will suddenly shut off and reboot, usually when the GPU is
pulling extra power (during gaming (Diablo 3), running Windows
Experience Index refresh, or when initiating a GPU stress test with
FurMark). The system will shut off completely (power light on case
goes off), and then will reboot by itself several seconds later.

I've run MemTest86+ and Prime95 extensively which would seem to rule
out the RAM and CPU. I have gone into the case and reseated all
cables, including the modular cable on the power supply. I've run
thorough OEM diagnostics on the SSD and HDDs. Power supply voltages in
BIOS look normal. I've even tried reverting to the previous NVIDIA
driver with no luck.

With the current GPU (MSI GTX 760), it will occasionally shut off when
I click the Burn-In Test button in FurMark. If it doesn't crash
initially, then it will run FurMark ok with the GTX 760. If I replace
the GTX 760 with the card I originally built the system with (an EVGA
GTX 580), it will shut off every time I attempt to run the Burn-In
Test in FurMark. Obviously the GTX 580 is a much more power hungry
card than the GTX 760, so it's looking like current draw has something
to do with the problem.

This was a totally stable system until just a couple weeks ago. When
I first put it together, the system ran 24/7 doing distributed
computer projects including CUDA, so the CPU and GPU (the GTX 580)
were running full power all the time, and I never had a problem with
that.

At this point I'm suspecting either the motherboard or the power
supply (Corsair CMPSU-850HX 850 watt Silver series) - the question is,
is there any way to further determine what the problem is without
throwing new parts at it? If I could narrow it down to the power
supply, that would be a lot easier fix than the motherboard.
Unfortunately I'd have to cannibalize another system in order to get
another power supply to test it with.

Systems specs:

MB: Asus P8Z68 DELUXE/GEN3
CPU: Intel I7-2700K
RAM: 4x4GB Corsair Vengeance low profile DDR3-1600
GPU: MSI GTX 760 or EVGA GTX 580
SSD: SanDisk Extreme Pro 480GB
HDDs: 2x1TB WD Black
PS: Corsair CMPSU-850HX
OS: Win 7 Home Premium SP1 64Bit

Thanks for any help and suggestions.

Jerry


With your symptoms set, I would tend to think power supply
at this point.

One thing I would check, is the green LED on the motherboard.
Asus motherboards usually have a green LED. The idea is,
when working on the computer, you don't pull DIMMs or cards
out of their slots, until the LED is off. The green LED
is tied to +5VSB from the power supply, and so it's an
easy way to monitor that voltage rail.

When your power supply shuts off, I would want to view
the green LED at the same time. It is wired to +5VSB, and
that voltage is part of the PS_ON# circuit as well. The
PS_ON# signal gets released, if for any reason +5VSB ever
drops out.

The power supply consists of two pieces. The motherboard
turns on the main section, using PS_ON# signal on the main
power supply cable. But the PS_ON# driver is powered by +5VSB,
and the supply shuts off, if the always-running +5VSB goes away.

+-------------------------------------------+
(PS_ON#) | |
v |
AC --- HVDC ---+--- Main_Supply --- LVDC 3.3V, 5V, 12V, -12V |
| |
+--- Standby_Supply --- +5VSB ---- RAM in standby |
---- WOL for NIC |
---- USB waking |
---- Helps with PS_ON# --+
---- (Green LED)

The +5VSB has a 2 to 3 amp rating (check PSU label for details).
Shorting +5VSB to ground, causes the chip on the motherboard
driving PS_ON# to get switched off, so then the Main_Supply goes
off. The green LED on the motherboard should not wink or
glitch - the switch on the back of the power supply, is
the only thing that should extinguish the Asus green LED.

Not all motherboards have that monitor LED. I think
every Asus motherboard I've owned, had that LED. And
it's great for observing the voltage that can lead
to the supply switching off.

A more likely cause, is the PSU is overheating, and
while the PSU has a current limiter, it's possible
it is thermal (heatsink inside PSU overheats, supply
goes off). If for any reason, the thermal sensor inside
the supply isn't working right, that could shut it off.

