[SOLVED] Gigabyte rtx 3070 keeps restarting my computer under load

[Spitfire7]

I had an old GTX 970 go out. It wouldn't let me even start the computer. It would do a quick on/off thing. I put in an even older card and it would start up just fine. I had to use the onboard vga while waiting for my new card and everythihg was fine.

My new Gigabyte RTX 3070 arrived and it works until it's under extreme load and the computer goes black and restarts. It's so random that I cannot replicate it. Temps never go over 60 and I have the 1815 OC Gaming version, but during game play its up to 1950 and just sits on that OC for a while. Not sure if that has anything to do with it.

I tried some fixes such as rolling back the drivers to 471.11 then made sure I had two separate power cables rather than daisy chained. Then I set my pcie speed in bios to only Gen3 per some suggestions I saw online.

I played Battlefield 4 for an hour and then Xplane for an hour without any issues. So I thought it was fixed.

However, before bed within 20 min of opening Xplane 11 the computer crashed and restarted again. Sucks, especially when I thought I fixed it and everything ran fine for over 2 hours prior.

What could be going wrong here? I never experienced these issues before until my gtx970 went out. The gtx970 problem was repeatable and no matter what it would always do the on/off fail and then be dead until I powered off the PSU and did a full restart. So I know the 970 is dead.

Memory has been great and fairly new over the last few years.

PSU is actually maybe 10+ years old and has been running strong since. However it might be wise to upgrade it anyways. So what's a good 850w Gold standard PSU that I should get? I can do this asap. I prefer Amazon if possible. Please lead me to a good one that is reputable.

Any other suggestions or tips for problem solving? I see the internet is riddled with this same issue for the rtx 3070s. Anyone else with a rtx 3070 have or had this issue and if so did you fix it? How?

I'm thinking this one.
Corsair RMx Series (2021), RM850x, 850 Watt, GOLD, Fully Modular Power Supply (CP-9020200-NA) https://a.co/d/c6aRVSX

 

[Aeacus]

PSU is actually maybe 10+ years old and has been running strong since.

IF the PSU is "running strong" then you shouldn't have the random restarts issue.

Btw, make and model of that 10+ year old unit is?

I'm thinking this one.
Corsair RMx Series (2021), RM850x, 850 Watt, GOLD, Fully Modular Power Supply (CP-9020200-NA)

A good PSU, which would do fine in your system. Also enough wattage to cope with RTX 3070 transient power spikes, which, most likely, is your current issue.

What are transient power spikes? A video to watch:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnRyyCsuHFQ

 

[Spitfire7]

IF the PSU is "running strong" then you shouldn't have the random restarts issue.

Btw, make and model of that 10+ year old unit is?



A good PSU, which would do fine in your system. Also enough wattage to cope with RTX 3070 transient power spikes, which, most likely, is your current issue.

What are transient power spikes? A video to watch:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnRyyCsuHFQ

Thanks for getting back to me. It's the OCZ GamerXtreme. Now that I think of it, it might be more like 18 years old 🤦

 

[Zerk2012]

Thanks for getting back to me. It's the OCZ GamerXtreme. Now that I think of it, it might be more like 18 years old 🤦

So you only have 8GB of memory? if so upgrade that to 16GB and the RMx power supply is a good one.
That is a good place to start to try to solve your problem.

Have you checked your CPU temps? you never listed the cooler your using on it.

 

[Aeacus]

OCZ GamerXtreme

That's some ancient PSU you have there. And that's a miracle if the PSU still works.

OCZ GameXStream 600W/700W units were released back in 2006,
review: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/ocz-gamexstream-700w/

Btw, that old timer might have been a reason why your GTX 970 bite the dust. Since by the time GTX 970 was released, back in 2014, your PSU was already 10 years old (it came with 3 years of warranty). And now, it is 18 years old. So, now is the last moment when to replace it.

 

[Spitfire7]

So you only have 8GB of memory? if so upgrade that to 16GB and the RMx power supply is a good one.
That is a good place to start to try to solve your problem.

Have you checked your CPU temps? you never listed the cooler your using on it.

