Chuck replied to Zmalamuth Mamoth
12-Nov-09 04:26 PM

Leading causes are:
Drivers (Obsolete, buggy, or corrupt)
Hardware--
RAM, MBD Ram settings, Poor cooling (CPU, Video GPU, MBD chipset)
Power Supply a 620 w PS may be a bit small if the failures occur during
heavy 3d use.
(All power supplies are NOT equal!)
Overclocking
I have a system with an ATI Diamondmm HD 4890, Phenom II 955, and 4G OCZ
Ram, 2HDD, & DVD burner
The PS is a "true" 910 W single buss supply with about 80-90% efficiency
Max draw is around 580-600w in 3d games, according to the UPS. The CPU & GPU
can reach ~55deg C, with "stock"
heatsink fans and more than adequate airflow in the case. A bit of custom
baffling can reduce temps by a deg. C or so.
(5 case fans, One top, two lower front, one upper rear, one (180mm) side),
plus the usual PS internal and CPU& GPU fans
Creative Labs Drivers and Logitech drivers are also possible suspects, based
upon past reputation.
When you say random, is any particular task or app software in use at the
time of failure?