And your Asus motherboard will restart the system after
a +5VSB failure, if the BIOS is set that way. My systems
here, I set them to not Autostart. It could be that
yours is set to run the computer after a power failure,
and that's why it boots after the power failure. You
can adjust the BIOS, to have it sit in the OFF state,
if such a failure occurs. When you build up server
systems, you usually want it set to Autostart so all
your servers recover without you being present. For
desktops, it's the opposite.

Paul
  #3  
Old August 11th 14, 12:13 PM posted to alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus
Bob Willard
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 156
Default Troubleshooting P8Z68 DELUXE/GEN3 Build

On 8/11/2014 3:06 AM, Tater wrote:
I'm trying to pin down a problem with my P8Z68 DELUXE/GEN3 system that
I built around two and a half years ago. The problem is that the
system will suddenly shut off and reboot, usually when the GPU is
pulling extra power (during gaming (Diablo 3), running Windows
Experience Index refresh, or when initiating a GPU stress test with
FurMark). The system will shut off completely (power light on case
goes off), and then will reboot by itself several seconds later.

I've run MemTest86+ and Prime95 extensively which would seem to rule
out the RAM and CPU. I have gone into the case and reseated all
cables, including the modular cable on the power supply. I've run
thorough OEM diagnostics on the SSD and HDDs. Power supply voltages in
BIOS look normal. I've even tried reverting to the previous NVIDIA
driver with no luck.

With the current GPU (MSI GTX 760), it will occasionally shut off when
I click the Burn-In Test button in FurMark. If it doesn't crash
initially, then it will run FurMark ok with the GTX 760. If I replace
the GTX 760 with the card I originally built the system with (an EVGA
GTX 580), it will shut off every time I attempt to run the Burn-In
Test in FurMark. Obviously the GTX 580 is a much more power hungry
card than the GTX 760, so it's looking like current draw has something
to do with the problem.

This was a totally stable system until just a couple weeks ago. When
I first put it together, the system ran 24/7 doing distributed
computer projects including CUDA, so the CPU and GPU (the GTX 580)
were running full power all the time, and I never had a problem with
that.

At this point I'm suspecting either the motherboard or the power
supply (Corsair CMPSU-850HX 850 watt Silver series) - the question is,
is there any way to further determine what the problem is without
throwing new parts at it? If I could narrow it down to the power
supply, that would be a lot easier fix than the motherboard.
Unfortunately I'd have to cannibalize another system in order to get
another power supply to test it with.

Systems specs:

MB: Asus P8Z68 DELUXE/GEN3
CPU: Intel I7-2700K
RAM: 4x4GB Corsair Vengeance low profile DDR3-1600
GPU: MSI GTX 760 or EVGA GTX 580
SSD: SanDisk Extreme Pro 480GB
HDDs: 2x1TB WD Black
PS: Corsair CMPSU-850HX
OS: Win 7 Home Premium SP1 64Bit

Thanks for any help and suggestions.

Jerry


I suspect overheating. If the box has air filters, clean them.
Clean the fans, and make sure they all spin freely: on the box,
on the CPU heatsink, and on the GPU heatsink. Clean the CPU &
GPU heatsinks (I use a home-made air-gun). Make sure the
internal cables aren't blocking airflow, in case some cable
has fallen down from its original position.

{From what you wrote, I assume that you are comfortable
rooting around inside your box. For others who aren't,
get a techhead to do it for you.}
--
Cheers, Bob
  #4  
Old August 11th 14, 12:37 PM posted to alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus
Peter Johnson[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3
Default Troubleshooting P8Z68 DELUXE/GEN3 Build

On Mon, 11 Aug 2014 03:52:30 -0500, Paul wrote:



With your symptoms set, I would tend to think power supply
at this point.

