Any computer wizards out there?

[judderod]

PS. I've got a 450w Corsair PSU running 6 hard drives, 2 cd/blu ray drives, a quad core CPU overclocked and over-volted to consume 75-90w, a fairly basic graphics card, a PCI studio sound card, several non-powered usb devices. Never a single drop out.

[Lude-dude]

I suspected motherboard

but didnt want too

I have had nothing but problems with gigabyte stuff, before I used asus and never had a problem

[eDaniel]

That won't work on most modern power supplies, as they're switched so they'll only show power if they are under load. Worth a shot just in case though

There is single 5V rail and probably one or two 12V rails. Just let the PC run under load, take one of the molex connectors and measure the voltage - you will be measuring the voltage for the given rail under load. In this case, it doesn't matter whether the PSU is switching or not. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Here is my general advice for this case:
- turn the PC off and clean the internals carefully with a brush and vacuum cleaner
- inspect the motherboard capacitors for swelling and/or leaks
- remove the PSU and with all cables disconnected take the mobo connector (20 or 24 pin) and short out the green wire with any of the black wires. You can use paper clip for that purpose. You should use ceramic resistor for that purpose. This will turn on the PSU. Listen for high-frequency noises.
- disassemble the PSU and then check all capacitors inside
- check 5V and 12V voltages on a running PC

[indigolemon]

That won't work on most modern power supplies, as they're switched so they'll only show power if they are under load. Worth a shot just in case though

There is single 5V rail and probably one or two 12V rails. Just let the PC run under load, take one of the molex connectors and measure the voltage - you will be measuring the voltage for the given rail under load. In this case, it doesn't matter whether the PSU is switching or not. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Ah right, got you man. I was thinking with the PSU on a bench.

[judderod]

There is single 5V rail and probably one or two 12V rails. Just let the PC run under load, take one of the molex connectors and measure the voltage - you will be measuring the voltage for the given rail under load. In this case, it doesn't matter whether the PSU is switching or not. Correct me if I'm wrong.

SMPS's don't always show vdrop where the current is maxed out (unlike linear PSU's). It's still worth doing as a vdrop of about 20% or more is a definite indicator of a problem. Also be sure to check the AC voltage at the same time. It should be < 5% of VDC.

- remove the PSU and with all cables disconnected take the mobo connector (20 or 24 pin) and short out the green wire with any of the black wires. You can use paper clip for that purpose. This will turn on the PSU. Listen for high-frequency noises.

Sorry mate but please don't do this.

Wiki: 'SMPSs have an absolute limit on their minimum current output.[2] They are only able to output above a certain power level and cannot function below that point. In a no-load condition the frequency of the power slicing circuit increases to great speed, causing the isolated transformer to act as a Tesla coil, causing damage due to the resulting very high voltage power spikes. Switched-mode supplies with protection circuits may briefly turn on but then shut down when no load has been detected. A very small low-power dummy load such as a ceramic power resistor or 10-watt light bulb can be attached to the supply to allow it to run with no primary load attached.'

[eDaniel]

You are right, mate. Ceramic resistor is the correct way to do this! In fact, I have tested a lot of PSUs using this method and never had a single failure but indeed, one should use a ceramic resistor (or PSU tester) for this purpose.

[Drax]

I've ran a full scan on my Mcafee internet security (just updated) and it never found anything, Maybe Mcafee's just crap?

I've downloaded 'Core temp' so I can keep an eye on the CPU temp. It will bring up a notice if the core temp goes towards red (90 degree C I believe) so that will rule out faulty fans.

I'll need to look into the faulty PSU. Anyway to tell if it is this via an event log or is it just replace and see?

it's most likely hardware related issue mate, but if you want to i can try and find the time to remote onto your pc this wkend and check the event log (IF theres anything there), otherwise its part replacement time. any capacitors blown on the motherboard?

[BMCC]

Cheers for all the advice. Its taken me 15 mins just to get to this page (from page 2) as the computer keeps shutting down. I'll try donwloading some other anti virus and giving that a run and see.
As far as I can tell the CPU isn't overheating as the prog core temp says all 4 cores are running 40-50 deg C *side of computer is off, so plenty of ventillation). I have taken out 1 stick of ram and ran the computer on that and it shuts down so it's now running just the other. If it doesn't shut down all day then I'll know where the problems lie? Or could it still be the MB?
I'll have a look at the capacitors etc on the MB and see if any of them show signs of degredation.
Just now I don't think anybody could remotely connect to the computer as it ain't on long enough!

BMCC

[JayJay]

40-50 degrees idling? And what about the motherboard and the graphics card?

[BMCC]

40-50 degrees idling? And what about the motherboard and the graphics card?

When surfing the web... Is this good bad or indifferent

MB and Graphics card? I'll need to find a program for that. Anyone know of one?