Rig BSOD under load after new video card install

Randomletters · Mar 2, 2011, 03:22 AM

My Rig:

Athlon IIx4 620 ( Was Overclocked to 3.45ghz Currently at Stock Speeds )
MSI 770-c45
Antec Neo Eco 520w 80+ Certified
AMD 6850HD
4gb DDR3 Gskill Ripjaws
Spinpoint F3 1TB 32MB cache (New Main Drive)
WD 500gb 16mb cache
Seagate 500mg 8mb cache
The 6850 was a recent purchase, and about three days after I installed I was encoding a movie and my system BSOD'd, For the first time in the 8 months sense Ive built the rig. I tried to encode again and again it blue screened, it seemed that when I taxed my system it would crash. I thought it was the ram took out a stick, taxed the system and crashed, did the same for the other stick, same result.

At first I thought it was the gfx card but furmark shows no errors or artifacts. I returned my clock speeds to stock and it seems to no longer crash no matter what I did to max out the system it was stable again.

Im now thinking its the PSU? I mean the 6850 requirements are a 500w+ and my PSU is pretty damn good but is it at its limit? should I be looking into a 750w? I dont have the money to buy it if its not the problem but I would like to return my clock back to higher speeds it really makes a diff

**synthesis204** · Mar 2, 2011, 04:09 AM

OCing will cause more draw if you increase the voltage to the CPU in the OC. Do you know what the specific BSOD was (stop command, etc?).

Likewise, 520W should probably be enough to power the rig, but it could cut it close (depending on the total draw of everything). Also, how many amps are on your 12V rail on your PSU? GPUs have two requirements: wattage and amps.

Judas · Mar 2, 2011, 04:00 PM

12v Rails please.. and what they are devided into..

MOST of the 500/550 watt and actually above power supplies.. even from antec (i dispise them)... have low 12v and HIGH 3.3v and 5v rails to "buff" the wattage up..

Running that rig.. i would say you need a minimum of close to 36amps (if it's a 2 rail unit.... 18amp per rail)

It's generally recommend that you do a caculation on the 12v x amps = wattage to figure it out.

If they recommend a 500watt + psu.... you'd need a psu with 42 amps on the 12v rails... (this will just put you slightly over 500watts)... but i'm fairly positive you should be fine with 36amps with leg room.

I know a Coolermaster 500wat Extreme Power PSU PCAR-A3 will run that system smooth as silk

Randomletters · Mar 9, 2011, 04:35 PM

The PSU is +3.3V@24A, +5V@24A, +12V@40A, -12V@0.8A, +5VSB@2.5A

Its actually gotten great reviews all around, Having Seasonic guts and all

I do believe the cpu was just at its OC limit, and possibly degraded a bit over the 9ish months its been overclocked?

Im currently at 2.9Ghz with no problems, and voltage never drops below specified on any rail under load, even at 3.45

Thanks for your replies guys.

I know it doesnt have anything to do with this but I just bought a Spinpoint f3 1TB to replace my main drive and Banchmarks shows a 70% improvment in performance :O

Sihastru · Mar 9, 2011, 06:03 PM

The PSU should be fine, even with an overclocked CPU/GPU, unless it is defective. Can you tell us more information about the BSOD? There are more then one kind of BSOD, and the text message on the screen at the time of the BSOD can point you in a certain direction.

I am thinking driver problems since I had plenty with AMD cards. It could also help if you'd reseat the card and see if you disturbed any of the other power connectors on the motherboard and the actual card.

Best way to know is to keep an eye on the actual BSOD information. If it's the same driver that fails all the time you could use one of your spare drives and do a temporary clean OS install and test with that. If the BSOD info changes all the time, then it would be a good idea to install a monitoring software like hwmonitor and keep an eye on the voltage readings (not always accurate, but very big variations can point to a PSU problem).

A forum member, Takaharu, pointed another forum member to this little gem: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/bluescreenview.zip It will help sorting out the past BSOD data.

Randomletters · Mar 10, 2011, 03:31 AM

I actually ordered a new case which should be here tomorrow so While I switch everything over Ill double check every connection to make sure they're clean and plugged in all the way.

Its a fresh install of windows to accompany the new spinpoint I ordered, I guess it could be graphics card related but why would it not BSOD at stock cpu speeds?

I will check out the bluescreen review thanks for posting that.

Tyrsonswood · Mar 10, 2011, 03:45 AM

What speed are you running those ripjaws at? The way you tested the ram just proved that it wasn't one bad stick and the other being good..... They both failed. I only say this because I had a nightmare of a time with two sets of that ram on a similar setup. Ended up getting a refund and going with a different brand.

