[SOLVED] PSU fan revs up then PC crashes ?

threedb

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I have crashing and suspect it is somehow PSU related. Usually the fan will loudly speed up, followed by a computer shutdown and immediate reboot. This often happens during renders. In After Effects or in Maya. But it happens at other times too. It has crashed during AE timeline scrub. It has crashed on fresh reboot with the only thing open is a browser with a billion tabs. Always the fan, then the shut down and then reboot. I first thought this was CPU and its fan, then GPU. Then I suspected RAM. Now I think PSU -- It seems like this is the fan making the noise. And then it seems like the PSU shuts down. Or something else? The fan action is 10 - 60 seconds before the crash. Very often the machine runs without problem. I animate in Maya. I do light gaming without issue. Then suddently it doesn't like something. I've tried a couple of troubleshooting options but I'm not sure what to do next. The machine is a summer 2022 build with all new parts. Nothing overclocked and all drivers should be up to date. I don't know if this is a PSU issue but I suspect it is. I hope I can post here. I would appreciate any help.

Thank you,
  • MB - MSI PRO Z690A DDR4 ProSeries MB
  • GPU - MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 LHR 10GB
  • PSU - EVGA Super Nova Plus Gold 850W
  • CPU - Intel Core i7-12700K
  • Fan - Noctua NH-D15
  • SSD - Intel 660p 1TB Internal SSD
  • RAM - CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) RAM DDR4
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RLZZCvyDo7k-vZWlsV_esPcsU_h_2ahSlWZ8ZFQGH5w/edit?usp=sharing
 
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DSzymborski

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Honestly, it sounds like temperatures and I'm not convinced that it's a PSU fan; while there are Hybrid modes (Supernova is a lot of EVGA PSUs, so you'd have to be more specific), revving up really fast all of a sudden isn't really PSU fan behavior. The behavior sounds more like a CPU temperature problem because those fans are temperature sensitive, depending what type of fans you have.
 
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threedb

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The psu comes with three seperate pcie power cables, are you using all three? (first connector each) If not try that.

Don't know that pcie wifi card, tested without it in?

Kept an eye on temps and voltages?

HWIinfo is running. A lot of info in there. CPU temps average look like 25C-31C. Core Distance to TjMax averages 75C though. That might be a little high?

Not sure what to look for with voltages. Cables should be correct but I will check.
 

threedb

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Honestly, it sounds like temperatures and I'm not convinced that it's a PSU fan; while there are Hybrid modes (Supernova is a lot of EVGA PSUs, so you'd have to be more specific), revving up really fast all of a sudden isn't really PSU fan behavior. The behavior sounds more like a CPU temperature problem because those fans are temperature sensitive, depending what type of fans you have.

It was my first time installing CPU and I got a little anxious about it particularly with the thermal paste but goodness it's not that complicated. I initially suspected CPU, but I struggled troubleshooting it and the fan spinning up seems to come from PSU. The fans cooling CPU seem to be running fine. Is there a reason you suspect processor?
 

DSzymborski

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It was my first time installing CPU and I got a little anxious about it particularly with the thermal paste but goodness it's not that complicated. I initially suspected CPU, but I struggled troubleshooting it and the fan spinning up seems to come from PSU. The fans cooling CPU seem to be running fine. Is there a reason you suspect processor?

By process of elimination. PSU fans don't "rev up" in the manner you describe, unless I'm not understanding your description. And the CPU temperatures you give above cannot possibly be accurate for a CPU at load; in a modern CPU, you'd have trouble getting that at idle with great cooling in a cold room.
 
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Vic 40

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Since you have hwinfo now,

How to make a log,

open hwinfo,
check "sensors-only",
click "run",
at the bottom of the window click "logging start",
choose a name and place for the log like "hwinfolog" at the "desktop",
this log can be viewed/opened with either excel from Microsoft or libre office calc.
you can upload it onto a site which facilitates this like SaberCatHost this one i like since not so much (or any) spam comes with it and does not require a log in to get the info.
Just make one until this happens like you described.
 
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threedb

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Since you have hwinfo now,

How to make a log,


you can upload it onto a site which facilitates this like SaberCatHost this one i like since not so much (or any) spam comes with it and does not require a log in to get the info.
Just make one until this happens like you described.

