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Problem description: The short version is, I made a stupid mistake and screwed my computer up, and I'm not at all sure how bad. The long version: My computer's performance on newer games was starting to get unacceptable, so I figured it was time for a new video card (after all, it'd been six years). I ordered a new GTX 750 off Amazon and installed it. I then booted up a game and the performance had actually gotten worse. Then, after about five minutes of gameplay, the computer just turned off. I've seen crashes, and this wasn't a crash. It was like someone had pressed the power button. Looking over everything to try and figure out what'd gone wrong, I noticed something -- in my defense, in very small print -- on the box. The video card needed a power supply of 500 watts minimum. Mine was 450. Oops. I tried booting up MK again a few times, and every time I got terrible performance followed by a power-off. I put the old card back in, but my performance was still lovely -- worse than it was with that card before I installed the new one -- and it powered down after a few minutes anyway. Okay, I'd clearly blown out my power supply or something, so I ordered a new 550W power supply and waited the two days for it very eagerly, since my computer was now acting a bit unstable and powered off once without playing any games (unfortunately, it had done so in the middle of the night, so I was asleep and don't know the exact circumstances). I left it off. With the new power supply installed, my first test was just to see if the computer would be stable under normal operations. I did nothing terribly demanding of it for 24 hours; it passed with flying colors. Then I tried a low-impact video game (Prison Architect). Played that for five hours with no problems (Prison Architect is awesome.) Then it was moment of truth time. I booted up Mortal Kombat again, and... same incredibly lovely performance. Incidentally, the lovely performance in question was the game running in slow motion, which Google says happens when the game can't render at 60 fps. So that's a strong indication right there that I'm getting extremely bad performance out of this video card, for whatever reason. Then it powered down again. It had definitely lasted longer -- about ten minutes -- but that was it. I thought to myself, well, maybe it's Mortal Kombat that's the problem. I've just been using that as my testing grounds because that's where the problems started, but maybe it's gotten corrupted. So I downloaded NovaBench; my computer passed its tests with flying colors. I figured something more strenuous was in order and downloaded FurMark; I benchmarked that too (although 45 fps seems a bit low for 2080x1536, I mean, it's supposed to be strenuous but it's also from 2011). So I decided to run the burn-in test, which is the same thing, but just going on for 15 minutes straight. I watched my GPU temp climb up to about 72C and then stay there; okay, it's not a cooling issue, clearly. That's stable. Everything seemed fine. And then, at about ten minutes in, with no warning or temperature spikes or anything, the computer powered down. Well, gently caress. Booting the computer back up, I noticed something -- three red lights on my motherboard. They turned off, but I got a picture first (it happens every time there's a power-off, I just provoked another one):  (huge in case details help) I also checked my system logs and noticed this, right when I booted the computer back up after the last power-off: Kernel-Processor-Power error posted:Performance power management features on processor 0 in group 0 are disabled due to a firmware problem. Check with the computer manufacturer for updated firmware. Kernel-Processor-Power error posted:Performance power management features on processor 1 in group 0 are disabled due to a firmware problem. Check with the computer manufacturer for updated firmware. Kernel-Processor-Power information posted:Processor 0 in group 0 exposes the following: Kernel-Processor-Power information posted:Processor 1 in group 0 exposes the following: I'm at my drat wits' end. Is this problem fixable? If so, how? Did I fry my motherboard/processor too? Why am I getting such bad performance on my graphics card before the power goes off? Is that one ruined now? What about the new power supply? And, in the worst case scenario, does replacing the motherboard, processor, and RAM still mean you need to completely reformat and reinstall Windows? The last time I tried to do that without a reinstall it all turned out to be so traumatic to Windows that it crashed constantly, but that was Windows XP and about a decade ago and maybe Windows 7 is smarter? I've been backing all my poo poo up since everything started going unstable, but a reformat and reinstall would still be a huge pain in the rear end. Attempted fixes: Installed a new power supply Recent changes: Installing a new video card was the start of all my troubles. -- Operating system:Windows 7, 64 bit System specs: Custom-built desktop. The relevant equipment: Gigabyte LGA 775 motherboard Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 processor Gigabyte GTX 760 video card XFX ATX 550 power supply Location: USA I have Googled and read the FAQ: Yes
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Jul 7, 2014 02:09
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| # ? May 12, 2024 11:07 |
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First, verify that the system has been thoroughly dusted out and that both power cables have been connected to the videocard. Check the CPU temperature with RealTemp, it could be throttling due to overheating. If that looks good, I would verify that the system can complete at least one full pass of Memtest86+ without errors. If it can, back up any data that is important to you then update the BIOS to the latest (non-Beta) version from the manufacturer's website, then clear the CMOS via the jumper on the board and load default settings. This can fix compatibility issues with newer hardware, especially videocards. Note that if the motherboard is actually dying then it may not work after the BIOS update. What was the brand and model of your old power supply? That will tell how likely it is that your hardware was damaged. I would recommend replacing your system when you are able though, your CPU and RAM are going to bottleneck you pretty severely even in older games. While you may be able to get away without a fresh installation of Windows it is strongly recommended due to the massive difference in components.
