[SOLVED] Some PSU issues

[joshduvall2]

Hello all! Today I ran into some problems with my PC, I was firing up my modded version of Skyrim SE, clicked new game, and wasnt even able to make it to the character creation screen before suddenly my PC rebooted itself out of nowhere. At first, I thought it was just a random update, as my PC did, indeed update when it restarted, but after attempting to play again, this same random reboot happened three times more. Feeling the vents told me nothing was overheating, and a quick Google search said it was something to do with the PSU, as nodded skyrim tends to be quite taxing on the system. This is the only game or software which has had this happen. In my PC's build, which I put together myself, it's got a MSI Z97 PC Mate, an i7, (purchased late 2017, to upgrade the initial i5 I originally built the PC with), an Asus GTX 1060 graphics card, 24GB of RAM, and 1 TB of storage, along with 5 cooling fans. The PSU in question, however, came with the case I'd bought at microcenter, (Cooler Master TC102 ATX Mid Tower case) is a 500w power supply: Product No: TM-500-PSSR-M3. (Power supply is at least 4 years old now) Was I overworking that cheap power supply with my setup? I didn't think I was, since it was rated for 500w, though I could be wrong. Since I'm sure it's a PSU problem causing the reboots, I plan to replace it with a "CORSAIR - RMx Series 850W ATX12V 2.4/EPS12V 2.92 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply" and was wondering how much of an improvement that particular one would be, and if it would fit in my case, as I am unsure.

 

[rhelmar1]

So you can boot to windows and the reboot only happens after you start skyrim. And it only happens with skyrim specifically, right? I would maybe do a stress test on the system with furmark and prime95, while keeping a close look on the temps of the system. If nothing happens, it probably isn't a hardware issue. In that case maybe try running skyrim without any mods (and I mean none at all).

I would recommend you to upgrade your PSU. However the PSU you have right now is not necceserally bad, but having at least a bronze certified PSU just gives me a peace of mind. The Corsair one you mentioned is way overkill for your current setup but if you plan to upgrade and overclock, go ahead.

 

[joshduvall2]

So you can boot to windows and the reboot only happens after you start skyrim. And it only happens with skyrim specifically, right? I would maybe do a stress test on the system with furmark and prime95, while keeping a close look on the temps of the system. If nothing happens, it probably isn't a hardware issue. In that case maybe try running skyrim without any mods (and I mean none at all).

I would recommend you to upgrade your PSU. However the PSU you have right now is not necceserally bad, but having at least a bronze certified PSU just gives me a peace of mind. The Corsair one you mentioned is way overkill for your current setup but if you plan to upgrade and overclock, go ahead.

This is the first time it had happened when playing a game, yes, though I will also mention that I have a really bad habit of just leaving my PC running 24/7, usually with a game still loaded up and running while it's idle like that. every so often I'll come back to it the next day or something and the PC would be powered down. I wouldn't think it would be skyrim specifically, since I had been running that particular mod setup on it for a while, with no problems previously, though they do definitely tax my system. (2k textures, a complete overhaul of the perk system, etc). I did run a stress test, and while the temps stayed relatively low (Likely because of the 5 cooling fans I have in there) It did end up doing a random reboot in the process.

 

[rhelmar1]

Maybe I should have asked this first. Is either your GPU or CPU overclocked? Make sure they are not and then try stress testing it again. what stress test are you running?

 

[joshduvall2]

Maybe I should have asked this first. Is either your GPU or CPU overclocked? Make sure they are not and then try stress testing it again. what stress test are you running?

neither are currently overclocked, and I ran the stress test with furmark, tried doing the test twice, caused a reboot both times.

 

[rhelmar1]

Maybe I should have asked this first. Is either your GPU or CPU overclocked? Make sure they are not and then try stress testing it again. what stress test are you running?

neither are currently overclocked, and I ran the stress test with furmark, tried doing the test twice, caused a reboot both times.

Definitely suggests a PSU issue. Do you have any possibility to test another PSU in your system? You could borrow one from a friend or buy one that you can return if it doesn‘t end up fixing your issue.

 

[joshduvall2]

Maybe I should have asked this first. Is either your GPU or CPU overclocked? Make sure they are not and then try stress testing it again. what stress test are you running?

neither are currently overclocked, and I ran the stress test with furmark, tried doing the test twice, caused a reboot both times.

Definitely suggests a PSU issue. Do you have any possibility to test another PSU in your system? You could borrow one from a friend or buy one that you can return if it doesn‘t end up fixing your issue.

Yep! I'll ask my friend later if I can borrow one of his old ones from previous builds that were still running strong when he took em out!