What could be the issue PSU,MoBo,GPU?

[okumaarevelainomrasno]

Its one of those issues again.I've searched around the net.But form all the PSU,MoBo or GPU issue threads I can't find similar to my symptoms.

So my rig is :
- MoBo: Gigabyte 970A-UD3P (rev.01)
- GPU : MSI Radeon xr570 8GB OC
- CPU : AMD FX8300
- RAM : 16GB (8G Kingston HyperX,8G A-Data)
- PSU : 450W uknown.
- USB stuff : keyboard,mouse,Razer Tartarus 1.0,Wacom intuos 4 small, USB sound card.

History:
MoBo
I've been using this motherboard for about 3+ years with no issues.Or at least not ones that would make me too suspicious of it.From the start I had random freezes once in a long time.I think it was due to the fact that the house I'm living at, has some messed up electric wiring(it's an old house).So it would build a small charge and then it will discharge it.LED or Florescent lights will show this as they would blink very dimly in the night at some intervals.I grounded my computer and bought a UPS and that solved the issue.I changed the room so the grounding was no longer in the same room.But I did not notice any freezing or hangings like before.
Sometime since the new year day.I've changed my USB keyboard.I kept plugging it in the same port (I disconnect it when my kid is around because he likes to sneak and press keys at random).But on every boot up the keyboard will not be active when Windows 10 asks me for my password.I have to disconnect it from the port and connect it again to get it going.When the freezing with audio started(see GPU) I changed the port and it works just fine every time.

PSU
However last winter when trying something, I kind of short circuited the PSU.The UPS died but when I booted the computer after waiting for a bit it booted like nothing happened.And I've been using it day and night for work with no big issues.Since the UPS died and I had no grounding the random freeze came back.I grounded the computer again and it went away.

GPU
This is where the issues started.I bought that GPU two weeks a go.Ever since I installed it the system would freeze.The freezing would happen when I have an audio playing.It takes about 5 min of starting the audio and it freezes.I've tried it with my USB audio card and with the one in the Motherboard.Since the PSU I have(is old),it has only one 8pin connector for the motherboard ATX 8pin port. I powered the GPU via Molex to 8pin adapter.Before this GPU I had an Palit Nvidia GTX750.It worked like a charm but when I went back to it after the AMD gave issues(I supposed). The same issue continued.If audio was played the system would freeze.Oh yeah and audio worked just fine before I added the new GPU.
For now I work with the new AMD GPU on low loads.But often if I have a two or three software open that ask for GPU resources(like firefox,photoshop,and a program called storyboarder),I get firefox tabs crashing,storyboarder will go blank,even if the top menu is active,and photoshop at times will become inactive...even though you can click on menus or tools,but nothing happens on the canvas.At times when viewing something on firefox will cause my screen to go black for few seconds...like if vga drivers stopped working or when we install vga drivers.System restart brings things in order again.Oh yeah and usually the GPU load is low when this happens,as well as when the audio freeze happens.

CPU
I changed this CPU about two months a go.Since I was stuck with a AM3+. I don't remember what was the previous CPU.But this one works great and with my cheap aftermarket cooling it goes on full load with 3.5Ghz on all cores and is around 40-50C.Had it stress tested for days with no issue.

RAM
Never had any issues with it.

So I'm at the conclusion that it's either the motherboard,the PSU or the GPU.I can't be sure is it the new GPU....since as I said,when I replaced it back with the old GPU it still froze when audio was played.Also if the PSU or MoBo is faulty the manufacturer won't replace the card without me knowing for certain it is the GPU.They suggested I test it on another rig.Bu all the people I know, these days no one uses desktop PCs,it's all laptop.So I'm left with the PSU or MoBo.The audio thing makes me think it's the MoBo.But the fact that the PSU is old,some cheap brand,and survived a short circuit makes me lean towards it more.Aslo I want to use both the AMD and the Nvidia cards in the rig.So I would no doubt need a better PSU.Also it would be better to have to buy only a new PSU. However I use the rig mainly for work,and I want to get back to full load mode as soon as possible,but I have the ability to purchase only one component per month.Thus if I can get away with only one purchase for now and get back to full work potential from my computer it would be great.That's why I hope someone can give me some direction on what component to aim first with the hope of that being the fix.
Oh yeah and when the GPU is at full load (for example mining crypto) a smell of burnt cables appears.I did a sniff test once I stopped the full load process,and I can't say it's from the motherboard or the card.The card goes to around 50-60C.The manufacturer says it's normal to be around these temperatures.For this smell I suspect the Molex to 8pin cable adapter.I read somewhere that if a component is drawing more power than the cable is capable of providing ,this will heat and eventually burn down the cable.And from what I read, an 8pin cable provides more power than a Molex.Thus on full load the GPU draws more power than the Molex can handle.That's my guess anyway.

