Solved: Windows7 machine freezing and blue screening after power supply and graphics

[audi0fix]

Just bought a HP Elite-400f machine. I replaced the stock power supply (which was 300w max) with a 550w rocketfish. I also replaced the wimpy stock video card with a 9800gtx+. The computer worked great for a while, but then i started getting trouble.

Symptoms:
Randomly freezes(total freeze. mouse will not move, keyboard yields no response)
Randomly reboots
When I bring it back up after a random reboot there's no response on monitor, but it comes up after I reboot again
I've got a blue screen a couple times that says something about memory. It's almost too quick to read.
Once it let off a series of steady beeps one after another very rapidly. I've never herd a beep code like it before.

Attempted so far:
Checked all cables
Updated video drivers
Ran factory reset

My specs are:
HPE-400f [Windows 7 Home premium 64bit]
Motherboard: H-ALvorix-RS880-uAtx
RAM: 8gig DDR3 10600u
Video 9800gtx+
Processor: AMD phenom II 945 quad

I'm really at a loss here, and this is my main use computer. Can anybody help me out?

 

[leroys1000]

I would be looking at that rocketfish power supply.
You don't want to use cheap,house brand power supplies.
The power supply is the foundation of your computer.
Using one that doesn't provide enough power can damage
your computer.
The 9800 can pull more than 200 watts on it's own.
That is not including all the other components.
Cheap power supplies just don't hold up under heavy loads.

 

[dustyjay]

Were the beeps a two tone beep like a european police siren? If so this is usually a CPU Overheat warning. I would also suspect the low quality of the Rocketfish power supply as a problem.

 

[audi0fix]

Alright, I'll have to try a new power supply. Any recomendations on what kind? I also suspected a RAM frequency issue. How do I manually change that?

 

[leroys1000]

Make sure the ram is set to automatic and SPD.
That should auto configure it.
Some DDR3 memory uses custom voltages.
You may need to check the specs on the memory and manually set
the voltage to what it requires.
Antec,corsair,OZC,thermaltake,some others as far as power supply manufacturers go.
You want to get a fairly high current output and try to stick with a power supply
that uses a single rail to make sure it is not split up and possibly not delivering
enough power to some of the components.
A single rail will deliver steady adequate power to all components.
If you find one you are interested in,you might post a link here.
Probably want to look at something like 600 Watt plus with around
50 amps or better on the 12 volt rail.
Might be able to get by with a bit less current than that,but more is better
to prevent it from being under powered.

 

[crjdriver]

When I check the specs on your pw supply, it gives no reference to specific amp ratings, etc. I would be highly suspect of any pw supply that will not publish specs. Here is a link to a decent pw supply; $75 after MIR.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
I agree most likely a problem with the pw supply. One other thing to consider. Big box systems are designed for specific hardware. When you swap in a high end video card, you are generating more heat. The case is not designed to dissipate that amount of heat. You may need to install additional fans and or a new case.

 

[audi0fix]

Thanks, that gives me some good targets to look for as far as a power supply. But there are still a few things that aren't quite adding up.

My bios set doesn't give me any options like the ones you mentioned above (leroys1000). Anything i can do to change that besides buying another motherboard?

How exactly can I tell if the psu has a "single rail" will that be advertised?

The weirdest thing is I ran the same exact card and power supply on my HP dual core machine for almost 2 years without any trouble. No heat problems, no random shut downs. I guess it could be that the inscreased specs on the new one require even more power, but I ran an antec wattage calculator with my current specs and it said the setup only requires 412w even with a 100w allowance the 500w I'm running should be enough shouldn't it?

Is it possble my machine could have heating problems without it actually being hot?
because sometimes this problem occurs almost immediately after turning the machine on before it has time to heat up. I've also kept close tabs on the temp of the hair coming out the back, it's never been hot or even really warm even during heavy 3d games.

 

[crjdriver]

How exactly can I tell if the psu has a "single rail" will that be advertised?

If you check the specs on the one I linked to, you will see a single 12V rail. With your current pw supply, they do not even post specs SO I would doubt it is of decent quality. Quality in a pw supply is MUCH more important than a simple wattage rating.

 

[audi0fix]

Roger that.
I'm trying to find something local because I'm really off my feet without my PC but my options are limited locally.
I did find this local for $79
Would this be a bad or good choice?
http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?C=1247&id=1898#Tab1

 

[leroys1000]

That is a dual rail power supply and only 72% efficiency.
So knock off almost 30% for continuous power output.
What stores do you have locally?

Using the factory bios,you probably have limited options.
You may get some by switching certain settings from automatic to manual,
but more than likely not.
If you are using the memory that came preinstalled,it should be compatible
and automatically configured anyway as HP would have the bios setup for
the hardware they would be using.

 

[audi0fix]

Bestbuy, a few local shops, mainly comp repair. Sam's club, radioshack. Nothing that really helps me out much.

 

[leroys1000]

Yeah,bestbuy has a limited selection and are over priced.
Local computer stores usually have a better selection but their prices are even higher.
You might check out the corsair posted above and see how much expedited shipping is.
I wouldn't keep trying to run the computer if the power supply is bad.
It will just cause more problems.
I know what you mean being without your computer.
That is why I have one for internet/gaming one for an HTPC and
one for backup.

 

[audi0fix]

Yeah, I'll have to order one I guess. I normally have a couple pcs running on a kvm, but I did a two way transplant from one to the other. Now neither of them want to cooperate. I'll deal with the older one after I fix the new one though. Thanx for the advice guys and I'll let you know if a fresh psu fixes my prob when it comes in.

 

[audi0fix]

The new psu came in and I installed it. I also put the rocketfish power supply back in my other desktop. Which I did discover after I removed it again is a single rail psu (it was on a sticker that was covered up). Still never found an efficiency rating though. So far both machines are working great. I've only been running the new psu for a couple days now, and the problem last time didn't manifest itself until a week of use. So I hope that it will permanently fix this issue, but I have a suspicion that you guys were right on the money about the power supply not being able to handle the load well. So thanks for the help! I'm going to keep using this forum in the future as well. I jumped on here for that question alone, but I got good help, so I plan on coming back when I have another.

 

[crjdriver]

Hopefully it is fixed