New GPU causes PC to restart

[Vanders]

I recently installed a new Radeon R9 290X in my computer and sometimes during gaming it will restart abruptly.

I have read that this is most likely due to an insufficient PSU but I believe the wattage of my PSU is around 850 watts, isn't that enough?

Also, my old card required two 6 pin connectors, whereas the new one required a 6 and 8 pin connectors. I used two 6 pin ones and a 2 pin one, is there any limitation to using the 2 pin one to make up 8 pins. So many pins!!!

And can you guys suggest any higher wattage compact PSUs?

[Bad 💀 Motha]

What you mean a 2pin one?
There is no stand alone 2pin connector for that.

You mean 1x 6pin and 1x 6+2pin (6+2 means it is an 8pin, but can act as a 6pin at any time, as the extra 2pin is not a perminent part of the connector)

What brand & model# of Power Supply are u using?
What are the rest of your hardware specs?

[_I_]

for the pci-e power connectors, on the 6+2 connector +2pin are extra grounds
and not necessary fi the card is grounded by the pc case

290x is a 300w gpu, most systems without a gpu are under 300w
a quality 600w should run that without any problems

[Vanders]

Thanks for clearing up the pin business, I thought the 2 pin was stand alone but as you said it is just part of the 8 pin but separated.

Is it worth opening the pc back up and ensuring they are plugged in tightly?

The PSU is 875w so this should be enough right?

Just grabbed my dxdiag to ensure I don't miss anything (I'm still a bit nooby):

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.130828-1532)
Alienware Aurora-R4
BIOS Date: 09/25/13 16:58:46 Ver: 04.06.05
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3930K CPU @ 3.20GHz (12 CPUs), ~3.2GHz
Memory: 16384MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 16302MB RAM
Page File: 3588MB used, 29014MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode

AMD Radeon R9 290 Series
AMD Radeon Graphics Processor (0x67B0)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_67B0&SUBSYS_0B001002&REV_00
Display Memory: 4095 MB
Dedicated Memory: 3072 MB
Shared Memory: 1023 MB
Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Alienware AW2310 (HDMI)
Monitor Model: Alienware2310
Monitor Id: DEL4052
Native Mode: 1920 x 1080(p) (60.000Hz)
Output Type: HDMI

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

Much more likely it's the heat issue. R9 290X runs hot as hell and if you have small case with bad ventilation it will overheat and shut the PC down to protect the card.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Again what is the brand + model of the PSU?
Forget the wattage # for a second. If it's crap quality, that matters much more than anything else.

And yes I would power down the system, unplug the main power cable, remove the PCI-E power cables, remove the card; then reinsert the card ensuring it is installed securely. Further secure it via the chassis screw(s) and then reinstall the PCI-E power cables nice and firmly.

Recheck your other power cables, just incase, such as the main 24pin PSU power cable and the 12V CPU power cable.

Once in Windows, monitor your CPU & GPU temps with monitoring software and see if they are getting too high. Or let us know what they are.

[SHON]

引用自 Rumpelcrutchskin：

Much more likely it's the heat issue. R9 290X runs hot as hell and if you have small case with bad ventilation it will overheat and shut the PC down to protect the card.

That's what first popped into my head, after hearing what how hot those 290x get.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Especially if it is using the one fanned AMD reference design. As opposed to how ASUS, Gigabyte, or other brands tend to do theirs with a large 2 or 3 fanned cooler.

And a 290X is on par with GTX 780, so yea it gets HOT.
U will need sufficient case cooling, and maybe even manually raising the GPU Fan RPM (with an app like MSI Afterburner) in order to keep it cooled down during game sessions.

[Vanders]

Ok I don't have time today to check out my PSU and replug everything right now but i quickly did a check of the temperature when it shuts down. It sits on 39c when idle but, using Rome II, it turned off around 83c but the temperature changes so quickly it may have jumped suddenly as the battle I set up became more stressing between checking it and going back into the game.

I'll check the rest tomorrow.

However I have to say my old GPU, which was a Radeon 7900 series (forgot exactly which) never shut down and I play Rome II with the same graphic settings. I cant benchmark in Rome II or use Heaven Benchmark without it shutting down at some point.

