# [SOLVED] Monitor randomly goes to sleep



## Dietomaha

Hello! I've posted here before and it helped me quite a bit (I figured out I had a bad memory stick, and also bad luck with computers apparently). I've seen this issue posted up before, but I wanted to give my information and see if you guys could help me out a little.

Anyways, like the title says, the monitor seems to randomly go to sleep. I've read in other threads that it could be an issue with the monitor itself, but when it does it, the audio freezes up (the last second or so loops continuously until the monitor sleeps), which leads me to think the video card could be the culprit. I've also noticed the video card seems to be abnormally loud lately, and also feels / smells hotter than usual. By smells, I mean I can smell heat coming from it while I'm on the computer. I'm not weird or anything. 

I was reading http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f25/monitor-randomly-goes-to-sleep-522246.html this thread, and it seems like the power supply is likely to be the problem. I actually have the same video card (GeForce 9800 GT) even. So if it is the power supply, could that have possibly damaged other components in the computer? Video card, memory, etc.? I've used this computer for about a year now, about 6 months back a stick of memory failed, the video card is running hot...could it be caused by insufficient power? And what power supply could be recommended for this card?

Thanks for any help!


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## JimE

*Re: Monitor randomly goes to sleep*

List your PC specs. Can't comment on possible issues without knowing what hardware is being used.

For power supply info, read here> http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f210/power-supply-information-and-selection-192217.html


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## Dietomaha

*Re: Monitor randomly goes to sleep*

HP p6257 c-b

AMD Athlon II X4 620 Quad Core Processor
GeForce 9800 GT
6 GB Memory (2 Gig Sticks)
Windows 7
Bestec Power Supply (100-127 v Input, 300W Output)


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## Rich-M

*Re: Monitor randomly goes to sleep*

Wow that card needs at least a good 550 watt psu and you have a poor quality 300 watt psu, that could easily be the problem.


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## JimE

*Re: Monitor randomly goes to sleep*

I agree. Any OEM PC (ie: Dell, HP, etc.) should have the power supply replaced first, before any upgrades.


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## Dietomaha

*Re: Monitor randomly goes to sleep*

Alright, so the 520 Watt PSU linked in the Power Supply Info thread would be my best bet I'm thinking..? (Newegg.com - SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply)

I've never changed a power supply, are there any pointers I should know? I went through some tutorials via Google, but I'd like to know if there's one in particular you guys maybe trust more?


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## Rich-M

*Re: Monitor randomly goes to sleep*

It's really pretty easy. Usually 4 screws to remove and keep a hand on the psu after the 3rd one comes out so it doesn't crash downwards and kill something.
Make sure you watch carefully and even write down what you remove and where because if you remove all the plugs from compaonenst quickly, you can easily forget it all.


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## Tyree

*Re: Monitor randomly goes to sleep*

Make a list and or take pictures of all the connections before disconnecting any wiring. Use the list/pics as a guide to install the new PSU.
You can get a 650W for the same money.
Both are top quality SeaSonic made.

XFX P1-650X-CAH9 650W $89: Newegg.com - XFX P1-650X-CAH9 650W ATX12V v2.2 / ESP12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

CORSAIR TX650 $90: Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply


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## Dietomaha

*Re: Monitor randomly goes to sleep*

Thanks everyone for the help. Is it fairly certain that the problem is the power supply? As far as computer components go I know a PSU (the kind I'm looking to get anyway) is on the somewhat cheap side, but this is still quite a sum of money for me, so I really want to be as sure as I can be.

I've noticed my video card is overheating quite a bit lately as well (see picture http://i.imgur.com/yTw2w.jpg), could that be a symptom of needing to replace the PSU as well?


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## dai

*Re: Monitor randomly goes to sleep*

under power causes heat problems as the psu struggles to put out enough power


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## Dietomaha

*Re: Monitor randomly goes to sleep*

I ordered the first PSU that Tyree posted (it had a $20 mail in rebate, making it cheaper than the less-powerful one I posted, thanks for that). Thanks a lot for the help guys, I'll post back once I install the new PSU and see if my problems have gone away.

I kinda have a feeling it may have damaged my video card though. It's been set up this way for about a year now


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## Dietomaha

*Re: Monitor randomly goes to sleep*

I'm extremely sad to report that the new PSU did not fix the problem. So short of that, what else could it be?

Not that I really have the money to fix it now after buying the new PSU...


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## Rich-M

*Re: Monitor randomly goes to sleep*

Well now whats left leaves the video card the next in line as the cause. I mean it would be easy to see the poor psu blew the video card over time. By any chance does your pc have onboard video as well as the 9800 video card?


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## Dietomaha

*Re: Monitor randomly goes to sleep*

It does. I was planning on using that as the next step, would I be able to simply swap the cord once the monitor goes to sleep again, or should I do it a different way?


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## JimE

*Re: Monitor randomly goes to sleep*

Power off the PC, turn off the monitor, move the cable from the video card to the onboard video output, then uninstall (ie: remove) the video card. Boot up and test.


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## Rich-M

*Re: Monitor randomly goes to sleep*

Right you have to remove the video card to use the onboard. Before doing that I would check the bios priorities so that video is set for pci "when present" which means onboard will work when pci card is
not present.


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## Dietomaha

*Re: Monitor randomly goes to sleep*

I haven't had a chance to test it today, but I will early tomorrow and report back. In the meantime, could you guys recommend a video card equivalent to a 9800 GT (or higher) for a good price? I'm on a SUPER tight budget after replacing the PSU, but I'm fairly certain the video card is failing.

Thanks!


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## Rich-M

*Re: Monitor randomly goes to sleep*

This should do nicely:
Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1441-KR GeForce GT 440 1024MB (Fermi) DUAL DVI PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card


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## Dietomaha

*Re: Monitor randomly goes to sleep*

Welp, I got my new video card today. Plugged it in, tried to play a game with it, and the same crash happened.

I was looking at the HWMonitor and the fan isn't coming on on the video card, so the card is running especially hot.

http://i.imgur.com/KLasB.jpg

Is this card not working properly, or is there some way to turn on the fan that maybe I missed...?


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## JimE

*Re: Monitor randomly goes to sleep*

Video card brand/model? If the card has a power connector, do you have it connected? Did you upgrade the power supply? As noted above, the stock power supply is NOT powerful enough to support an addon video card.


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## Dietomaha

*Re: Monitor randomly goes to sleep*

I got a GeForce 450 GTS. I have an XFX 650 Watt power supply now as well.

This....was a false alarm, luckily. A wire from the power supply was stopping the fan from moving. Now that it's moving, it idles at about 55C and in games the highest it's gotten is about 70-75. So everything seems good now 

Thanks again for the help!


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