Randomletters · Mar 10, 2011, 04:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyrsonswood

What speed are you running those ripjaws at? The way you tested the ram just proved that it wasn't one bad stick and the other being good..... They both failed. I only say this because I had a nightmare of a time with two sets of that ram on a similar setup. Ended up getting a refund and going with a different brand.

Actually I dont Oc the ram at all its always 1480-1550mhz, due to my mobos limitations.

asedsa · Mar 10, 2011, 08:06 AM

First I assume that your RAM can be problem, test your rig with two RAM sticks, my another suggestion is to remove all drivers from previous video card(you said Radeon 6850 is recent purchase). Also I think your PSU is on the edge of capability to provide enough power. If you use PCI slots (such as TV card.....) that also can be problem, try another slot or test without that hardware. Last thing on my mind is updating mobo/video bios.

But first thing which I think that you should test is RAM and its latency time.

Regards

Tyrsonswood · Mar 10, 2011, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randomletters

Actually I dont Oc the ram at all its always 1480-1550mhz, due to my mobos limitations.

I may be way off base here, (been known to happen before) but I think the memory controller max is either 1060 or 1333 in the Athlon, so 1480-1550 would be overclocked. ( I believe the X4 Athlon are 1333) This is exactly where I was running into issues with the ripjaws myself.

OldBuzzard · Mar 10, 2011, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyrsonswood

I may be way off base here, (been known to happen before) but I think the memory controller max is either 1060 or 1333 in the Athlon, so 1480-1550 would be overclocked. ( I believe the X4 Athlon are 1333) This is exactly where I was running into issues with the ripjaws myself.

You are correct. This is from the Athlon II specs page at AMD's site:
http://www.amd.com/us/products/deskt...omparison.aspx

Quote:

X3 and X4 - Support for unregistered DIMMs up to PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066MHz) -AND- PC3 10600 (DDR3-1333MHz)

Randomletters · Mar 10, 2011, 03:28 PM

Jeez I never knew that I thought because the ram was 1600 it wouldn't be considered overclocking if it was under the stock speeds.

Thanks for that info ill keep the ram close to 1333 and bring the CPU clock back up and see if it bsod's

Randomletters · Mar 12, 2011, 02:48 AM

Thanks again for the help guys, I think it was just the ram, Overclocked to the point of instability. Im going to keep it at 1333mhz and try to nudge the cpu back up to 3.45 Its currently at 3.2 under full load and no Bsods.

Hell if all is well I might just be able to go higher then what was previously my limit

Tyrsonswood · Mar 12, 2011, 03:59 AM

Cool, Man! Hope that sorts the issues for ya......

Mar 2, 2011, 03:22 AM	#1
Randomletters ))<>(( Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 2,418 Rep Power: 54	Rig BSOD under load after new video card install My Rig: Athlon IIx4 620 ( Was Overclocked to 3.45ghz Currently at Stock Speeds ) MSI 770-c45 Antec Neo Eco 520w 80+ Certified AMD 6850HD 4gb DDR3 Gskill Ripjaws Spinpoint F3 1TB 32MB cache (New Main Drive) WD 500gb 16mb cache Seagate 500mg 8mb cache The 6850 was a recent purchase, and about three days after I installed I was encoding a movie and my system BSOD'd, For the first time in the 8 months sense Ive built the rig. I tried to encode again and again it blue screened, it seemed that when I taxed my system it would crash. I thought it was the ram took out a stick, taxed the system and crashed, did the same for the other stick, same result. At first I thought it was the gfx card but furmark shows no errors or artifacts. I returned my clock speeds to stock and it seems to no longer crash no matter what I did to max out the system it was stable again. Im now thinking its the PSU? I mean the 6850 requirements are a 500w+ and my PSU is pretty damn good but is it at its limit? should I be looking into a 750w? I dont have the money to buy it if its not the problem but I would like to return my clock back to higher speeds it really makes a diff __________________ <----------- Sexy Budget Rig stats to the left. Last edited by Randomletters; Mar 9, 2011 at 04:39 PM.

Mar 2, 2011, 04:09 AM	#2
synthesis204 Dragonborn Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 1,175 Rep Power: 97 System Specs	Re: Rig BSOD under load after new video card install OCing will cause more draw if you increase the voltage to the CPU in the OC. Do you know what the specific BSOD was (stop command, etc?). Likewise, 520W should probably be enough to power the rig, but it could cut it close (depending on the total draw of everything). Also, how many amps are on your 12V rail on your PSU? GPUs have two requirements: wattage and amps. __________________ Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure alzheimers, ALS, huntington's, parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!