Agree with that. A few years ago I was experiencing random re-boots on
a system. Changed the MB, CPU and ram - then discovered that the
problem was with the PSU.
  #5  
Old August 11th 14, 08:00 PM posted to alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus
Tater
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 10
Default Troubleshooting P8Z68 DELUXE/GEN3 Build

On Mon, 11 Aug 2014 03:52:30 -0500, Paul wrote:

With your symptoms set, I would tend to think power supply
at this point.

One thing I would check, is the green LED on the motherboard.
Asus motherboards usually have a green LED. The idea is,
when working on the computer, you don't pull DIMMs or cards
out of their slots, until the LED is off. The green LED
is tied to +5VSB from the power supply, and so it's an
easy way to monitor that voltage rail.

When your power supply shuts off, I would want to view
the green LED at the same time. It is wired to +5VSB, and
that voltage is part of the PS_ON# circuit as well. The
PS_ON# signal gets released, if for any reason +5VSB ever
drops out.

The power supply consists of two pieces. The motherboard
turns on the main section, using PS_ON# signal on the main
power supply cable. But the PS_ON# driver is powered by +5VSB,
and the supply shuts off, if the always-running +5VSB goes away.

+-------------------------------------------+
(PS_ON#) | |
v |
AC --- HVDC ---+--- Main_Supply --- LVDC 3.3V, 5V, 12V, -12V |
| |
+--- Standby_Supply --- +5VSB ---- RAM in standby |
---- WOL for NIC |
---- USB waking |
---- Helps with PS_ON# --+
---- (Green LED)

The +5VSB has a 2 to 3 amp rating (check PSU label for details).
Shorting +5VSB to ground, causes the chip on the motherboard
driving PS_ON# to get switched off, so then the Main_Supply goes
off. The green LED on the motherboard should not wink or
glitch - the switch on the back of the power supply, is
the only thing that should extinguish the Asus green LED.

Not all motherboards have that monitor LED. I think
every Asus motherboard I've owned, had that LED. And
it's great for observing the voltage that can lead
to the supply switching off.

A more likely cause, is the PSU is overheating, and
while the PSU has a current limiter, it's possible
it is thermal (heatsink inside PSU overheats, supply
goes off). If for any reason, the thermal sensor inside
the supply isn't working right, that could shut it off.

And your Asus motherboard will restart the system after
a +5VSB failure, if the BIOS is set that way. My systems
here, I set them to not Autostart. It could be that
yours is set to run the computer after a power failure,
and that's why it boots after the power failure. You
can adjust the BIOS, to have it sit in the OFF state,
if such a failure occurs. When you build up server
systems, you usually want it set to Autostart so all
your servers recover without you being present. For
desktops, it's the opposite.

Paul


Paul, thanks for your highly detailed reply. After you and Bob
suggested overheating as a good possibility, I did some investigation
and have interesting (and embarrassing) results to report. My case is
an Antec P280, which has dust filters on the front intake fans, and on
the power supply fan. The power supply arrangement in this case is on
the bottom of the case, with the intake facing down, and the filter is
between the power supply intake and the bottom of the case (which has
a perforated section to let air into the power supply).

I checked both filters and found them clean. I blew out all the fans
with compressed air and found almost no dust on them. The only thing
I couldn't easily examine was the power supply fan because of the
location of the power supply. So I turned the case upside down so I
could verify the power supply fan was running. I was astounded to
find the perforated case intake area for the power supply almost
completely clogged with dust!

What was happening was that the dust was accumulating on the
perforations and not even making it to the filter. Since I frequently
checked the filters and found very little dust, I assumed everything
was OK.

After cleaning out the dust and verifying that the power supply fan
was indeed running, I tried running FurMark again with the GTX 580 and
it ran fine! I thought I was home free until I tried running a
refresh on the Windows Experience Index and the system shut down
again. However, repeat refreshes on the Index and further running of
FurMark didn't result in any shutdowns.

Is it possible that running the computer for months (maybe over a
year?) with the power supply air intake clogged has degraded the power
supply and it is in need of replacement?

