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Behodar

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#115955 13-Apr-2013 10:15
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Yesterday I tried to upgrade my video card from a GTX 560 Ti to an HD 7950. Unfortunately after a couple of minutes, the system rebooted itself (I had left the room for a few seconds so I didn't see it actually happen, just heard the POST beep) and I suspected that the power supply may have been insufficient (despite being 200 W over the requirements listed in the manual). As I was also struggling to physically fit everything in the case, I decided to return the new card so I've restored everything back to how it was.

However, with the old 560 in there, I've had four random shutdowns. All have happened while I've had the card "doing stuff"; two shutdowns when running Dolphin and two in Warcraft. The system just spontaneously powers off, then about five seconds later it boots up again.

I've reseated the card and while it's warm to the touch, it can't really be described as "hot". I've confirmed that all of the computer's fans are running, including the video card fan. The only thing that's changed since it was working is the EFI ROM version; I had to upgrade from "F8" to "F13" to get the system to recognise the 7950. The board is a Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H.

So far I haven't had any shutdowns when not running games, so I'd guess that it's either a heat or power issue, but the hardware has been completely reliable since I bought it last year.

Any ideas?

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semigeek
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  #798722 13-Apr-2013 10:29
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I had this exact same problem but with different hardware to yours. I stress tested the system with OCCT, reseated everything, upgraded the power supply to a larger wattage. I updated all drivers etc, but still had the same issue. In the end I just bought a new MB, Ram and CPU and have had no problems since. 





Behodar

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  #798781 13-Apr-2013 14:55
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I think I may have fried the power supply. I've removed the card and have had no reboots with the onboard Intel HD4000.

I've also tried using the "hard drive" power adapter cables instead of the cables provided by the power supply and it still does it. I've even reverted the firmware back to version F8!

gzt

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  #799151 14-Apr-2013 13:46
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I experienced a similar sequence of events with different hardware. I had one VGA that could have been close to the PSU limit and caused machine restarts. I swapped that out for a one using lower power. It eventually started happening when the machine was under stress with built in MB VGA until it occurred more frequently and the machine eventually refused to boot. The machine is gathering dust and I did not investigate the problem further.

The northbridge always ran hot on this particular machine and I feel the eventual failure was likely related to excessive heat in this area. It did not come with a mini-fan for the north bridge although there was a power connector for it. Temp monitor on the NB always showed insanely high but manufacturer claimed it was normal even if it was way above anything else they produced.

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