i think my 9800 pro is causing instant shutdowns...

[rh71]

do you think this is possible ? I verified it wasn't a heat issue since temps are always below 57C even after gaming. I only have an Antec 300Watt PSU and I run the following:

AMD Barton 2800+ w/ Speeze CPU fan
Abit NF7-S v2.0 mobo (latest BIOS)
OCZ 512MB PC3200
Sapphire ATI 9800 Pro (latest catalyst drivers)
2 HDDs
DVDRW
DVDRom
1 case fan


During games (map loads in TOCA2 and UT2k4) it has shutdown instantly with no BSOD or warning... the mobo just emits a slow siren. It actually just happened while running DXDIAG to gather info. I restarted, ran DXDIAG again,... and it happened again.

Does this sound like a faulty video card or the PSU not being able to supply enough juice at times ?

 

[NYHoustonman]

It sounds like a low-power PSU to me. I had the same problem back in the day going from Voodoo3->GF4.

 

[BugsBunny1078]

I have the same Power supply and Video card as you and Im not having any trouble.
300 watts is all you need for a 9800 PRO it should be fine. However see if there is a voltage drop while you're gaming. If it is a power shortage then there would be a voltage drop.

 

[rh71]

is it normal behavior for lack of power to shutdown a PC abruptly like this ?

 

[BugsBunny1078]

I don't know. I know lots of funny things happen when overheating occurs. The 9800 Pro is space heater. I am going to be doing some more modding this weekened to blow air onto it to cool it off better. I finally got my system 100% stable after putting int he 9800 pro the temps of my whole case went up and threw everything for a loop.

 

[sodcha0s]

Just because an Antec 300w PS works on your system with a 9800p, doesn't mean it will work on all systems. There are many other factors.

 

[Bucksnort]

Have you checked event viewer in administrative tools for an error?

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: Bucksnort
Have you checked event viewer in administrative tools for an error?

Yup, no errors... I can't imagine it'd be able to log anything on an instant power-off anyway.

 

[Killrose]

What about your bios setting for: fan speed shut down or CPU temp shutdown?

Check your 5+ line under load and if it is dropping to 4.7v or less, you are in trouble. Heck check all your voltages while under load.

 

[MichaelZ]

Probably better to check your voltage rail readings first. Either through bios or the windows app Abit provided. Run a CPU benchmark in the background like Prime 95 or SISandra's CPU arith or Super Pi whilest keeping an eye on the voltage readings.

If there's a noticable drop into say... +5 @ 4.5 and +12 @ 11.5, it's safe to say you would need a better power supply because this is with CPU only, if these are your readings running only a CPU bench, then the juice 9800 Pro sucks up when 3D gaming, it'll crash instantly for sure.