New System Very Unstable

[lazorelent]

Hello,

I've recently built a new PC for myself, and am having serious stability issues.

I get the occasional BSOD crash, with various stopcodes (most common is MEMORY_MANAGEMENT, but it is less than half the time). More frequently, I have programs crash (QTD), particularly when using a lot of resources, like graphics-heavy games and streaming media.

I've only had the system a month or two, and in that time I've run every test I know how to run:
memtest86+ twice with no problems found
registry repairs
CPU and GPU temps (neither ever above 50)
upgraded drivers
spyware scans
etc

My system consists of the following:
Gigabyte B75M-D3H motherboard
Core i5 2500K (4 x 3.70GHz) CPU
EVGA GeForce 560GTX w/ 1GB DDR5 GPU
2X Super Talent DDR3-1600 4GB CL9 RAM
Chiefmax 750W ATX PSU
Windows 7 64-bit
4x80GB HD
CD/DVD Drive


Please, I'm not totally new to this, but I don't know how to pinpoint and correct the problem. My computer runs great when it's not crashing. Any insight at all would be welcome.

 

[gidgiddonihah]

Run Furmark and see if you have problems and post back .

 

[lazorelent]

Run Furmark and see if you have problems and post back .

Done. Ran Furmark in Burn-in mode for 20 minutes without a problem, temp never got above 70C.
Thank you for the tip, I guess this rules out the graphics card as the culprit?

 

[smorizio]

run cpu-z see what the cpu and ram speed is running at. look under spd tab for the memory speed and voltage.
most times the mb will default to 1066/1333 speeds. you have to under dram timing set it to xmp and may need to change the voltage if the xmp profile is 1.6v or greater. as i never heard of the power supply you used i would download hardware monitor or a program that will log power supply voltages. also look at windows error log. look at the time and the error code. it point you to if it power shutdown or ram.
with ram you can run memtest86.
one thing to check with your system too is the cpu temps...make sure the cpu heat sink is on...and the pc not over heating.
if the tests are fine and the system is still crashing...try moving it to another outlet..could have a bad outlet or too many iteams on the same line.

 

[gidgiddonihah]

Done. Ran Furmark in Burn-in mode for 20 minutes without a problem, temp never got above 70C.
Thank you for the tip, I guess this rules out the graphics card as the culprit?

Not necessarily, but most likely it isn't the GPU. The PSU is from a company I have not heard of, which usually is not good. Good companies are Corsair, XFX, Antec, and a few others I can't think of on the top of my head. There is a way to open the dump files from a BSOD but I haven't done it for awhile-my system has been stable for quite some time. Let me look it up and post back tomorrow.

 

[Pjak]

The only think i cant think of is the PSU. My dad had the same issue when he brought a no name PSU, he kept getting BSOD and nothing wrong with anything else. So i suggest to get either a corsair, silverstone ( My dad now has 1500w), cooler master, antec or OCZ. Goodluck!

 

[gidgiddonihah]

I would have to agree that it might be the power supply. Bad power supplies provide bad and inconsistent power which leads to problems similar to what you have been having. The stuff crashing when the computer is loaded is most indicative.

But before you give up hope and buy a power supply, let me find out how I opened the dump files and let you know.

OCZ is not the best brand out there... Its good, but there are better brands. The best brand of PSU (or any product that they make) is Corsair. I have their lowest end 500 watt PSU as I couldn't afford anything bigger from them and didn't want to buy from a bad company. It runs silent and great. No problems whatsoever.

 

[lazorelent]

I finally got monitoring the voltages while I used the computer, and they look a little unstable. The 12V tends to drop up to 0.6V when the GPU takes on a heavier load, and at one point I saw the 3.3V drop to 0V, but I bet that was just a bad scan.
Is this behavior characteristic of a bad PSU, or is it normal?

I've fiddled with the RAM voltages in the past, and the computer wouldn't start properly until I changed it back.

 

[gidgiddonihah]

I would take the PSU back...

 

[lazorelent]

Yeah, I just fiddled with it some more and it's really unstable... I'm consistently dropping to 11.5V or less JUST by cranking up the PSU power draw, which should not happen on a power supply rated to 750W. I'll bet I can lose a whole volt when running multiple systems intensely.

I've looked up a couple of teardowns on similar Chiefmax units, and the construction is pretty abominable. In one case the guy blew a "650W" unit drawing less than 200W.

Serves me right for thinking I could get away with a cheap power supply! I'll start looking for a new one and see if I can return this one. Thank you to everyone who offered help!