# Entering Power Save Mode while Gaming..argg!



## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Hello,

My issue is basically when i load up certain games, like Age of Conan or Assassins Creed, about 80% of the time my computer will "Enter Power Save Mode", meaning my monitor turns black and the only way to access my computer again is to restart by holding the power button.

I have the latest version of DirectX10

*My System Spec:*
Dell XPS 710
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6300 @ 1.86ghz
Ram: 4gb DDR2
System type: 32-bit
O/S: Vista Service Pack 1
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260
BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 1.4.0

Age of Conan Minimum System Requirements:
*Required*
OS: Windows Vista/XP
Processor: 3GHz Pentium IV
RAM: 1GB RAM
Video Card: Shader Model 2.0 and 128MB RAM: NVIDIA GeForce 5800 or ATI 9800

*Recommended*
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz (E6600) or better
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 7950GX2 or better
RAM: 2GB or more

I posted the Age of Conan system requirements because i am not sure if my processor is as strong as a 3GHz Pentium IV.


Anywho, that is the issue, and if there is any more information you need to help solve this problem iId be glad to give it to you.

Thanks in advance,
Cdx


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## Niram (Jun 20, 2009)

whats you PSU?


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Doh, i knew i missed something in my system spec.

PSU: 1000 Watt


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## Niram (Jun 20, 2009)

you have a 32 bit system and 4gb of ram

that is not good as far as I know


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Niram said:


> you have a 32 bit system and 4gb of ram
> 
> that is not good as far as I know


well, i looked it up and i didnt see anything that was bad about having too much ram in a 32-bit system.

It just basically said that it won't use all of the RAM.

and im not sure that RAM would affect the Entering power save mode issue.

Plus on top of that, my dell inspiron laptop was built by dell, and is 32-bit with 4gb of ram.


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## Niram (Jun 20, 2009)

true, your comp will recognize only 3gb so 1gb is a total waste

I'm not sure what would be the problem here, your psu seems decent and specs are fine, lets wait for the pros


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Haha roger that, thanks for the help though Niram, i appreciate it.


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## Lord Sirian (Jan 14, 2007)

Hi Cdx, welcome to TSF.

I doubt the computer is going into power saving mode. It is more likely that either your PSU or your Graphics card is faulty.

Does this happen with any games other than Assassin's Creed and Age of Conan?


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Hello, and thank you Lord Sirian,

I used to play World of Warcraft for 4 years, and it hasnt happened once.

I did buy the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 myself and put it in around a year ago.

I also put in 2 gigs more of ram myself, matching the DDR2 of course, however different brands.

But ive played other games like everquest, starcraft, warcraft, WoW, and it works just fine.

It seems to only happen with the higher quality games.

My NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 is plugged into two 6pin and one 4pin power cables, and it barely fit on my mobo. Its huge! 

I opened my case last night, thinking it might be an overheating issue, and put a mini house fan blowing right on it, but it still shut off.

Sometimes when my monitor goes black, i can still hear the game sounds.

Theres two versions of Age of Conan i can run, DirectX10 or DirectX9, when i load DX10 it immediately goes to black screen, however when i load DX9 i can normally play for a little bit before it goes black screen.

Thanks in advance,
Cdx


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

I also updated my nvidia drivers, they are all up to date.

I also have an AGEIA Physx Card, and its updated as well.


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Might it be an overheating problem?

I downloaded Speedfan,
and with my cased closed normally, my stats were:
GPU: 62c
Core 0: 45c
Core 1: 44c

So i opened my case and i have a small house fan blowing on the gpu/processor cores and its lowering, so far the stats within 5 mins are:
Gpu: 56c
Core 0: 43c
Core 1: 45c


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Another update, i ran age of conan with DX9 non-fullscreen mode so i can check the speedfan stats while running / loading the game.

It seems the stats all increase about 5-10c

Stats currently playing Age of Conan with DX9 are:
GPU: 57-59c
Core 0: 46-51c
Core 1: 46-51c

In speedfan, my GPU remains with a Flaming hot icon at 57-59c

Now this the temps with my case OPEN with a house fan on HIGH blowing right on the GPU/2 cores.

