[VulcanRaven]

Components:

Thermaltake Shark Aluminium Full Tower
Asus A8N-E nForce4 Ultra (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard
Corsair 2GB DDR TwinX (2x1GB)
XFX GeForce 7800GT Extreme Edition 256MB GDDR3 VIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express)
Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 10 NCQ 300GB 6V300F0 SATA-II 16MB Cache
Antec Phantom 500W Hybrid Fan Silent ATX2.0 PSU
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g)
Coolermaster Hyper48 Cooler (Socket 754/775/478/939)
AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 90nm (Socket 939)

Problem:

Computer loads up and after a certain duration of time the cmputer just powers off, no warning, no BSOD just completely goes off - when trying to boot the computer back up it just doesn't unless I leave it for around 15 minutes to let the power supply cool down.

The tempurature and voltages seem fine,

Geforece running at: 39c
CPU fan at: 30c
MB: 33c

Fan speeds;

Power supply: 5625
CPU fan: 3308 (used to be 1500 until I used some additional wire/paperclip)
MB chassis fan: 1288


I think the problem is the power supply but I'm not sure (I would like to hear what the other guy did to solve this). Ive rebuilt the computer system, formatted the HDD and installed a new OS (just in case I had malware/virus etc).

Thanks a lot guys, ill look forward from hearing from you.

Im new to this forum so, hey everyone.

[Curlyben]

From your description it sounds like a thermal problem, either thermal shutdown due to over heating or a badly fitting component that on expansion is losing connection.

First off I would ensure that all components are seated correctly.
Make sure there is no dirt or dust causing a bad connection.

Now as a test I would try running it without the case sides on and see if it makes any difference. If it does then its definitely a thermal problem and you coould do with some more case fans for extraction..

Please post back with your results of these steps and we'll see what else we can suggest.

[VulcanRaven]

From your description it sounds like a thermal problem, either thermal shutdown due to over heating or a badly fitting component that on expansion is loosing connection.

First off I would ensure that all components are seated correctly.
Make sure there is no dirt or dust causing a bad connection.

Now as a test I would try running it without the case sides on and see if it makes any difference. If it does then its definatly a thermal problem and you coould do with some more case fans for extraction..

Please post back with your results of these steps and we'll see what else we can suggest.

Maybe your right, I'm thinking about a new power supply but when you mentioned thermal stuff it come to mind,

When I got this case and fully mounted the mainboard to the case tray then inserted it, the expantion slots was on a wonk so I was unable to insert the PCI-E slot graphics card I bought, but to solve this I had to put the MB on a slant and screw all of the screws in that was possible.. (but slotted in fine after that)..

Another thing was with this Heatsink and CPU fan I bought, because of my ASUS motherboard I had to attempt to use the brackets supplied but obviously they were the incorrect type so I had no other option but to force them on... seemed fine to me because the CPU was securly on.. but the CPU heatsink/fan is on abit of a slant, and touching the plastic...

Was hoping someone would have a similar problem as me, so I could solve it.. I can't think what else to do, apart from to send the powersupply back to overclockers and receive a new one...

Ill keep you updated, if I get some old brackets for the CPU heatsink. Please if anyone else can add a reply on a suggestion possible please post here..

Thanks a lot for your suggestions and help, will look forward to hearing from you again :)

[VulcanRaven]

But again, it's weird because if I leave the system for 15 minutes, too let it cool down or whatever it boots up fine for like another 10-50mins..

Really confusing and fustrating because I've got college work to be getting on with >.<

Thanks, Liam.

[Tommyp!972]

Get your heatsink on there proper with the right retention plate and not too much pressure when locking it down... its very important to use the right plate.. also when you put paste did you remember to coat both the cpu and heatsink... once you slap those 2 together they must not be lifted off each other or else you have to recoat both all over again... make sure the heat from that vid card is exhausted out of case somehow... extra heat in case is no good... goood luck

Ps.. try a different power cord just for the heck of it.. may be a defective cord with high resistance

[VulcanRaven]

get your heatsink on there proper with the right retention plate and not too much pressure when locking it down...its very important to use the right plate..also when you put paste did you remember to coat both the cpu and heatsink...once you slap those 2 together they must not be lifted off each other or else you have to recoat both all over again...make sure the heat from that vid card is exhausted out of case somehow...extra heat in case is no good....goood luck

ps..try a different power cord just for the heck of it..may be a defective cord with high resistance

Thanks a lot, you just made me relise about the CPU heatsink so I did some research and come across a guide on how to install the certain CPU heatsink to my ASUS mainboard, and guess what! Instead of putting the brackets on downwards properly, I put them facing upwards, so hopefully this may have fixed the problem. Unluckely I had to remove the heatsink so ill have to buy some more thermal paste again soon.. before I just put it on the silver part of my CPU and not on both heatsink+CPU, ill keep you informed.

Oh and I replaced the power cord, and I have one side of the case open already..