So with all this long description...what is your bet?is it the Motherboard or the PSU? For which should I go first with the hope that it will be the solution for the issue.
If I go for the PSU I will also be checking the goal of having a powerful PSU to hold the two cards.While not paying for a new motherboard.
But if it is the MoBo,then I will pay for that PSU but will not be able to get back to full work capability.And If I go for the Motherboard first I might be replacing a working Motherboard when this will not be the issue.
Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[arif1752002m4a1]

Well your smps could be problem here as you mention.

And your system consume more power than 450 watt. At time of starting. So i suggest to use a 550 watt smps. Like corsair cx550m. Or corsair vs 550 for cheap not recommend to use vs 550 use cx550m if you have money to buy this. Othervise vs 550

 

[arif1752002m4a1]

Or it may be software issue or hard disk issue too. And even bios issue.

Try to clear bios
Try to boot on any good hard disk
Try to reinstall os. And formate harddisk completely. Via cleaning.

 

[Karadjgne]

Start with going to Gigabyte support website and installing every last driver they have. That includes USB family, Lan, audio etc. WindowsCE introduced a heap of issues with legacy x86 drivers, basically windows has newer versions but the actual chipsets are still looking for the specific drivers, so you get conflicts, freezes, even shutdowns.

That gpu should not be on a molex-8pin adapter. Each pin is rated @5A or 60w, and the gpu can pull as much as 150w through an 8pin pcie. If you continue, expect melted connections at the very least, pc fire at worst.
Replace the psu with one that has at least 500w, 30A on 12v rail and at least 1x 6+2pin pcie/vga dedicated gpu cable. 520/550w reputable psu will have at least 1x 6pin and 1x 6+2pin pcie/vga.

 

[okumaarevelainomrasno]

Or it may be software issue or hard disk issue too. And even bios issue.

Try to clear bios
Try to boot on any good hard disk
Try to reinstall os. And formate harddisk completely. Via cleaning.

I already did an OS reinstall.I did not format the HDD volume though.I have only one HDD and on it I have all my work and important files on both volumes of that HDD.An SSD is in my list ,as an OS drive,but I don't think that is the issue.I did thought it could be an HDD issue at one point.The HDD is older than any part in the rig.About 6+ years.Still I ran all disk checks for errors and it gave no errors.
I cleared the Bios just a few hours a go...and left it running with audio while I did some stuff...I still froze...although I don't know when.But when I came to it it was in that state.

So I suppose what is left from your advice is the PSU.

 

[okumaarevelainomrasno]

Start with going to Gigabyte support website and installing every last driver they have. That includes USB family, Lan, audio etc. WindowsCE introduced a heap of issues with legacy x86 drivers, basically windows has newer versions but the actual chipsets are still looking for the specific drivers, so you get conflicts, freezes, even shutdowns.

That gpu should not be on a molex-8pin adapter. Each pin is rated @5A or 60w, and the gpu can pull as much as 150w through an 8pin pcie. If you continue, expect melted connections at the very least, pc fire at worst.
Replace the psu with one that has at least 500w, 30A on 12v rail and at least 1x 6+2pin pcie/vga dedicated gpu cable. 520/550w reputable psu will have at least 1x 6pin and 1x 6+2pin pcie/vga.

