PSU or GPU defect?

Hello everybody,

just a little hardware related question. I am a little bit rusted in all this desktop PC hardware troubleshooting so I thought I might give it a shot here.

I have a friends gaming computer here. Problem is, it crashes with absolutely no error message whenever you start a game, or a benchmark utility for the GPU. Screen just goes black, PSU goes off an restarts within 2 or 3 seconds.

Normal operations (web browsing, photoshop, videos) all work fine.

My guess would be that the PSU kicks the bucket when it gets load from the GPU. But might also be the GPU itself...

Any ideas/suggestions?

(PSU is a BE QUIET 650 watts, GPU is a NVIDIA 970 GTX)

Thanks in advance.

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636-555-3226

Try updating GPU drivers? That's where I'd start. 650 watts should be fine for a 970 GTX

stryder144

Based off of my experience, it is very likely to be a PSU problem. Normally your PSU won't restart if it is just a GPU related issue. I would say, again based off of my experience, that if it was a GPU problem you would more than likely receive either a BSOD or kernel panic of some sort. If you have a decent 800 plus Watt power supply to swap in, do so, then run the same programs/games to verify.

martell1000

@636-555-3226
Removed and reinstalled drivers, no improvement

@stryder144
PSU would be also my guess. Unfourtunatly I dont have a PSU here for testing. But I have an old GTX 260 somewhere around, would this be suitable to produce a similar load like a 970 GTX does or are these modern day carda much more powerhungry?

Priston

Most likely PSU issue but...

Did this computer always have this issue? When did it start happening?

Under heavy load, are all the fans spinning? How are the temperatures?

stryder144

I would throw the 260 in and give it a go. Both cards have the same minimum PSU requirement (500w according to NVidia) but the older card has a higher draw (182w vs 145w). Plug it in, install the most up-to-date drivers, and then launch the programs that you've noticed cause the reboot. If it still happens, I would suggest replacing the PSU.

Some factors to think about: the PSU may not be able to handle the initial power draw when the CPU and the GPU are simultaneously hitting power consumption peaks (typical at the start of a game or program). If the PSU is good, it is possible that the GPU may be out-of-specs for power draw, exceeding the 145w draw. The CPU/GPU/MB/HDD draw might be just under the maximum wattage draw for the PSU, so if the GPU is even slightly out-of-specs it may cause the PSU to shutdown. Of course, the CPU/GPU/MB/HDD combination may in fact be just under the maximum power draw for the PSU when under normal load, thus not causing any problems but, when the components start drawing near their maximum limit, it might be over the PSU limit.

martell1000

@priston: system was built in 2015, ran fine till few weeks ago, then shutdowns occured after some time of gaming, things got worse over time, now crashes occur immedialtly after load is beeing put on the GPU

@stryder144: thanks a lot, will install the old card and see how things are going there

also ran cpu stress test software and memtest, no issues here

EANx

Have you tried starting a game in the absolute minimum settings and working up from there? Start off with something like 1024 x 1280 with low settings and no AA and add a bit here and there until it stops working.

martell1000

Hi everybody,

just a little update:

New PSU arrived today in the mail. Changed it, works like a charm and the machine does make a lot less noise. Thanks alot @all.