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Jul 7, 2014 04:04
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Yeah, the case is all dusted out (my god, the dust in there before) and both power cables are connected to the video card. My new power supply, oddly, has a 3x2 PCI-E cable with then a 1x2 thing, like, dangling to the side of it instead of being just a 4x2. I thought that was odd, but whatever. I plugged it all in, and, y'know... I'm getting video, so surely it's plugged in? Or else I wouldn't, right? My old power supply was a Corsair 450W, so at least I was close to 500? Incidentally, the only reason I didn't realize something was wrong right from the start was that the new card came with 4-pin-to-4x2 (and also one for a 3x2) PCI-E converter cables. In retrospect that's for multi-card rigs, but when I saw that I was like "oh, okay, it's no big deal that my power supply doesn't have a 4x2 cable, they gave me a converter just in case of that!" RealTemp says mid-70s during normal operation, I'll run MemTest and then force a shutdown while watching the CPU temperature tomorrow.
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Jul 7, 2014 04:42
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Your CPU is critically overheating, do not test further until you have fixed the problem. That's so drat hot that it sounds like the heatsink has just come loose, confirm the fan is spinning and that all four mounting pegs are fully engaged. If that looks fine, the next step would be to remove the heatsink, thoroughly clean it and the fan of dust, and clean the base of the heatsink and CPU heat speader of thermal pad residue using some sort of solvent (I use the edge of an old CD to scrape the dried gunk off first, as it generally won't scratch metal). You need to apply new thermal paste between the CPU and heatsink, if you don't have any you can buy some for $1 at any store that sells parts, don't pay extra for premium paste, especially not Arctic Silver (it's electrically conductive, which is dangerous, even though they say it isn't). Apply a paper-thin, even layer of thermal paste to the CPU heat spreader (not too thick), securely remount the heatsink, and you should be good to go. If you're going to take the time to remount the heatsink you might consider just buying a decent value cooler like the Cooler Master Hyper 212+. It's not necessary, but it saves you the cleaning effort on the heatsink side, comes with its own thermal paste, and provides much better cooling. Also, a note regarding power cables: There should be two 6-pin PEG (PCI-Express Graphics) power cables running to the videocard. At least one of these will likely have an additional two-pin connector hanging off that would clip into it to make the 8-pin connector used by higher-power videocards. The 6-pin delivers 75W, the 8-pin 150W*, so higher-power cards combine a 6-pin and 8-pin for 225W (plus 75W through the board for the allowable max of 300W). There will also be a square 4-pin power cable running to the motherboard next to the CPU, with another square 4-pin connector hanging off that would normally clip into it and plug into the 8-pin connector in the same spot used by newer motherboards. Near the DIMM slots you have a 24-pin connector with a 20-pin and a 4-pin cable clipped together running to it. *boring note: the 8-pin version doesn't actually have any more power pins, the additional ground pins just serve to say "it's okay I'm designed for 150W and won't burn up!"
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Jul 7, 2014 05:16
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Agreed, my guess is your intel heatsink pins are spun incorrectly and probably got bumped out during the video card install so its not making proper contact with the cpu.
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Jul 7, 2014 16:26
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I was going to be all "come on, 70 is not that hot" but I just reopened RealTemp because, y'know, maybe it was cooler now. 99 
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Jul 7, 2014 16:33
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Yeah, 70C isn't bad for a load temperature, but crazy for idle.
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Jul 7, 2014 16:46
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Yeah, turns out one peg is jammed and won't turn, one peg doesn't really lock, and one peg you can spin the plastic thing all you want but the peg itself doesn't turn, so it can't lock. I've loving had it, that was the last goddamn straw. 6 years is due for an upgrade anyway. Think the video card and power supply are still good?
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Jul 8, 2014 02:15
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Yes, they should be just fine with new parts.
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Jul 8, 2014 03:11
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Even the CPU will be fine if you fix the mounts. When I got my i5, it was beeping nonstop before it could even POST and bitching about CPU temps. Noticed it was sluggish as poo poo while installing the OS, so I went into the bios... 100C. Turns out the Hyper 212 (from my old motherboard) LOOKS like it'll mount to a socket 1155, it doesn't actually make contact with the CPU. 2 1/2 years later (with a Hyper 212+), it's still running fine, with a healthy overclock. Thank gently caress Intel CPUs know how to throttle. I'm having similar issues though, my PC just says NOPE after about 10 minutes of gaming. Pretty sure it's my PSU, but making my own post shortly. Alereon posted:Yeah, 70C isn't bad for a load temperature, but crazy for idle. Too bad I didn't keep my old Athlon 64 5200+ X2 - with a Hyper 212, it idled around 65-70, and would get up to 85-90 for gaming. It made an awesome foot/space heater in the winter.
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Jul 8, 2014 11:29
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| # ? May 12, 2024 11:07 |
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Your system was powering off because the built in self protect kicked in. Chances are that your CPU is fine. I have had a similar issue with one of my stock fans that looks a lot like yours. I removed it and was able to reset all the pegs and they all snapped in and worked great. Otherwise pickup a new CPU fan and you should be good to go.
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Jul 8, 2014 22:30
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