[LTheobald]

I imagine it would have been because the heatsink wasn't installed properly but see what happens. What might help is a motherboard monitor that can sound an alarm when your PC gets too hot. The best one I know of can be found at http://mbm.livewiredev.com/

[VulcanRaven]

I imagine it would have been because the heatsink wasn't installed properly but see what happens. What might help is a motherboard monitor that can sound an alarm when your PC gets too hot. The best one I know of can be found at http://mbm.livewiredev.com/

Thanks, I've downloaded it, seems a good program to have - and the computer hasn't yet powered off, so things are looking good :D

[VulcanRaven]

Bleh, just when I was doing good, the computer died once again :/. Can anyone else suggest anything? Please, thanks.

[Tommyp!972]

What have you done so far so we can troubleshoot better?everything that you can think of you did no detail too small...

[VulcanRaven]

Ran Everesy and these are the results...

Field Value
Sensor Properties
Sensor Type ITE IT8712F (ISA 290h)
GPU Sensor Type Driver (NV-DRV)
Motherboard Name Asus A8N-E / A8N-SLI Series

Temperatures
Motherboard 28 °C (82 °F)
CPU 26 °C (79 °F)
GPU 35 °C (95 °F)
Maxtor 6V300F0 21 °C (70 °F)

Cooling Fans
CPU 3375 RPM
Chipset 5444 RPM
Chassis 1288 RPM

Voltage Values
CPU Core 1.34 V
+3.3 V 3.30 V
+5 V 4.87 V
+12 V 11.78 V
+5 V Standby 5.00 V
VBAT Battery 3.07 V
Debug Info F 32 83 1F
Debug Info T 26 28 29
Debug Info V 54 00 CE B5 B8 B7 00 (F7)

What other type of information do you want? Because ill do the best I can to define the problem better.. let me know...

Thanks, Liam

[Curlyben]

Did it make any difference running with the case open ?
Have you ensured that all parts are correctly seated ? (best to remove them and reseat after blowing out the connectors with compressed air)

[VulcanRaven]

Ive ensured all of the components are in properly and blowing them.. still seems to crash though... starting to think the PSU is faulty..

Kind of annoying because I got it from overclockers and it will take like 2 weeks to get it back to me.. thanks for your help so far, grateful, look forward to hearing from you all.

[Tommyp!972]

I'll tell you right now that CPU temperature is TOTALLY WRONG... unless you are using watercooling that temperature is unobtainable with the numbers you are showing... download ASUS probe for your motherboard and report back asap with the results... something sounds fishy about your mobo settings and get rid of the paperclip w/additional wire fan setup... use either a larger fan or use a faster stock fan... don't rig a makeshift fan just buy a good 1 to begin with

Go into your bios when you can and tell us
What your FSB is set at
What the multiplier is set at
What your CPU mhz speed is at
But defienetly ge tthat ASUS probe downloaded and evaluate that mobo
Good luck

[VulcanRaven]

ASUS Probe results:

CPU temperature : 27 X/80F
MB temperature: 28 C/ 82F
CPU FAN: 3308
Power fan: 5818
Chassic Fan: 1259
+ 12V: 11.776
+ 5v: 4.865
+3.3v: 3.296
VCore: 1.344

Baring in mind, these results are as soon as I turn the computer on, not using it for the night, from 1am until 2pm...

Ill check BIOS now and see what I can find, but I'm not an expert as looking in BIOS for answers.

The wire I used is only there because the CPU fan+heatsink is a 4PIN connector and on the MOBO its 3 pin, so it just makes it run at top speeds (hopefully cooling the CPU even more)

[VulcanRaven]

Some results from BIOS..

CPU speed: 2200MHz
CPU fequency: 200.0
PCI Express clock: 100mhz
CPU voltage: 1.350
Hyper transport frequency: Auto


Wasn't too sure about FSB and multiplyer as I couldn't see them in BIOS... looking forward to hearing from you..

[Tommyp!972]

Download the asus probe because there is a record feature built into it that will keep a record of your mobo temp and cpu temps and anything else you choose it to record till you say stop... it will give you an idea of what has happened at the point of shutdown... you will see what voltage you were at what temp and other... even if it shutsdown unexpectedly it should still retain the recording and not lose it... good luck

[VulcanRaven]

Removed the wire from the fan pin, still dies though... now recording the asus probe thing.. ill let you know of the results if I can when the computer fails again.

[VulcanRaven]

Recorded up to a computer failure, I've got the results, ill link you up to the screenshots...

ASUS recordings:

Voltage:
http://awbpro2.com/Liams%20folderz0r/Voltage.JPG
Fan:
http://awbpro2.com/Liams%20folderz0r/Fan.JPG
Temperature:
http://awbpro2.com/Liams%20folderz0r/Temperature.JPG

Some additional screenshots which may help:

Everest results:
http://awbpro2.com/Liams%20folderz0r...st_Results.JPG

Probe summary:
http://awbpro2.com/Liams%20folderz0r/Probe_summary.JPG

[Tommyp!972]

The power supply seemed to take a dump when it stopped recording... your readings are all on the tad low end of acceptable... I can sortof see y it locks up... im betting you have a few case fans thrown in there too?me personally would get a different PSU even though you have a good 1... perhaps it is a lemon... BORROW a friends PSU that runs STABLE and see what results you get.. send in if you can.. thanks and good luck