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Why is my computer behaving like this?

R

randomint

Banned
Hello guys, this is my first post so go easy on me ok?

In the last few weeks, my screen has started showing glitches and now it's getting worse and worse. Just a few moments ago, it looked like this

Screen

What could be wrong? is it a faulty power supply? or is the vid card dying out? I'm not overclocking or anything. Power supply is a 3 year old 350W Antec.

thanks for all your hlep!!

Also, the 3.3V is lingering around 2.9V and sometimes dips down to 2.8v. Is that really bad?
 
i would say psu is the issue, a .5v drop and a consistent .4v difference on any rail is huge, especially the 3.3v one

get a new psu
 
can you recommend me a good one please? I don't really need anything more than 350W or 400W because I was doing fine up until now with a 350W.

thanks so much!
 
Originally posted by: randomint
Hello guys, this is my first post so go easy on me ok?

In the last few weeks, my screen has started showing glitches and now it's getting worse and worse. Just a few moments ago, it looked like this

Screen

What could be wrong? is it a faulty power supply? or is the vid card dying out? I'm not overclocking or anything. Power supply is a 3 year old 350W Antec.

thanks for all your hlep!!

Also, the 3.3V is lingering around 2.9V and sometimes dips down to 2.8v. Is that really bad?
Click to expand...

What are some other system specs?

 
What are you using to measure the 3.3v line? Software always gives BS readings. My guess is that the vid card is dying out.
 
Some other specs are radeon 9800 card and asus p4p motherboard. i'm using the asus probe to read the voltages. Is it reliable?
 
yes it is reliable.

For some reason I still think its your video card. Low power does not cause what you are experiencing.
 
Well, low power can manifest itself in different forms, causing failure in any subsystem really. And you are looking at a 15% variance on your 3.3-volt rail, and the Smart Power ver 2.0 specs 5%.
Smart Power 350
Certainly as well, voltage fluctuations can cause failure of other components. At least the voltage fluctuations indicate a failing PSU assuming source current and power cord are acceptable.
 
PSU
graphics card GPU or memory

one of those two things. If the 3.3 V rail is dropping that low it could really be a problem. What is your 12 V rail typically at?
 
try one of the Memory tests to see if it is a memory problem... if you have a spare PSU or GFX card lieing around (like I do many), then try it to see if it changes anything. It could also be the GFX card's Bus btw... but unlikely. This does seem strange, does it fix itself after a while?

I have never seen anything like that on a PC... although it does look like one of my local TV channals... one of those where they do it on purpose and only unlock it if you buy the channal. Strange.
 
You definitely need a more powerful psu, but that looks to me like maybe your video card is overheating. 9800 Pro's were not cool running cards. See if it happens with your side panel removed.

edit: And if you're going to go with a cheap power supply, at least go with either this one: 430 watt Thermaltake, or this one: 450 watt ePower Puma II.
 
Originally posted by: SparkyJJO
PSU
graphics card GPU or memory

one of those two things. If the 3.3 V rail is dropping that low it could really be a problem. What is your 12 V rail typically at?
Click to expand...

here's another screenshot right now. There are no graphical glitches right now but the voltages are still off.

Screen

one thing I should mention is that the problem started when I changed a setting on my SATA drive in the bios. I had been running the drive, mistakenly for a year almost on a non-SATA setting meaning that the hard drive was running at very slow speeds.

And now that I changed the setting maybe it is too much for the power supply now as the hard drive transfers data at a much higher speed and hence uses more power. what do you guys think about this theory?

the video card has never given me any problems and again even when I do some gaming and such the video card holds strong. it's just that when the 3.3V dips down to 2.8V and stays there that the graphics glitches appear.

i'll try to do a memory test however and see what that shows me.

thanks to everyone who replied! most other forums pretty much ignore new comers like me.
 
Understand that memtest could fail as a result of low 3.3v also. While memtest tests memory much more than the rest of your system, it needs the rest of the system to operate. I guess my point is that if the 3.3v is dropping more than 5%, that's a situation that needs troubleshot and fixed.

If you get memtest errors, I would try the test again with the case side off, and again with another video card if possible to try and prove where the problem originates before buying parts.

EDIT: I see your 12v is also more than 5% low. I would be more worried about this since it can cause disk coruption and failure. If when you disconnect (with power off!) your CD the 12v goes up, I would say get a new (slightly larger) power supply to start with.


Jim
 
Originally posted by: myocardia
You definitely need a more powerful psu, but that looks to me like maybe your video card is overheating. 9800 Pro's were not cool running cards. See if it happens with your side panel removed.
Click to expand...

350 watt is plenty, but apart from that, you are right. It seems like an overheating GFX card to me too.
 
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