Im pretty sure this is my problem, overheating causing the gpu to crash.

What do you think Sirian?


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Still waiting for a response, I'm sure you guys are busy.


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## Tiber Septim (Feb 9, 2006)

Hi Cdx, sorry for the late reply.
Just to make sure, go into *Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\Power Options* and select 'Change Plan Settings'.
Make sure both options are set to 'Never'.
Your temperatures are fine, don't worry about them. Speedfan is only displaying that flaming icon because it thinks the maximum temperature is the maximum temperature for CPU's (normally 60C), GPU's can safely go much hotter (normally 90C - 100C).

Could you please post the make/model of your Power Supply. Also, in Speedfan, check the voltages it reports for the +12v rail when the system is idle, then again after running Age of Conan for a minute.


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## Lord Sirian (Jan 14, 2007)

Sorry for not replying for a while and yeah, not likely to be a heating problem. - The monitor is going black due to it losing signal from the Graphics Card.

As Tiber Septim said, post the model of your PSU and the +12V reading in Speedfan.


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

I set both options in Power savings to NEVER.
One was set to set off display at 20 mins.
They are now both at NEVER.

*PSU:*
Make: DELL
Model: N1000P-00
Link to PSU: http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-PM480-1000...wItemQQimsxZ20090622?IMSfp=TL090622144005r788


*Speed Fan Idle:*
GPU: 59c
Core 0: 40c
Core 1: 43c

*Age Of Conan 5 Mins In:*
GPU: 60c
Core 0: 45c
Core 1: 48c

Hopefully this is what you meant by checking the 12v in speedfan, i looked up voltages in configuration in speedfan and it was blank, also in the charts i select voltages but it was also blank.


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## Lord Sirian (Jan 14, 2007)

Unfortunately those are not the voltages, download Everest and SensorsView from the following links and use them to check your Voltages.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

http://www.stvsoft.com/SensorsViewPro21Setup.exe

In Everest your voltages are located under "Computer -> Sensor"


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Both are downloaded,
in Everest>Computer>Sensor it is blank.


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## Lord Sirian (Jan 14, 2007)

What about in SensorsView?


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

i right clicked the sensorview mini icon, and went to charts, then clicked voltages, no chart, just blank.

and in the Sensorsview main screen it only displays temps and overclock and usages


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## Lord Sirian (Jan 14, 2007)

Ok, turn off your computer, then start it up, as soon as it starts up, hold or rapidly tap delete. - This should get you into the BIOS.

From there, go to "H/W Monitor" and check your voltages there.


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Okay i couldn't find H/W Monitor in BIOS so i just wrote down the whole BIOS Menu, lol.

Well here it is.

*System:*
System Info
Processor Info
Memory Info
PCI Info
Date/Time
Boot Sequence

*Drives:*
Diskette Drive
SATA - 0
SATA - 1
SATA - 2
SATA - 3
SATA - 4
SATA - 5
PATA - 0
PATA - 1
Smart Reporting

*Onboard Devices:*
Integrated NIC
Integrated Audio
USB Controller
1394 Controller
Serial Port #1
VART Powerdown
PS / 2 Mouse Port
Chasis LED Color
*
Performance:*
Multiple CPU Core
Virtualization
Overclocking
EPP/SLI Memory
HDD Acoustic Mode

*Security:*
Unlock Setup
Admin Password
System Password
Password Changes
Execute Disable
*
Power Management:*
AC Recovery Auto Power On
Auto Power Time
Low Power Mode
Suspend Mode

*Maintenance:*
Service Tag
Load Defaults
Event Log

*POST Behavior:*
Numlock Keys
POST Hotkeys
Keyboard Errors


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

It would probably be under System info.


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

It wasn't it System Info, this is what System Info had.

*System Info:*
System
Bios Version
Service Tag
Express Service Code
Asset Tag


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Any ideas?


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

Try under overclocking.


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Mcninjaguy said:


> Try under overclocking.


Do you have a guide or tutorial that i can follow to do that? I'm not sure how to do it.


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

Your temps should be in the overclocking section of your bios.

Its near impossible to find screenshots of the bios you have.