BTW, my BIOS is not set to autostart after a power failure.
Unfortunately I have not been able to make the system shutdown again
so I could check on your suggestion of observing the behavior of the
LED on the motherboard.

Jerry
  #6  
Old August 11th 14, 10:16 PM posted to alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus
Tater
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 10
Default Troubleshooting P8Z68 DELUXE/GEN3 Build

On Mon, 11 Aug 2014 12:00:21 -0700, Tater wrote:



Paul, thanks for your highly detailed reply. After you and Bob
suggested overheating as a good possibility, I did some investigation
and have interesting (and embarrassing) results to report. My case is
an Antec P280, which has dust filters on the front intake fans, and on
the power supply fan. The power supply arrangement in this case is on
the bottom of the case, with the intake facing down, and the filter is
between the power supply intake and the bottom of the case (which has
a perforated section to let air into the power supply).

I checked both filters and found them clean. I blew out all the fans
with compressed air and found almost no dust on them. The only thing
I couldn't easily examine was the power supply fan because of the
location of the power supply. So I turned the case upside down so I
could verify the power supply fan was running. I was astounded to
find the perforated case intake area for the power supply almost
completely clogged with dust!

What was happening was that the dust was accumulating on the
perforations and not even making it to the filter. Since I frequently
checked the filters and found very little dust, I assumed everything
was OK.

After cleaning out the dust and verifying that the power supply fan
was indeed running, I tried running FurMark again with the GTX 580 and
it ran fine! I thought I was home free until I tried running a
refresh on the Windows Experience Index and the system shut down
again. However, repeat refreshes on the Index and further running of
FurMark didn't result in any shutdowns.

Is it possible that running the computer for months (maybe over a
year?) with the power supply air intake clogged has degraded the power
supply and it is in need of replacement?

BTW, my BIOS is not set to autostart after a power failure.
Unfortunately I have not been able to make the system shutdown again
so I could check on your suggestion of observing the behavior of the
LED on the motherboard.

Jerry


Well I was thinking that cleaning out the air intake to my power
supply might have cured the problem, but I ran anotherWindows
Experience Index refresh and it shut down the computer again. This
time the side of the case was open and I was able to observe the
lights during this episode. My motherboard doesn't have a single
green LED as Paul suggested, rather it has an illuminated power
button, an illuminated reset button, and a two digit alpha-numeric
diagnostic display (all of these items are mounted directly on the
motherboard).

When the computer shut down, I quickly looked in the case and the two
digit LED display turned off, but the illumination for the power and
reset switches remained on.

I guess this continues to leave me confused as to where the problem
lies.

Jerry
  #7  
Old August 11th 14, 10:23 PM posted to alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus
Paul
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 13,364
Default Troubleshooting P8Z68 DELUXE/GEN3 Build

Tater wrote:

Is it possible that running the computer for months (maybe over a
year?) with the power supply air intake clogged has degraded the power
supply and it is in need of replacement?


The electrolytic capacitors (according to one supplier),
will last 15 years with a moderate temperature rise.
After 15 years, the rubber seal on the bottom of the
capacitor tends to degrade and allow the electrolyte
to dry out. It's not a guarantee they fail in year 15,
but it's a guesstimate. For example, if there was ozone
in the air, the life could be shorter (ozone attacks
rubber).

Life can be as short as 2000 hours, if you run them
close to the boiling point of water. That would be
four months of 8 hour days of Furmark.

I can't begin to guess how hot it got, but if the
overtemp is switching it off, it got pretty hot.

You're using the right approach - test and look
for issues, with the max electrical load you
would normally use. If you still see instability,
and occasional switch-off, then replace it. Being
careful to orient the new supply a different way, when
you install it :-)

Paul

  #8  
Old August 12th 14, 04:49 AM posted to alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus
Paul
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 13,364
Default Troubleshooting P8Z68 DELUXE/GEN3 Build

Tater wrote:
On Mon, 11 Aug 2014 12:00:21 -0700, Tater wrote:


Paul, thanks for your highly detailed reply. After you and Bob
suggested overheating as a good possibility, I did some investigation
and have interesting (and embarrassing) results to report. My case is
an Antec P280, which has dust filters on the front intake fans, and on
the power supply fan. The power supply arrangement in this case is on
the bottom of the case, with the intake facing down, and the filter is
between the power supply intake and the bottom of the case (which has
a perforated section to let air into the power supply).

