# Power Supply or Sudden overheating?



## DanielHorus (Mar 5, 2011)

I recently bought a new power supply, Thermaltake TR2 600w (my previous being 400w) and I also got a new graphics card, ATI RadeonHD 4650. I bought these things mainly to play Starcraft II on Ultra Settings.

When I did so, the recommended settings for SC II was medium, so I put ultra to test. Shortly after I started a match, the computer suddenly shut down without warning, which should typically happen when overheating or a PSU issue. However, this happened before on my previous card and supply and would happen after I played a game for too long without shutting down the computer for days to weeks on end. 

I also noticed that for some reason, typically shuts down when the power options on the Control panel are set to high performance and not energy saver (has never happened on energy saver) which could be just a strange coincidence that it has happened only on high performance plan.

No noise from the tower other than the usual sound of the fan, and after the first shut down, I booted it immediately only for it to shut down WITHOUT running the game, then I booted it again, only for it to shut down before it actually started up (Shut down shortly after the gateway startup screen came up) is this typical for a sudden overheating issue, that is caused by putting too much stress on the power supply that in my case happened after testing the graphics card on ultra settings? 

Also noted, after which, the computer had startup problems. It failed to start up, with it freezing on the Microsoft Windows Vista loading screen with the moving green bars and not showing the log in screen if it passed it (which was also an issue in the past that happened along side of the sudden shut downs when I used to neglect turning off my computer)

Computer Specs:
Computer Model: Gateway GM5664
Processor: AMD Phenom Quad Processor
Harddisk space: 1 TB (500gb per hard disk)
3gb of RAM
Thermaltake TR2 600w power supply
ATI RadeonHD 4650

P.S: If it is a PSU problem, is it temporary and/or how do I fix it without purchasing or replacing the Power supply if possible? If it is overheating due to too much usage of the power supply to manage the card on ultra settings on Starcraft 2 when recommended was medium, how would I fix it? Would using a program like game booster lower stress on the processor to allow ultra setting usage without shut downs?

EDIT: CPU usage is between 1% to 10% without a game running right now, and so far, no sudden shut downs or freezes after switching it to energy saver (out of paranoia) with 68 processes over a period of 1 hour and 13 minutes without a problem (when it shut down after replacing the Power supply and graphics card within the first 10 minutes of using it with SC II on ultra)


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## epshatto (Dec 23, 2010)

You can check temps in your BIOS. That'll tell you if it's an overheating issue.

If temps are normal, suspect a problem PSU or even other hardware. My first guess would be overheating though.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

The Thermaltake TR2 600w is a low quality PSU made by HEC so that would be my first suspicion.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

Do please check the Bios for temperatures and voltages, that might tell us more.


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## DanielHorus (Mar 5, 2011)

I checked the Temperatures earlier after I was able to start it up on the BIOS settings and it was 32 degrees celcius as I remember. It happened once again but with most processes ended to free up CPU usage and the graphics settings to medium instead of ultra and it shut down like before. 

I'm pretty sure it is a PSU issue. The graphics card itself takes 400w, and my Power supply is 600w.


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## epshatto (Dec 23, 2010)

32C is a decent enough temperature.

That leads to suspicion your PSU is faulty. I'd replace the PSU.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

Swap the power supply for something like this one:

Newegg.com - SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

/or/

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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## DanielHorus (Mar 5, 2011)

Well, it MIGHT be overheating, unless the off chance that my old PSU is also faulty. I removed the new graphics card and the new PSU and put back the old ones and still the same problem. Shutting down, but this time, not while playing a game. 

Although I'm still going to refund the new PSU for one that is more for gaming like the Corsair 600w, because I still need more than 400w (my old PSU) to handle a graphics card (the Radeon 4650) that needs 400w itself.

After it has been shut off for around 8 hours and it still shuts down, would that mean that my Old PSU also has a similar problem?


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## DanielHorus (Mar 5, 2011)

What I find odd, is that so far, it has only shut down with no warning when it was on another power plan other than Energy Saver. The most recent time it shut off was when it was on a new plan called "Gaming Plan" which was created by the software Game Booster.

I don't know if the plans in the Power Options on the control panel can influence PSU watt usage or cause problems with another part of the hardware, or if it is merely coincidence that so far, no shut downs while on energy saver and shut downs while on High performance or gaming mode (which focuses on hightened performance)

Could it be a virus? Since my old PSU and old graphics card don't fix the issue? Could it be the fan that is located directly on the motherboard? Or maybe dust got into one of these important hardware pieces when I cleaned it?