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## Tiber Septim (Feb 9, 2006)

Just have a browse though each of the options in the BIOS. You're specifically looking for the voltage readings (+3.3v, +5v, +12v etc.).
Don't worry about hurting anything in there, just make sure you don't save when you exit.


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## Sven2157 (Feb 10, 2009)

*Alrighty, first things...*



Niram said:


> true, your comp will recognize only 3gb so 1gb is a total waste
> 
> I'm not sure what would be the problem here, your psu seems decent and specs are fine, lets wait for the pros


This is not true, the system will divide the "extra" RAM between Audio and Video; though the heavier side would be for Video. None-the-less, the system recognizes it and uses it.

*Now, back to our original program...*

According to the manual for the Dell XPS 710:


> *Overclocking CPU Clock Speed*
> 
> Provides limited capability to adjust the CPU clock speed so that the CPU operates at a different frequency than that designated in the manufacturer's design specifications.
> 
> ...


Have you indeed, installed nTune? Or nVidia Tools with ESA Support? Was it pre-loaded onto your system before you received it?

Uninstall it if you have/it was. These "dynamic" BIOS tuners are horrible. I had the same problem with Assassin's Creed, I uninstalled nTune and problem solved! However, this is ONLY a problem with certain games; my COD4 and Civilization IV did it as well. My FSX and Vegas 2, did not! :4-dontkno Go to your Control Panel, click "Programs and Features", and check to see if either nTune or nVidia Tools with ESA Support are there; if they are, UNINSTALL them! :wink:

*On the issue with voltage...*

Dell has not provided the End-User with a means of checking this. They bought nVidia Motherboards with the 590 Chipset and slapped the cheap version of a good BIOS in it. Their solution.... Use nTune, as mentioned above.

"*DUDE!... You bought a Dell!*" :sigh: - just like the commercial says.

Let us know...


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Hah yeah, at the time i bought this computer i did not know how to build my own, i am now taking computer tech classes at my college and now know how to build one, and finding out i bought a horrible system and got ripped hard. My next system will be built by myself.

Anyways, I went into programs and features, i do not have Nvidia Tools or Ntune installed. Only "Nvidia Drivers" and "Nvidia Physx v8.10.13"(for my AGEIA physx card).

Yes the problem for me as well only happens for certain games. So far only Assassins Creed and Age of Conan out of all 20 PC games i have.

Thank you for clarifying the RAM, that makes me feel much better.

Is it possibly the Graphics Card clashing with my Physx Card? Thats just a random idea i just thought of, not sure if its possible.

Also, when i called DELL to replace my old nvidia (7800 or 8600 i forgot) gts i had, they told me i can only replace it with certain graphics cards or id have problems. 

I called them about 2 years ago and they tried to charge me 500 bucks for a new nvidia 7800 gts when i went to Fry's Electronics and saw it for 98.00.

Anyways, maybe they were right? I thought they were just trying to scam me. 

I dont know im all confused. =)

Oh and also Overclocking is set to OFF in my BIOS.


ALSO: how do i upload my own custom avatar like you guys have? I could only upload my custom profile pic but not a custom avatar =(


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

To upload a custom Avatar you need one one of the following things fulfilled 

- post over 500 times (TSF enthusiast)
- Donate to TSF
- Be a staff member like me.

Dell always scams you, don't you ever think0 that they are trying to be nice to you.

You can take out your physx card as any card above or at a 8000 series card by Nvvidia has Physx built into it.

When I bought my old 7600GT 4 years ago it was around $250.


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

wow!!! 4 years ago and 250? Thats good!! I cant believe dell tried to charge me 500...jeez.

Ah, well I'm about to start applying for computer tech jobs for example best buy geek squad, and I love these forums and i plan to help out others as much as i can with my knowledge that I have obtained so far.

So do you think that maybe the 2 physx cards are clashing then? Since one is in my GTX and one is seperate, maybe thats why its causing black screen?

Kind of like if you had two antiviruses installed, how they would clash into each other.


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## Sven2157 (Feb 10, 2009)

Cdx said:


> So do you think that maybe the 2 physx cards are clashing then? Since one is in my GTX and one is seperate, maybe thats why its causing black screen?
> 
> Kind of like if you had two antiviruses installed, how they would clash into each other.


