Am I ok using current PSU?

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NoviceBuilder0412

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May 24, 2014
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Hi I have a question regarding my PSU, had a couple of freezes in game recently (re-boot needed) and wondered if under powered PSU could cause this? When I built the system I never intended gaming again but before you know it a GTX660 went in and I'm back in the racing seat lol
System is:
i5 4670 non K so not overclocked
Corsair H80 cooler
8gb (2x4gb) DDR3 kingston predator 1866 memory
Asus H81I ITX motherboard
120gb Kingston SSD, os
2tb WD Green, storage
Asus OC GTX660 gpu
PSU in question is a Coolermaster Silent Pro M2 420W - 80 Bronze
Calculators give me a recommended minimum of around 330W PSU, I know there's little headroom currently (with aging etc) but can I be causing any damage to other hardware? Would rather not stress anything so considering swapping it out for piece of mind anyway. But if any of you clever people think that's totally unnecessary I'll carry on. (Until the next build when I'll do it properly 😉 lol)
Thanks in advance for any help and advice
Regards
John
 
Solution
Vic 40

Those calculators always overestimate.I can't see that pc use that much,with just gaming it probably uses maybe 200watts,i would be impressed if it was more than 250watts.
I would look somewhere else too,but you could look if a new psu would do the trick.
I also would look at the motherboard,maybe a bios update,the latest one is from "2014/08/29".Also at the gpu drivers,maybe get rid of the current ones and install the latest fresh.
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Yes it can be the PSU causing the issue. The recommended PSU for GTX 660 is at least a 450 watts. You can calculate the voltages if you can. You processor uses a 84 w on idlee and upto 95w on load, you cooler consumes 13.2w, You GPU uses 150W, plus other thingas add upto at least 440w. You should upgrade you PSU by me. Buy a 600w psu for fututre proofing. :)

Solution unselected at OP's request - SS
 
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450w, yes. That PSU you have is a Tier 3 PSU. Not the greatest, but not the worst. At 420w it's probably not your problem, at least not due to being underpowered. It could however be faulty. If you feel the need to replace it with a good quality unit you can get one fairly cheap. This would be a good choice although I'll reiterate that it's probably not a power issue.

This would be a good replacement but it's only on sale until the 12th.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $29.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-04 03:19 EDT-0400


If you have a multi-meter or access to one, and can use it or know somebody who can, you can test your psu using the following methods:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac7YMUcMjbw
 
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I'd actually start by making sure my GPU drivers were up to date and take a look at temps using a monitor app like GPU-Z or HWinfo to make sure something isn't getting too hot and shutting down. You should also visually make sure the PSU, GPU and CPU are clean and free of dust and crap built up in the heatsinks or inside the PSU. If they are, blow them out with compressed air. Be sure to get it all out of the case and be somewhat careful when you do it. You don't want to damage something by being careless.
 
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Thanks Darkbreeze, I'll get out the multimeter and test it :) Didn't think it could be faulty, duh lol but have always felt uncomfortable about it. GPU drivers up to date everything seems fine temp wise. Think I'll just replace for more power and use this in another build (After testing of course lol)
 
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Those calculators always overestimate.I can't see that pc use that much,with just gaming it probably uses maybe 200watts,i would be impressed if it was more than 250watts.
I would look somewhere else too,but you could look if a new psu would do the trick.
I also would look at the motherboard,maybe a bios update,the latest one is from "2014/08/29".Also at the gpu drivers,maybe get rid of the current ones and install the latest fresh.
 
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Solution
Thanks Vic 40!, Bios was up to date as were gpu drivers but used guru3d to clean and re-install and seems to have done the trick :) well no issue as of a few hours gaming last night. Unless it's an intermittent fault with the psu perhaps, so will replace anyway while it's in my mind to do so. Upgrade to something better. Be Quiet on Darkbreeze's advice.
Thanks again for taking the time to help.
Much appreciated
John
 
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Good to hear that a reinstall has done the trick for now,i hope it stays that way.😀

Don't throw that psu away.it's a decent psu which still can be of good use in a low power rig.Well imo is it not necessary to replace it anyway,but you make up your own mind.

You could check the psu by doing the next too although it's a software check it will say something about how it does,

Download the next program=hwinfo32,

http://www.hwinfo.com/download32.html

You can open hwinfo32,after that open the sensor window by marking sensors=V,after that click run,,then click at the bottom "Logging start" ,after that choose a name and place for the log.like Hwinfolog at your desktop.Leave it open and do game/stresstest or whatever you do until a crash or for just 15->30min..The log will end at that point but will be saved.
You could look at the log yourself with either excel or libre office calc.(=freeware)
 
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The things you already mention for instance and while you're at it could you check the different temps=cpu/gpu/hdd too.
Glad you like the program.😀



If these are within atx specs are you okay in my book.They should be within + or - 5% of the value=12V/5V/3.3V (=all + values,the -12V should be within 10%).
They shouldn't be fluctuating to much as well,going from +11.7->+12.4V for instance.From what i see looking at those +12V values are you good.
I think you're still good with that psu and see no need for an upgrade.

Still no freezes till now?
 
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The best thing to hear.You thought it might be the psu,but with this after only the clean install of the drivers was that probably the cause and not the psu,so another reason not to buy a new one.

Have fun gaming! 😀

Vic.
 
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Just a quick update in-case anybody reads this in the future. I believe the problem was definitely the graphics drivers. A fresh install seemed to fix the problem :)
However as I had ordered a new PSU (too late to cancel) as it was sent special delivery to the shop I felt guilty not taking it after the trouble they had gone to. Fitted it last night and ran a stress test overnight and monitored with HWiNFO64. Results this morning were great, no fluctuation on the voltages what so ever!
It's a BeQuiet! Powerzone 650, so i guess you really do get what you pay for. With PSU's at least lol 😉 Would also like to note how much quieter the whole system is, using the inbuilt thermal fan control/connectors.
Would recommend! :)
 
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A good choice.




A nice feature too.They will only rev up when the psu gets hot on the inside ( at least i think it works this way),the only problem maybe when the psu sucks cold air in from the outside and it doesn't get hot at all.The fans will stay on a low rev even when the system might get hot.Maybe in this case install the psu with the fan on top?
Just keep an eye on those temps is what i'm saying. 😉

And don't throw away the old psu,it's still fine to use in another pc or as a back-up.

 
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No wont throw it away, nothing wrong with it after all. Media pc or nas in the making haha

Have the PSU mounted so it's taking air from the motherboard (Mounted above - CM Elite 130) so fan should take heat and run case fan accordingly :)
 
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