Jump to content

nvidia BSOD... not enough power?


Recommended Posts

If I play Counter Strike: Source for about an hour, I'll BSOD with some error in the nvidia display driver. The BSOD is fast so I don't always see the error but twice it's been an infinite loop and another time it was a paging error (bad memory access?). My +12V on my Seasonic 420W was terrible (11.41V under load) so I upgraded to the Enermax in my sig and it's still not great:

 

Idle numbers from Smart Guardian:

CPU: 1.29

LDT: 1.16

DRAM: 2.54

+1.5: 1.47

+3: 3.07

+3.3: 3.24

+5: 5.02

+12: 11.82 (eh...)

 

Load (Prime95 + Masaki Kawase's HDR demo)

CPU: no change

LDT: no change

DRAM: no change

+1.5: no change

+3: no change

+3.3: no change

+5: no change

+12: 11.71-11.77 (uh oh?)

 

And I'm sure the real +12 load number is lower because CS:S has to be more intensive than the HDR demo.

 

Do I really need an even larger PSU? I'm not doing SLI and the Enermax has 18A on both +12 rails (32A max). My other option would be to underclock my 7800GTX to the standard speed settings to see if that's the problem.

 

As for stress testing, the machine has survived 5 hour and 8 hour runs of Prime95.

 

Thanks

 

Edit: I do have the additional two power connections on the motherboard attached.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't have a multimeter but that's a great article and it's convinced me that the PSU isn't the problem.

 

Using the same load situation as before:

CPU: 48 C (both cores were 100%)

PWM IC: 57 C

Chipset: 57 C

GPU: 80 C was the highest I saw (from nvmonitor)

 

The PWM and Chipset numbers were red in Smart Guardian. If those temps are okay, other things I was considering are:

 

1) Playing another GPU intensive game for a long time to see what happens (I have Doom 3)

2) Underclock the 7800GTX and see what happens

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I never let them get that hot.

 

Use a stand that raises the PC off the floor. (Mobile stands with wheels are about $20 to $30.)

 

Cut a hole in the bottom under the PCIe card(s)

 

Put window screening over the hole to keep the dust out

 

Mount a fan blowing on to the video card(s)

 

A top blowhole for exhaust completes the cooling

 

Good Luck,

Dave ;)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

have you tryed playing it @ the lowest settings and seeing if it plays the same ?

try unpluging any devices that you dont need @ this point, you never know you could have a faulty PSU although its unlikely, or it could be bad memory! hard drive de fraged?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

1) Playing another GPU intensive game for a long time to see what happens (I have Doom 3)

2) Underclock the 7800GTX and see what happens

Do #1. Games do indeed stress machines much harder than Prime et al. Maybe you need to tweak your memory a little.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I never let them get that hot.

 

Use a stand that raises the PC off the floor. (Mobile stands with wheels are about $20 to $30.)

 

Cut a hole in the bottom under the PCIe card(s)

 

Put window screening over the hole to keep the dust out

 

Mount a fan blowing on to the video card(s)

 

A top blowhole for exhaust completes the cooling

 

Good Luck,

Dave ;)

how effective is the cooling by putting a fan under the vid card? i would think the sound-card would hinder air-flow too greatly but i have never tried this so i'm asking. window screening can't possibly filter out dust particles. openings are not small enough.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...