Yes,I thought it could be a windows driver issue.Since under safe mode it will run with no problems for days.Still Safe Mode did not have audio activated.And I did not stress the GPU since it gave that wire burning smell.I've installed the chipset drivers from AMD.as this usually helped with freezes before.I've ignored the drivers, since for Win10 all the drivers I get is for audio,lan and the two USB 3.0 ports.I don't use the onboard network card so I don't see any reason to download Lan drivers,audio ...the thing is that I don't use the on board audio since I use a USB soundcard.But I will try to install the audio and the USB drivers.
As for Windows 10 dirver issue,yeah their updates gave me a lot of headaches before.If it was not for photoshop I would be ditching windows for Linux.

As for the PSU comments.Yes I thought that the burning cable smell on high loads is from that molex-8pin adapter.Just as you said the GPU drawing more power than the cable can handle at high loads.Also i think that now that I have a dedicated cable drawing power for the GPU,rather than the GPU using only the PCIex16 port to power the card(as it was with the GTX 750),when I start the audio the PSU cannot handle things and shuts down,thus it freezes.
I suppose this is the place to mention that the reason I short circuited the PSU was because ,since it was a cheap brand it was really loud,or became loud.Because of this I had a spare cooler master fan with the same size that was laying around not being used.I decided to change the cheap fan with the cooler master one.However the PSU port and pins were different than any connectors I had.So I decided to use the spare adapters from a Noctua fan and connect the Fan directly to the PSU output,rather than to it's board.That's when it short circuited.Because it's cables were so short I had to hold it on the case,while testing is everything ok with such a setup.And I was just about to turn it off since everything was ok,somehow the PSU board got exposed and one of the solders touched the case and POW! But in any case....the thing is that now the PSU fan is not being controlled by the PSU but by it's constant power output from a cable...a Molex cable actually.So another theory i have is that when the motherboard and now the new GPU draw power,if the PSU is getting hotter it has no way of regulating it's fan and thus shuts down for a split second,enough to freeze the computer.But when it froze I checked the heat on it by touching it once I power it down and it was far from being even remotely hot.

I guess I'll add your stance to the "get a new PSU" suggestions.Once I try out installing the drivers.

This is the PSU I plan to get:

https://www.bequiet.com/en/powersupply/525

on the specifications I see the 12v rails having 22A ,is that Ok? It's not 30A minimum as you suggested.

 

[Karadjgne]

A gpu doesn't only pull power from the psu directly, it still pulls power from the pcie x16 slot as well. Generally it's closer to 40-50w, but under some circumstances, especially on amd cards it can pull as much as 90w. Theoretical limit it supposedly 75w.

That 700w BeQuiet is far more than you need, but won't hurt. There's much cheaper and just as good, if not better units. It has 4x 12v rails at 18/18/22/22 so figure @72A give or take (you can't add multiple rails exactly). Not sure if they are in fact dedicated rails, or just split rails with the same source.
Either way, it's @$140 in the US, so extremely overpriced for what it is.

A Corsair RMx 550w or Seasonic Focus Plus 550w would be far better choices unless your market has the beQuiet extremely cheap. It's a $60 unit at best.

 

[okumaarevelainomrasno]

A gpu doesn't only pull power from the psu directly, it still pulls power from the pcie x16 slot as well. Generally it's closer to 40-50w, but under some circumstances, especially on amd cards it can pull as much as 90w. Theoretical limit it supposedly 75w.

That 700w BeQuiet is far more than you need, but won't hurt. There's much cheaper and just as good, if not better units. It has 4x 12v rails at 18/18/22/22 so figure @72A give or take (you can't add multiple rails exactly). Not sure if they are in fact dedicated rails, or just split rails with the same source.
Either way, it's @$140 in the US, so extremely overpriced for what it is.

A Corsair RMx 550w or Seasonic Focus Plus 550w would be far better choices unless your market has the beQuiet extremely cheap. It's a $60 unit at best.

I wanted it having more power so I won't bother with buying a new one ...because I plan to add more GPUs.Not only my old Nvidia.So I had this extra cost in my plans.
I could not find those Corsair or Seasonic PSU's on my market.And the Corsair PSU is basically the same price as the beQuiet one with the same specs.Difference around 0.5$ to 1$.