Extra Notable Information: So far, no start up issues anymore (even with the new Thermaltake PSU and Radeon card) computer starts up fine and works fine, not slow, CPU usage spikes from 1% to 40% depending on the programs running (gets higher with Norton running or when a game runs) so I can't help but feel it isn't the PSU, since if it was faulty, it should show somewhere else then just shutting down randomly right? Especially if what is running right before it shuts down is inconsistent.


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## epshatto (Dec 23, 2010)

Do a virus scan to be sure, but I doubt it. It sounds like some kind of hardware problem.

You can check for shorts on the board or bad capacitors. But these are pretty classic symptoms of an electrical or overheating problem. Your temperatures aren't indicating overheating, so there's something funky with the electrical/power system. 

The fact that it shuts down with a higher performance mode to me would indicate faulty power. 

It sort of seems to me that either you have two bad PSUs (unlikely but entirely possible) or you have a motherboard problem. Replacing a power supply is both cheaper and easier than replacing a motherboard. Now, if you get a third PSU and you're still having the same problems it might be time to look at the motherboard and it's components.


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## speedster123 (Oct 18, 2006)

uninstall Game Booster.
update your video drivers.
what antivirus and firewall are installed?


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## DanielHorus (Mar 5, 2011)

display drivers for both the old and new cards are updated to the most recent versions, Norton 360 is my antivirus and firewall.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Norton can cause an abundance of issues on any PC. Did you disable everything Norton before installing drivers?
I'm still thinking PSU though.


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## DanielHorus (Mar 5, 2011)

No I didn't disable it. Should I reinstall the drivers while disabling Norton? Oh and Speedfan shows my CPU fan at 91c with a flame Icon next to it, and my Core too. And when I checked the Bios, one of the fans was at 42c and it increased steadily passed 45c. I'm thinking it's a overheating issue, because my old PSU shut down too (not in game though) and I keep hearing from Geeksquad that the Thermaltake is fine for the graphics card and also online that 600w should be fine for a graphics card that informs on the packaging of a recommended 400w.

I bought Thermal Compound, so I'm going to apply it after cleaning the inside of my motherboard because before I put back the Old PSU and card it had quite a lot of dust and after blowing it out, it still had more. 

After that, I'm going to test it to rule out an overheating problem by putting the thermaltake TR2 600w and the ATI RadeonHD 4650 back in and running it in game.

Also, would having dust cause the problems I'm having? Plus having a 6 year old motherboard without ever replacing or reapplying the thermal compound?


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## epshatto (Dec 23, 2010)

Well, dust causes overheating because it insulates the components. If you don't clean the inside of the PC frequently enough, overheating and shorts can become an issue.

There's no harm in trying to reinstall drivers from a disk with Norton disabled. However, my prediction is it wouldn't make a difference. 

If your temps are getting that high clearly you're running hot. Do some simple maintenance like clean the inside of the PC with a can of compressed air, make sure your fans are running properly, make sure there aren't any obstructions to the vents on the PC, and make sure you have good (ie not hard) thermal compound between the heat sink and fan.

It's possible the Speedfan software is falsely exaggerating the heat. 91C is enormously hot, and runs the risk of easily damaging the PC. Your BIOS temp reads are hot, but I suspect more realistic.


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## DanielHorus (Mar 5, 2011)

Alright. I exchanged the Thermaltake TR2 600w for a Corsair GS600, cleaned out the dust, and applied Thermal Compound. Now my CPU fan doesn't turn on. Before it was ALWAYS on, and now it was on for a short time after I turned on the computer then it shut off. Does that mean there is something wrong or is that normal for the CPU fan to turn off after cleaning out the dust and applying thermal compound?

And with the Corsair GS600 and thermal compound, will I still have issues?


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## epshatto (Dec 23, 2010)

Definitely not normal.

Check the fan connector on the motherboard. Sounds like it might not be connected properly after replacing the fan and heat sink assembly.


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## DanielHorus (Mar 5, 2011)

epshatto said:


> Definitely not normal.
> 
> Check the fan connector on the motherboard. Sounds like it might not be connected properly after replacing the fan and heat sink assembly.


Scratch that, it wasn't my CPU fan, it was the outer one, the Corsair PSU fan is silent so after cleaning out the dust and applying thermal compound, you can only hear a fan very faintly, which I believe is the CPU fan, I confused it with the other fan (not the PSU fan). 

I tested it, and so far, no shut downs. I am fairly certain the problem has been solved. Although I am not aware if it was the removal of the dust and applying thermal compound or replacing the PSU with a better one. 

But so far, no issues, no shut downs, no high temperatures, and the second fan comes on from time to time for a very short time.


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