[Astori Heichalot]

R9 290X is a powerful card, but a really bad factory colling case.

some games push the card beyond 70-80%, and 290X is (not extreme) but alot hotter than other cards.

shutting down could be caused by overheating the GPU ram, thus causing the hardware failure, and would ended up restarting the PC or just crashing it.

firstly, if you look at the side of your 290x there is a small switch (viewing on installed card on mobo)
if you turn it to LEFT it will set the card into "quiet" mode, almost the same as calming it down.
while turning to the RIGHT set to "uber" mode, which is very hot & loud.
try changing that switch and see if it does help (SYSTEM MUST BE OFF PRIOR TURNING THE SWITCH)

secondly, I see you have a good rig already, how about investing a little (well...) more on custom cooling? well ofcourse custom cooling is voiding the warranty since you have to take off the body case.

hope this helps

[Vanders]

I have opened up my case, replugged my gpu and also tried the switch but the problem is persisting. I couldn't see anything to tell me what my actual PSU is, but I assume it's the standard "875w" one in all Auroras.

I also just went into the Windows Experience Index just because it was telling me I need to re-run the assessment and about two seconds into running it, my computer restarts. That should not stress my computer at all should it, espeacially as it had just begun.

I can run Skyrim with plenty of texture mods without the computer restarting, but no benchmarks. Heaven causes it to turn off when nearing the end and Rome's benchmark shuts the computer off almost immediately. I suppose that means I need a better PSU?

[Bad 💀 Motha]

If WEI fails, crashes and/or restarts the system; this can happen for various reasons.
Corrupted files is most likely, such as OS files, DirectX files, or corrupted GPU Driver files.
But don't rule out the PSU, due to the fact that as soon as the WEI starts the DX part of the test (which comes first) your GPU is basically pushed to 100% load during this, so I would also suspect a faulty GPU, or the PSU is not capable of fully handling that GPU under full loads.

To rule out anything file related, try this...

> From Windows Desktop, open Command Prompt as Admin, by pressing Winkey+R, type CMD and then enter key, or click ok. CMD Window should popup, type SFC /SCANNOW which will verify all the core kernel OS files. This can take quite some time to complete (30-60 mins in most cases) so do it when u have time, as u don't want to interrupt this process. If all checks out, move on to the next thing.

> Reinstall DirectX runtime using the full redist package provided by Microsoft >
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8109
Download, run, and when asked where to extract the files, select a temp folder, such as C:\Temp (or folder of your choosing, long as it is not any system folders). Once files are extracted, go to that folder and right click the DXSETUP.EXE file and click Run As Admin. This will reinstall all of the DX files back into the correct OS system folders. After this, restart Windows and re-try the WEI test. If still fails, try next thing.

> Uninstall your AMD Radeon/Catalyst GPU Drivers via Control Panel > Programs and Features. After they are removed, restart Windows when asked. When back at desktop, let Windows install the generic vga display device, which is normal. If asked to restart Windows, please do that. Once back at desktop, download the latest AMD Radeon R9 drivers, which are here >
http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/latest-catalyst-windows-beta.aspx
simply click where it says; AMD Catalyst™ 13.11 Beta9.5 for Windows®​​ ~ Once downloaded, right click the file and click Run As Admin. When the install is finished, restart Windows when asked. After this if your resolution is not correct, u can adjust that later. But for now re-try the WEI test again and see if it completes.

[Warrior2023]

I'd suggest getting a 80+ gold corsair power supply and see if that fixes the problem. If not, it's most likely the video card or motherboard. Hope you get this sorted out. I'd suggest contacting Alienware about this problem before doing anything else though.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Contact Alienware if still under warranty. They could possibly have a tech come out and check the PSU and replace if needed.

They are usually good about such things and really aren't too bad when come to replacing parts that are suspect.

If your new Radeon R9 is not from them, and the PSU is not the problem, I would perhaps return the GPU to the place of purchase.

[Vanders]

The WEI worked fine this time after completing the first two steps but the restart still occurs unfortunately when benchmarking.

I really don't think any of the parts are deffective; if I were to reinstall my old GPU everything would be fine, that doesn't rule out the R9 though.

I will try getting a new PSU. Would the 860w AX860i Digital ATX Power Supply be a good buy?

By the way thanks a lot for all your input guys, espeacially Bad-Motha.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

At this point, I would either contact Alienware and see if it's possible to get the PSU replaced under warranty. Or take the system to a local shop (or to a tech friend) and try a different PSU to help rule out the new GPU being defective. If a new or replacement PSU can run the Radeon R9 without such issues, then that would point towards the current PSU as being your problem.