I checked both filters and found them clean. I blew out all the fans
with compressed air and found almost no dust on them. The only thing
I couldn't easily examine was the power supply fan because of the
location of the power supply. So I turned the case upside down so I
could verify the power supply fan was running. I was astounded to
find the perforated case intake area for the power supply almost
completely clogged with dust!

What was happening was that the dust was accumulating on the
perforations and not even making it to the filter. Since I frequently
checked the filters and found very little dust, I assumed everything
was OK.

After cleaning out the dust and verifying that the power supply fan
was indeed running, I tried running FurMark again with the GTX 580 and
it ran fine! I thought I was home free until I tried running a
refresh on the Windows Experience Index and the system shut down
again. However, repeat refreshes on the Index and further running of
FurMark didn't result in any shutdowns.

Is it possible that running the computer for months (maybe over a
year?) with the power supply air intake clogged has degraded the power
supply and it is in need of replacement?

BTW, my BIOS is not set to autostart after a power failure.
Unfortunately I have not been able to make the system shutdown again
so I could check on your suggestion of observing the behavior of the
LED on the motherboard.

Jerry


Well I was thinking that cleaning out the air intake to my power
supply might have cured the problem, but I ran anotherWindows
Experience Index refresh and it shut down the computer again. This
time the side of the case was open and I was able to observe the
lights during this episode. My motherboard doesn't have a single
green LED as Paul suggested, rather it has an illuminated power
button, an illuminated reset button, and a two digit alpha-numeric
diagnostic display (all of these items are mounted directly on the
motherboard).

When the computer shut down, I quickly looked in the case and the two
digit LED display turned off, but the illumination for the power and
reset switches remained on.

I guess this continues to leave me confused as to where the problem
lies.

Jerry


In some of these situations, you can't tell if it is motherboard side
or power supply side that is doing it.

The processor has THERMTRIP, which can turn off the power supply. If
the processor overheats, it is protected, and THERMTRIP from the CPU
feeds into some motherboard logic, causing PS_ON# to go off.

To test that path, you use a "CPU burn" or "100% loading" CPU test
(no big video loading is required for this test). If you can run Prime95
for hours without the PSU going off, that tells you the CPU is not
asserting THERMTRIP for no reason. Running the CPU at 100% with Prime95,
doesn't draw as much power as running Furmark would on a high-end video
card.

If your CPU is stable in this sort of test, that helps take the motherboard
off the suspect list a bit. There is a need to "isolate to the nearest
subsystem", and it isn't always easy to do that. When testing, right
up to the end there can be some uncertainty as to what is broken.

*******

Your LED results suggest the Power and Reset illumination are running
off +5VSB. The fact they remain illuminated, says the |5VSB portion
of the PSU is still operating. Just the main section switched off.

The PSU can switch off for two reasons. It can switch off on overcurrent
or overheat (internally detected PSU issue). It can also switch off
if the motherboard turns off the signal. It's the symptom correlation
that matters here - if the PS_ON# was going off at random, we don't
know what is doing it. If the supply appears to be going off only
under significant load, and the test in the first part of my posting
is passing, then it suggests the problem is the PSU.

So do the 100% loading CPU-only test. If the system always stays up
with that, and yet it fails on Furmark or other video activity, it's
most likely to be the PSU that needs replacement.

Proper PSU testers are not all that common (expensive), and if you
take your computer to a shop, they would simply swap out the supply
and retest. If the swap out didn't fix it, they'd then be focused
on motherboard (or CPU THERMTRIP). Watching which cases are failing,
helps eliminate some things and make it less likely that swapping them
will fix the problem.