I started a log and got a csv file during one crash ( web browsing yay ). I uploaded it to SaberCatHost. I'm a little fuzzy on whether this is just for sharing or it has tools for analyzing the file. I've got it open in G spreadsheet now. A lot of info in there.

hwinfo_log003.csv
 
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threedb

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By process of elimination. PSU fans don't "rev up" in the manner you describe, unless I'm not understanding your description. And the CPU temperatures you give above cannot possibly be accurate for a CPU at load; in a modern CPU, you'd have trouble getting that at idle with great cooling in a cold room.
Ok. Well, this is my first build. No doubt there is some Frankenstein installing on my part. But as far as I can tell it is the PSU fan spinning up prior to crash. Temperature totally makes sense. If it is CPU related, what does that suggest? Incompatible or failing components? Or could I have messed up the thermal paste or something like that? I'm trying a hwinfo diagnostic which you can also see in the thread. It's weird.
 

threedb

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The psu comes with three seperate pcie power cables, are you using all three? (first connector each) If not try that.

Don't know that pcie wifi card, tested without it in?

Kept an eye on temps and voltages?
The Wi-Fi card is a little weird. It seems to struggle to remember / reconnect to the network on restart / after sleep, etc. I got it from Logical Increments. Do you think it could be contributing to my issue?
 

Vic 40

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Those three should be enough.

Had a look and see nothing unusual, nothing that i look at out of spec, might be that the psu goes just in between hwinfo probing, but that would be really fast.

Usually the fan will loudly speed up, followed by a computer shutdown and immediate reboot. Always the fan, then the shut down and then reboot. I first thought this was CPU and its fan, then GPU. Then I suspected RAM. Now I think PSU -- It seems like this is the fan making the noise. And then it seems like the PSU shuts down. The fan action is 10 - 60 seconds before the crash.
Have had any luck truly pinpointing that fan sound? Still sure it is the psu, not the gpu for example?
 
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threedb

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Those three should be enough.

Had a look and see nothing unusual, nothing that i look at out of spec, might be that the psu goes just in between hwinfo probing, but that would be really fast.

Have had any luck truly pinpointing that fan sound? Still sure it is the psu, not the gpu for example?
Ok, thank you for checking the csv file. It's a lot of info for me and I'm not really sure what I'm looking at all the time.

And it really sounds like PSU fan. Recently when I start to hear it spinning up I try and get down there to hear it but it'll crash before I get out of my chair. But I could be wrong. I'll try and move it up closer to me somehow. I've heard my G5 PSU isn't so good. Do you have an opinion on this?

Also, on last crash I had Unity open testing animations in the background while at the same time, in Maya I was tumbling in 3D like mad when I got the fan noise and crashing. Here is the csv report for that crash if you want to see. This very much seems GPU specific because of the 3D tumbling. However I had ran a Furmark and Heaven GPU benchmarks tests for a while and those both seemed fine. So I am unsure about this.

And sometimes I get this same crashing with only web browser open and I've got a zillion tabs loaded which makes me wonder if this could be related to RAM or something. But it seems to happen more often with 3D application / After Effects rendering.

It's my first build and was sloppy with initial cable hooks up. I wonder if I've somehow crossed something or left something off and maybe just need to redo it all?
 

threedb

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I asked this, did you do it like that?
Well, the card only has two ports on it. Both are plugged in and I don't see a third for another pcie cable. I would assume these would all live right next to each other and it would obvious if one of them was unused. Any chance a third could be tucked away somewhere or under some kind of lid or something like that?
 

threedb

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For photo's you can do this,
and with direct image link... sorry, this ( posting an image ) was more confusing that I figured it would be.:)
FeoELCh.jpg
 
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threedb

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No you have only two and as i see you use two seperate cables so good.

Does the gpu have a bios switch? tried changing that if so?


What that psu concerns, if you want to try another one, maybe up it a litle to 1000watts, just to make sure no power spikes will shut it off.
Ok

GPU bios switch? No idea. Ha! But I will check.

My PSU suspicious is based on little other than I can't nail it down elsewhere and just general behavior. Spidey sense? Oh and this EVGA thread on the G5 and others.
 
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