how much watt is needed for my system

[hoehlentroll]

my problem is that my pc turns off whenever I'm playing games or have a huge cubase project. when I turn the pc on it instantly switches off and then on again, but afterwards boots up normal.
my system is:
win xp
q6600
mb: MSI P30
2 gb ram (two slots used)
ati hd 3850
audiophile 2496
1 ide 250gb
1 s-ata 1tb
1 bd rom
1 dvd-rw
about 3 usb devices

my power supply supports 400 watt. do I need more?
is there a programm for testing my power supply?

 

[Cryo114]

I had the same exact problem with ballistix ram. And it was the ram. I messed with it a lot (reseating them) and i did so many things to fix it i had no way of knowing what fixed it.

Turning off legacy usb support has fixed that issue for some people.

 

[elyptic]

Hey there's a good chance it's your power supply. I've only seen these random reboot errors with poor quality PSUs or bad video drivers, but not if you're getting restarting before Windows boots. I recommend Corsair over all the other ones I've owned (i.e. Antec, CoolerMaster, OCZ) and they are similarly priced. For scalability I'd go for at least a 650/700W. Bad RAM can be the cause too, but it's not generally going to find that without loading up the memory space first.

Best order of operations at this point would be 1) Update your video drivers to the latest WHQL versions, 2) download memtest86+ and run it for a few hours, and finally 3) if there is not a memory problem, replace that PSU. Personally I'd go straight to 3 by the sounds of it but you're best to try all the options in order.

 

[hoehlentroll]

Turning off legacy usb support didn't solve the problem. I tried a PSCalculator, but they differed between 275 watt and 400 watt. how much consumes the audiophile 2496?

 

[kev]

is your PSU unbranded/unrecognised brand? Just because it says 400W on the tin, it doesnt mean it is capable of running at that.

 

[hoehlentroll]

it's definitively a no name product. the mem test passed without errors. updating the graphic driver seems to cope with the problem of "double-booting". I'll check the randomly turning off problem and let you know if it still persists. thanks for you help everyone!
EDIT: seems to be stable for now. is it possible to fix such a problem with a new driver? I also found this (http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine) calculator. my system will consume 290 watt at 100% cpu/gpu usage/peak. the power supply claims to power up to 465 watt peak. I think the power supply should handle my system!

System Type: 1 physical CPU
Motherboard: Regular - Desktop
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2400 MHz Conroe
CPU Utilization (TDP): 100% TDP
RAM: 1 Stick DDR2 SDRAM
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 3850 512MB
Video Type: Single Card
IDE HDD 7200 rpm: 1 HDD
Green SATA: 1 HDD
DVD-RW/DVD+RW Drive: 1 Drive
Blu Ray BD-RE/DVD/CD: 1 Drive
Sound Blaster - All Models: Yes
USB: 5 Devices
Fan Controller: Yes
Fans
Regular: 2 Fans 80mm;
Keyboard and mouse: Yes
System Load: 100 %

Recommended Wattage: 290 Watts

 

[TheWinterSnow]

it may be able to run on 290 watts, however in a multiple rail PSU, each rail has a rated wattage and all the wattages add up to what ever the PSU is rated for. If you are pushing the current on a rail towards the max usually the PSU will dip and will not be able to supply enough power, the motherboard will pull more current, recognize the increase in current and shut off. If you can find a single rail PSU, a 500 watt singe rail should be plenty, however if its a multi rail, given your setup, aim for 600-700 watts.

 

[XnaySaturo]

The wattage your PSU can deliver degrades over time too. A good OCZ power supply of about 600-700 watts isnt too expensive either. Mine cost 90$ CAN back last spring.

 

[elyptic]

Yeah I agree with the others here, many new video cards require a good 28A on the 12V rail, so it's more about providing a steady strong current than peak power usage. I'd still recommend the Corsair PSUs or Seasonic, I've had two OCZ and 4 Antecs end their life early Not to mention of course the dozens of no-names that have piled up in my graveyard.

 

[hoehlentroll]

bought this one: Corsair CMPSU-650TXEU ATX-Netzteil 650 Watt for freaking 87€ (120$)

and still turns off and on again while starting the pc. after that it runs as normal.
as long as the pc doesn't turn off during a cubase session, I can live with it! at least I know it isn't because of the lame psu!

 

[Wolfeman]

Well at least you breath easy now knowing your power is handled properly.

I would blame something in the OS at this point. Drivers, software, something fucked up in Windows, etc.

Usually I start off with a Windows clean install, then start swapping hardware. Usually the reinstall fixes 99% of problems in my experience.

 

[Wolfeman]

Another thought- your CPU or GPU could be overheating.

I'd check temps at this point, since it does it when it's being pushed.

 

[abt]

my problem is that my pc turns off whenever I'm playing games or have a huge cubase project. when I turn the pc on it instantly switches off and then on again, but afterwards boots up normal.

These symptoms are not typical of an overloaded PSU. I'd point the finger at CPU overheating. For 3 reasons:

1. Most BIOS has cpu overheat protection. Sometimes you can see as a menu option sometimes you can't. Some BIOS cpu overload protection simply sounds an alarm when it overheats other times it shuts down. Check your BIOS you may be able to change the CPU overheat settings so that it sounds the alarm instead of shutting down.

2. Some processors have built in heat protection. They'll shut the machine down instantly the set temperature is met

3. Heat is definitely a factor because when you try to turn it on it is still too hot and shuts down again. When you wait a little while the heat dissipates and the machine will turn on again

I'd take the CPU heatsink and fan off and give it a good clean, make sure there's no dust. Also check that there is some thermal grease under the heat sink.

As always with PCs there are a million things it could be but I'd go for CPU overheating first.

 

[hoehlentroll]

No CPU-overheating here. I had that issue already fixed at my local store and CoreTemp32 says ~40° Celsius. Also checked my memory with +memtest86, everything is fine!

 

[Wolfeman]

Temp monitoring software isn't always correct. I had an overheating cpu that would read as good, but when I put a thermometer on it, it would be way over temp.

 

[::XeS::]

The PSU is very important. Some shitty products claim 500W-600W but they are really poor. You have to do some research and find a good PSU unit that give correct and stable currents for all the voltages (12V, 6V, 5.5V).
I had the same problem with my pc and switching the PSU with a better one I solved the problem. Take in mind that every time the pc shut down by the PSU's inadequacy, you can damage something and if the PSU collapse definitelly, you can loose everything in the pc (CPU, Hard Drives, Ram, ...everything or only some of these components)

 

[abt]

No CPU-overheating here. I had that issue already fixed at my local store and CoreTemp32 says ~40° Celsius. Also checked my memory with +memtest86, everything is fine!

You need to know what the temp is at the time of the shutdown.

Temp monitoring software isn't always correct.

Correct.