Sorry, my posts always have my signature with all my specs, but for some reason this time I don't think it did. Temps for CPU are great and stay right around 60-70 tops.

I will have to double check how much ram I have, but if it is 8GB, are you saying that would contribute to my hard crashes. Keep in mind, I have been playing these games for years with the old gtx970 and this ram with no problems.

 

[Spitfire7]

That's some ancient PSU you have there. And that's a miracle if the PSU still works.

OCZ GameXStream 600W/700W units were released back in 2006,
review: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/ocz-gamexstream-700w/

Btw, that old timer might have been a reason why your GTX 970 bite the dust. Since by the time GTX 970 was released, back in 2014, your PSU was already 10 years old (it came with 3 years of warranty). And now, it is 18 years old. So, now is the last moment when to replace it.

Crazy right? That's kind of a miracle that we are all witnessing here haha. Years of great gaming memories such as Half Life, some of the early COD's and so on. It's been such a great PSU. That gtx970 GPU was purchased brand new probably in 2014-15 so it has also lasted me a good 7 years overclocked big time too.

Is that PSU even rated or equipped to handle the rtx 3070?

 

[Spitfire7]

IF the PSU is "running strong" then you shouldn't have the random restarts issue.

Btw, make and model of that 10+ year old unit is?



A good PSU, which would do fine in your system. Also enough wattage to cope with RTX 3070 transient power spikes, which, most likely, is your current issue.

What are transient power spikes? A video to watch:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnRyyCsuHFQ

That video you sent was fascinating. There are so many people with the 30 series graphics cards with my same issue. I think one I read a guy had a 550w PSU and when updating it solved his issues.

I really appreciate your knowledge, you're a smart guy and sent me in the right direction to understand more of what is going on. So thank you. The PSU should be here in a couple of days and I will report back either way. I truly hope it solves the issue.

According to that video he was saying the small form factor 850w PSU still wasn't good enough. So the one I got which is the larger form factor 850w should be fine right?

I have:
ASUS Z97-PRO
Intel i7 4790k
16GB Trident RAM DDR3-2400

and now with

GIGABYTE RTX 3070 OC GAMING
CORSAIR 850W PSU

 

[Aeacus]

Is that PSU even rated or equipped to handle the rtx 3070?

Your ancient OCZ unit?

Well, it does have two PCI-E power cables and is rated either 600W or 700W (i don't know which one you have). So, it "might" be enough. But the fact that it's so old (capacitors in PSU age), for the very least, it will struggle to hold the voltages at acceptable levels. Which are:
+12V DC rail - tolerance ±5% ; +11.40V to +12.60V
+5V DC rail - tolerance ±5% ; +4.75V to +5.25V
+3.3V DC rail - tolerance ±5% ; +3.14V to +3.47V
-12V DC rail - tolerance ±10% ; -10.80V to -13.20V
+5V SB rail - tolerance ±5% ; +4.75V to +5.25V

Also, due to the age it has, it doesn't have much built-in protections either (since back then, more protections weren't required). What protections OCZ unit has, are:
OVP (Over voltage), OCP (Over current) and SCP (Short-Circuit protection).
In comparison, my Seasonic PRIME 650 (80+ Titanium) [SSR-650TD] (specs) has:
OVP, OCP, SCP, UVP (Under voltage), OPP (Over power) and OTP (Over temperature protection).

In a way, it's like comparing passenger car from 1950 and from 2010. The '55 Chevy Bel Air doesn't have seat belts, air bags, ABS and plethora of other safety features that e.g 2010 Toyota Camry has.

Or on another example, would you drive a car that has 18 years old tires under it? If not, then why?

According to that video he was saying the small form factor 850w PSU still wasn't good enough. So the one I got which is the larger form factor 850w should be fine right?

GIGABYTE RTX 3070 OC GAMING

RTX 3070 is 220W GPU (Nvidia specs) and while it is suggested to use 650W unit with it, 850W would be far better, due to the transient power spikes it has. Since the GPU can spike to 400-500W mark, and if you add the rest of your system to it, at ~200W, total would be 600-700W, making 850W PSU enough to cope with that. (While your 600W/700W OCZ unit falls short.)