Checking for the LEDs going out, was to see whether the +5VSB portion
of the PSU was winking out. You can overload that section with enough
electrical load, such as charging two iPads, running a USB lamp,
or an excessive number of USB toys. Since they starting running
USB ports of +5VSB, we have to be a bit aware of the consequences
of using too much USB power. At one time, the USB ports could be
configured to run off +5V (20 amps or more available), and then
that was one less thing to worry about. The +5VSB section only
has two or three amps, and the motherboard can be using around
one amp to start with. Leaving one or two amps for toys, which is
not much.

But what triggers the failure, is intended to narrow down
where the switch-off is happening. The symptoms still point
to PSU, and running more tests is to narrow it down a bit
better (to justify spending money on another supply, to test
with if necessary). I've used up all my supplies here, so I
have to pull one from a working system, to test with.

Paul
  #9  
Old August 12th 14, 08:54 PM posted to alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus
Tater
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 10
Default Troubleshooting P8Z68 DELUXE/GEN3 Build

On Mon, 11 Aug 2014 23:49:32 -0400, Paul wrote:


In some of these situations, you can't tell if it is motherboard side
or power supply side that is doing it.

The processor has THERMTRIP, which can turn off the power supply. If
the processor overheats, it is protected, and THERMTRIP from the CPU
feeds into some motherboard logic, causing PS_ON# to go off.

To test that path, you use a "CPU burn" or "100% loading" CPU test
(no big video loading is required for this test). If you can run Prime95
for hours without the PSU going off, that tells you the CPU is not
asserting THERMTRIP for no reason. Running the CPU at 100% with Prime95,
doesn't draw as much power as running Furmark would on a high-end video
card.

If your CPU is stable in this sort of test, that helps take the motherboard
off the suspect list a bit. There is a need to "isolate to the nearest
subsystem", and it isn't always easy to do that. When testing, right
up to the end there can be some uncertainty as to what is broken.

*******

Your LED results suggest the Power and Reset illumination are running
off +5VSB. The fact they remain illuminated, says the |5VSB portion
of the PSU is still operating. Just the main section switched off.

The PSU can switch off for two reasons. It can switch off on overcurrent
or overheat (internally detected PSU issue). It can also switch off
if the motherboard turns off the signal. It's the symptom correlation
that matters here - if the PS_ON# was going off at random, we don't
know what is doing it. If the supply appears to be going off only
under significant load, and the test in the first part of my posting
is passing, then it suggests the problem is the PSU.

So do the 100% loading CPU-only test. If the system always stays up
with that, and yet it fails on Furmark or other video activity, it's
most likely to be the PSU that needs replacement.

Proper PSU testers are not all that common (expensive), and if you
take your computer to a shop, they would simply swap out the supply
and retest. If the swap out didn't fix it, they'd then be focused
on motherboard (or CPU THERMTRIP). Watching which cases are failing,
helps eliminate some things and make it less likely that swapping them
will fix the problem.

Checking for the LEDs going out, was to see whether the +5VSB portion
of the PSU was winking out. You can overload that section with enough
electrical load, such as charging two iPads, running a USB lamp,
or an excessive number of USB toys. Since they starting running
USB ports of +5VSB, we have to be a bit aware of the consequences
of using too much USB power. At one time, the USB ports could be
configured to run off +5V (20 amps or more available), and then
that was one less thing to worry about. The +5VSB section only
has two or three amps, and the motherboard can be using around
one amp to start with. Leaving one or two amps for toys, which is
not much.

But what triggers the failure, is intended to narrow down
where the switch-off is happening. The symptoms still point
to PSU, and running more tests is to narrow it down a bit
better (to justify spending money on another supply, to test
with if necessary). I've used up all my supplies here, so I
have to pull one from a working system, to test with.

Paul


I have run Prime95 for about 3.5 hours with no issues. I've decided
to order a new power supply (Seasonic X850), so we'll see if that
fixes things. Thanks again for your help.

Jerry
 




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