Huge Problem with a friend's PC

[Mixalhs212]

Today I spoke with one of my friends and he told me that his Monitor goes black at random times and if he is lucky it just reopens but most of the times he has to reboot it.I suspected GPU problem immediately but then he tells me that even after closing his PC all the Fans keep working.Then my mind went to PSU that it doesn't give the GPU enough power to run or stops giving it power at random times therefore shutting down the display.And now he tells via Steam that his PC rebooted 3-4 times alone after him doing nothing to it.I even suspected overheating but according to him his temps are
Cpu:30 Idle ( 40 Running games)
MB:30 Idle
Hard Drive: 30 Idle
CPU: 36 Idle
I am inbetween PSU and/or MB Problem.If you could help me solve his problem it would be great

His PC's Specs
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 EXTREME4-M mATX
Processor: Intel Core i5 3570K 3,4 GHz (Ivy Bridge)
RAM: Corsair 8GB (2x4GB) CL9 1600Mhz VENGEANCE
PSU: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 680 2048MB OC

Thanks for all your help !

 

[badboyrog2]

try with an other psu from a friend or???
you can check in the bios if all voltages and temps look normal too

 

[Mixalhs212]

try with an other psu from a friend or???
you can check in the bios if all voltages and temps look normal too

He can't seem to find a spare one and he is low on budget to get another one.Temps already triple checked with 3 programs
Any other ideas?

 

[Eximo]

I would agree with the power supply being the issue. CX are okay, but he has a lot of high performance components. Normally restrict those supplies to low-power budget builds.

XFX 650W, Seasonic 620W, EVGA 600B are all decent choices.

 

[Mixalhs212]

I would agree with the power supply being the issue. CX are okay, but he has a lot of high performance components. Normally restrict those supplies to low-power budget builds.

XFX 650W, Seasonic 620W, EVGA 600B are all decent choices.

I agreee with you and I'm pretty sure PSU is the problem here.Although the EVGA has the same Watts as my friend's.Are you sure that it would work?

 

[badboyrog2]

``temps already triple checked with 3 programs ``
do not use softwares ..but BIOS

 

[Eximo]

I would agree with the power supply being the issue. CX are okay, but he has a lot of high performance components. Normally restrict those supplies to low-power budget builds.

XFX 650W, Seasonic 620W, EVGA 600B are all decent choices.

I agreee with you and I'm pretty sure PSU is the problem here.Although the EVGA has the same Watts as my friend's.Are you sure that it would work?

It isn't the wattage that is the problem persay. Temperature, load, and spikes are when quality comes into play.

There is no set standard for telling a consumer what the wattage of a supply can do. Cheaper vendors will take the 5V, 3.3V, and 12V wattage and add them up, then round down, or up, to the nearest simple marketing number. Modern computers run almost exclusively on 12V these days, so the other numbers can essentially be thrown out. This is what a lot of the better vendors do.

They are also rated at that wattage at a particular temperature. Cheap vendors will make the numbers look good by rating the supply at 20C, which is unrealistic. 40-60C is a better rating. The primary filter capacitors are also temperature rated. Nice power supplies use 100C rated capacitors. Cheaper supplies will use 60C or lower rated capacitors. The CX Series does rely on a not so good manufacturer of capacitors.

Then there is Peak vs Continuous ratings. Good power supplies are rated at continuous values. Peak is an acceptable load for short durations. Fire hazards in a box will combine all of the cheap behaviors into a single power supply, and these are the ones you hear about catching fire.

CX supplies work well as budget and OEM replacement parts because they are usually oversized for the typical desktop. Average consumer desktop supply is between 250W and 380W.

You want to stay above 50% load and below 80% load as a general rule of thumb for maximum efficiency when using a power supply.

Large video cards like the GTX680 can produce load spikes that may exceed the rating of the supply and cause damage over time, resulting in an early failure.

As an example I would have opted for a CX750 on that build if I had to use one, but would prefer something like the supplies I listed earlier.

Their 12V rail ratings are well rated, and they usually put peak loads on the label. (As an example my 1050W supply can actually output 1440 watts, but doesn't have the cooling to handle it) So for brief periods it can output way more then rated.

Ideally you should test the machine with another power supply before buying one to be sure. Probably more then you wanted to know, but it should help in making a decision on how much to spend if that turns out to be the problem.