X58 Pro-E power cycles several times then works fine

D

digitalis3

New member
PRIVATE FIRST CLASS
Joined
Dec 10, 2009
Messages
6
I bought a X58 Pro-E a few months ago and I've always had this problem: The system will power up and be active for about 10 seconds then power down, repeating this process a few times.  When it does this it does not get past the BIOS.  The BIOS appears to be functioning correctly and sometimes I get a error message that says something about "the previous overclocking failed", however I have never overclocked the machine. 

After a few tries the system boots up fine and is completely stable.  I use it as my main computer and can play games with no problems.  Because of this problem I have tended to leave the machine on.  I know I should have immediately dealt with this problem but I've had bad experiences dealing with defective parts before and just put it off.

I'm pretty sure this is a problem with the motherboard and would like to get it replaced.

i7-920
6 gigs of Patriot Viper DDR-1333
Seasonic S12-II 380W PSU
Radeon 4890
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
I found this thread (https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=130786.0)

and the person had a similar problem.  It ended up being the video card!  I have an MSI Radeon HD 4890.  Now I'm really not sure what the problem is.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Instead of suspecting the graphics card, I suggest that you test with a more powerful PSU first.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
When I built this computer I used Ars Technica's guide to spec out my system.  They recommend 380W PSUs for all of their single card systems.  I believe they have stated that many enthusiasts use PSUs that are overpowered for their systems, especially for single card non-OC'd systems. 

http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/15293/10

That graph suggests that with my 380W PSU I am nowhere near the limit for my PSU.  If I had SLI or Crossfire setup then I would get a higher rated PSU.   

I have a hard time believing that my PSU is underpowered, considering that the problem happens at boot up when the system isn't even drawing max power.  And I have no problems playing games-- Crysis maxed out runs fine.  The system is drawing max power in that situation and I've never had any problems.

That said, I'm on this forum for help.  I'm not against buying a new PSU but obviously that is one a choice of last resort considering I would have to pay more money.  Some people just don' t have spare PSUs layiing around.

I just used http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine and got 312W at 90%, 347W at 100%. 
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Digitalis3,  AMD/ATI recommends at least a 500w or greater power supply for that series card system wide.  At boot the system is drawing probably the extreme amount of amperage, (ie. hard drives are spinning up, fans drawing a maximum, cpu initializing).  Joe is correct.  You should probably test with a stronger source of power to be certain.  If I'm not mistaken that Seasonic is two rails at 17 amps per and 380 watts.  That is too weak for a modern system.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
chef jeff said:
Digitalis3,  AMD/ATI recommends at least a 500w or greater power supply for that series card system wide.  At boot the system is drawing probably the extreme amount of amperage, (ie. hard drives are spinning up, fans drawing a maximum, cpu initializing).  Joe is correct.  You should probably test with a stronger source of power to be certain.  If I'm not mistaken that Seasonic is two rails at 17 amps per and 380 watts.  That is too weak for a modern system.
Click to expand...

The hard drive is not going to draw more at bootup compared to normal use.  The main power draw is the motor and its running full speed the whole time.  Same thing with fans.  The cpu does not draw more power at bootup.  There might be a slight increase in power drawn compared to idle but it is nowhere near the power on a fully utilized system playing a game.  Like I said, the system definitely draws full power playing a game like crysis maxxed out and I have no problems.

Add to this the fact that lots of people use 380W PSUs with these cards and have no problems.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Henry said:
Before this goes much further read >> Posting Guide << and create a signature. Be a bit more specific with your hardware listing brand names and models. Include all installed hardware not just some of it.
Click to expand...

Ok, done. 

Also note that reboots typically do not cause any trouble.  Cold starts always mean several retries before it boots up.

Yeah I just tested this again.  Soft reboots are fine, Hard reboots cause trouble.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
The reason why I suggest that you try with a more powerful PSU is due to your cold boot issue. Usually, more power is needed for cold booting a device as the capacitors need alot of power to charge up and kick start the devices. I'm not asking you to buy a PSU yet but to borrow something more powerful to test out.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
For a system with a 4890, it is recommended that you have a PSU capable of 32A on the +12v rail--a single +12v rail would be best.  I would recommend no less than a Corsair VX 550--a Corsair VX450 might squeak by, but I would go for the VX 550 version.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Back
Top