Yes! I think that they are definately clashing. Assassin's Creed was built around the Aegia PhysX Code. Since nVidia has integrated that into their cards, the single stand alone card is no longer needed. This could very well be the source of the issue.

Try it and see if it clears things up...


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Well, im about 90% sure you can mark this Thread [PROBLEM SOLVED]

I took the AGEIA PhysX card out, rebooted and loaded up assassins creed, i played it for about 10 mins with no crash(before everytime within 3 mins it would go black screen).

So im pretty sure this solved the issue.

I just want to thank you techs for all your support, and ill make sure i remember this issue for people in the future to help them out.

I will also be helping you guys solve other computer tech problems.

I want that custom avatar!! =)

Thanks again for all the help guys.
I've been working on this issue for months and thinking of so many different possibilities on why it would do this.


ALSO**********, for the RAM, in my system properties it says i have 4gigs, which i do. 
HOWEVER in DXDIAG it shows only 2.8gigs
Does DXDIAG only show the video part of ram? and not audio? Or?


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## Sven2157 (Feb 10, 2009)

Cdx said:


> Well, im about 90% sure you can mark this Thread [PROBLEM SOLVED]
> 
> I took the AGEIA PhysX card out, rebooted and loaded up assassins creed, i played it for about 10 mins with no crash(before everytime within 3 mins it would go black screen).
> 
> So im pretty sure this solved the issue.


Excellent! :beerchug: :woot: :leb: If you could use the "Tools" dropdown, up top, and mark this [SOLVED], that would be great.



Cdx said:


> I just want to thank you techs for all your support, and ill make sure i remember this issue for people in the future to help them out.
> 
> I will also be helping you guys solve other computer tech problems.


You are welcome, and I think that you'll make a fine Tech Support Specialist! :wink:



Cdx said:


> ALSO**********, for the RAM, in my system properties it says i have 4gigs, which i do.
> HOWEVER in DXDIAG it shows only 2.8gigs
> Does DXDIAG only show the video part of ram? and not audio? Or?


That's a whole other thread!  But it goes back to what I was saying about the system using it all. It sees it, it recognizes it, and what the system itself doesn't use, it throws to the viedo and audio; mainly the Video. Untill recently, 4GB of RAM was unecessary; or a kewl way to show your friends you had money to burn. But know with programs and OS's getting so demanding and large, it is almost a standard. Microsoft designed their 32 bit OS under the pretense that general users would not require this, and advanced users would use a 64 bit OS. That has obviously changed.


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

*Re: [SOLVED] Entering Power Save Mode while Gaming..argg!*

Thread is marked as solved.
Thanks again, and ill do more research on the RAM, thanks for your help!


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

UPDATE!

Removing my extra PhysX Card DID NOT fix the problem unfortunately =(

I loaded up Assassins Creed for the second time today and it crashed(went to black screen) right away.

Any Ideas?
I'm Clueless now.


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## Indoril Nerevar (Jan 7, 2006)

Hi,

I'd still like to find out those voltages, as that aspect is nagging at me. Were you still unable to find those numbers in the BIOS (3.3V, 5V, 12V)? If so, take a look here and follow the instructions to test your power supply. The voltages must all be within the range of +/- 5%. That means:

3.3V = 3.135V to 3.465V
5V = 4.75V to 5.25V
12V = 11.4V to 12.6V

Anything outside those ranges means you have a faulty power supply. Obviously, it'd be better if we could see voltage readings while the system is under load, but you're having trouble getting those programs to show anything (which happens from time to time).


You said you installed the GTX260 yourself. Did the system come with its own video card? If so, try swapping your 260 out with the original card, and see if you still get the crash. If it didn't have a card to begin with, perhaps you could borrow a card from a friend to test with?


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Bios wont show anything related to power voltages.

I dont have a multimeter with me, i need to get one.

Yes i installed the card myself, it barely fit in the PCI slot.

The system came with a Nvidia 7800 GTS i think. But it died on me so i bought this GTX 260.

I dont have any spare video cards, i can ask my friend for one but i barely see him so it might be awhile before i can test his card.


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