Now, what Steve talks about SFX (small from factor) PSUs, is true. Since when PSU footprint is much smaller, it physically can not have more components (caps, mosfets etc) inside it, to cope with transient power spikes. Due to that, ATX (standard sized) PSU fares a lot better.

Here's SFX vs ATX PSU size comparison:
(Seasonic X-series vs Corsair SF600, both good quality PSUs)

SFX PSU is about the half of ATX PSU.

 

[Spitfire7]

Your ancient OCZ unit?

Well, it does have two PCI-E power cables and is rated either 600W or 700W (i don't know which one you have). So, it "might" be enough. But the fact that it's so old (capacitors in PSU age), for the very least, it will struggle to hold the voltages at acceptable levels. Which are:
+12V DC rail - tolerance ±5% ; +11.40V to +12.60V
+5V DC rail - tolerance ±5% ; +4.75V to +5.25V
+3.3V DC rail - tolerance ±5% ; +3.14V to +3.47V
-12V DC rail - tolerance ±10% ; -10.80V to -13.20V
+5V SB rail - tolerance ±5% ; +4.75V to +5.25V

Also, due to the age it has, it doesn't have much built-in protections either (since back then, more protections weren't required). What protections OCZ unit has, are:
OVP (Over voltage), OCP (Over current) and SCP (Short-Circuit protection).
In comparison, my Seasonic PRIME 650 (80+ Titanium) [SSR-650TD] (specs) has:
OVP, OCP, SCP, UVP (Under voltage), OPP (Over power) and OTP (Over temperature protection).

In a way, it's like comparing passenger car from 1950 and from 2010. The '55 Chevy Bel Air doesn't have seat belts, air bags, ABS and plethora of other safety features that e.g 2010 Toyota Camry has.

Or on another example, would you drive a car that has 18 years old tires under it? If not, then why?




RTX 3070 is 220W GPU (Nvidia specs) and while it is suggested to use 650W unit with it, 850W would be far better, due to the transient power spikes it has. Since the GPU can spike to 400-500W mark, and if you add the rest of your system to it, at ~200W, total would be 600-700W, making 850W PSU enough to cope with that. (While your 600W/700W OCZ unit falls short.)

Now, what Steve talks about SFX (small from factor) PSUs, is true. Since when PSU footprint is much smaller, it physically can not have more components (caps, mosfets etc) inside it, to cope with transient power spikes. Due to that, ATX (standard sized) PSU fares a lot better.

Here's SFX vs ATX PSU size comparison:
(Seasonic X-series vs Corsair SF600, both good quality PSUs)

SFX PSU is about the half of ATX PSU.

Great response, thank you. It definitely was the 850w version though also released around 2006. It is this one right here. But I still get your point.

https://overclock3d.net/reviews/power_supply/ocz_gamexstream_850w_atx_psu/1

 

[Spitfire7]

IF the PSU is "running strong" then you shouldn't have the random restarts issue.

Btw, make and model of that 10+ year old unit is?



A good PSU, which would do fine in your system. Also enough wattage to cope with RTX 3070 transient power spikes, which, most likely, is your current issue.

What are transient power spikes? A video to watch:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnRyyCsuHFQ

You were 100% right. I got the new PSU installed and everything is running perfectly. I played 2 days now on maxed out graphics for all games and no shut hard crash/restarts. So that was my issue. I hated to have to remove and throw away a perfectly good 850w PSU just for the fact that it was outdated and can't support new GPUs power spikes. Oh well, that OCZ GamerXtreme sure lasted beyond my expectations over 18 years and I knew when I first bought it I was paying for it to last through my upgrades. 4 GPUs later, 3 sets of Ram later and 2 CPU's later and it finally ran its course ONLY due to the power spikes. Man, that was a great PSU. I wonder why OCZ went out of business, that's a shame. This PSU is a real testament to their great products. I would be lucky if any of these new modern day parts were to last for 18 years.

A part of it will still be with me since I gutted it and kept the cool blue LED super powered man. Stripped and rewired it up to now be an intake case fan. Super 3000-5000 powerful airflow and cool lighting to match the rest of my case.

Thank again for the help and guiding me in the right direction.