Mar 9, 2011, 04:35 PM	Thread Starter #4
Randomletters ))<>(( Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 2,418 Rep Power: 54	Re: Rig BSOD under load after new video card install The PSU is +3.3V@24A, +5V@24A, +12V@40A, -12V@0.8A, +5VSB@2.5A Its actually gotten great reviews all around, Having Seasonic guts and all I do believe the cpu was just at its OC limit, and possibly degraded a bit over the 9ish months its been overclocked? Im currently at 2.9Ghz with no problems, and voltage never drops below specified on any rail under load, even at 3.45 Thanks for your replies guys. I know it doesnt have anything to do with this but I just bought a Spinpoint f3 1TB to replace my main drive and Banchmarks shows a 70% improvment in performance :O __________________ <----------- Sexy Budget Rig stats to the left.

Mar 9, 2011, 06:03 PM	#5
Sihastru Never been clicked Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 433 Rep Power: 45 System Specs	Re: Rig BSOD under load after new video card install The PSU should be fine, even with an overclocked CPU/GPU, unless it is defective. Can you tell us more information about the BSOD? There are more then one kind of BSOD, and the text message on the screen at the time of the BSOD can point you in a certain direction. I am thinking driver problems since I had plenty with AMD cards. It could also help if you'd reseat the card and see if you disturbed any of the other power connectors on the motherboard and the actual card. Best way to know is to keep an eye on the actual BSOD information. If it's the same driver that fails all the time you could use one of your spare drives and do a temporary clean OS install and test with that. If the BSOD info changes all the time, then it would be a good idea to install a monitoring software like hwmonitor and keep an eye on the voltage readings (not always accurate, but very big variations can point to a PSU problem). A forum member, Takaharu, pointed another forum member to this little gem: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/bluescreenview.zip It will help sorting out the past BSOD data. __________________ There are more things in heaven and earth then are dreamt of in your philosophy. Intel Core i7 3820 \| Corsair H80 \| Asus P9X79 \| Kingston HyperX T1 Black 32GB DDR3 \| Gigabyte 8800 GTS 512 \| 2xIntel X25-M 160GB RAID0 + 2xWD 1TB Green RAID1 \| Asus Xonar DX \| Asus ES2-750 \| Sony OptiArc DVD+/-RW \| Corsair AX850 Gold \| Fractal Design Define R3 Titanium \| Dell 3007WFP-HC2 30" 2560x1600 \| Corsair SP2500 \| Logitech UltraX Premium \| CM Storm Advance \| Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64bit

Mar 10, 2011, 03:31 AM	Thread Starter #6
Randomletters ))<>(( Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 2,418 Rep Power: 54	Re: Rig BSOD under load after new video card install I actually ordered a new case which should be here tomorrow so While I switch everything over Ill double check every connection to make sure they're clean and plugged in all the way. Its a fresh install of windows to accompany the new spinpoint I ordered, I guess it could be graphics card related but why would it not BSOD at stock cpu speeds? I will check out the bluescreen review thanks for posting that. __________________ <----------- Sexy Budget Rig stats to the left.

Mar 10, 2011, 08:06 AM	#9
asedsa HardwareHeaven Lover Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bosnia and Herzegovina Posts: 245 Rep Power: 58 System Specs	Re: Rig BSOD under load after new video card install First I assume that your RAM can be problem, test your rig with two RAM sticks, my another suggestion is to remove all drivers from previous video card(you said Radeon 6850 is recent purchase). Also I think your PSU is on the edge of capability to provide enough power. If you use PCI slots (such as TV card.....) that also can be problem, try another slot or test without that hardware. Last thing on my mind is updating mobo/video bios. But first thing which I think that you should test is RAM and its latency time. Regards

Mar 10, 2011, 03:28 PM	Thread Starter #12
Randomletters ))<>(( Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 2,418 Rep Power: 54	Re: Rig BSOD under load after new video card install Jeez I never knew that I thought because the ram was 1600 it wouldn't be considered overclocking if it was under the stock speeds. Thanks for that info ill keep the ram close to 1333 and bring the CPU clock back up and see if it bsod's __________________ <----------- Sexy Budget Rig stats to the left.

Mar 12, 2011, 02:48 AM	Thread Starter #13
Randomletters ))<>(( Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 2,418 Rep Power: 54	Re: Rig BSOD under load after new video card install Thanks again for the help guys, I think it was just the ram, Overclocked to the point of instability. Im going to keep it at 1333mhz and try to nudge the cpu back up to 3.45 Its currently at 3.2 under full load and no Bsods. Hell if all is well I might just be able to go higher then what was previously my limit __________________ <----------- Sexy Budget Rig stats to the left.