Sudden Reboots...

Hey guys new to majorgeeks! I come to you guys with a problem I have yet to be able to solve. Ever since I got a new q6600 and 4gb OCZ 800mhz ram, my computer has been suddenly restarting regardless of whether the CPU is under load or not. Here are my specs:
Thermaltake 500w psu (I have yet to figure out if my PSU is failing)
evga 8800gtx
kentsfield q6600
4gb ocz ddr2
evga 680i LT SLI

My cpu has a really good cooler on it, I know that overheating isn't the problem. I have since been fooling around with all of the bios settings. It started doing these reboots right after I got the cpu and ram, and ever since, ive been lowering the clocks consistently just to get the computer to boot and be stable. Right now though, the computer wont even load into windows.
I have downloaded both new drivers for the mobo and GPU, and I recently flashed the BIOS with the newest version for the mobo.

Thanks for any future help guys!

Martin

 

:wave Welcome to Major Geeks! :major

It sounds like a possible power supply problem. But it could be just about anything at this point. I'd start with one memory stick and see if that makes any difference. I'd also reset the BIOS to defaults and see if that helps. A stronger power supply may be a good idea too.

 

I agree with dlb. The 8800GTX sucks power like nothing else! Try this little PSU calculator to see what's recommended;

http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

 

It is a power problem, Those components will be eating power like no tomorrow, look at getting a 700w PSU that will allow for upgrades in the future too.

 

Power is a possible problem, as stated previously. I would also check out the CPU temps. Core Temp is a good program, not sure if this is the newest version: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download5665.html

It is free and will eliminate heat as an issue. The Q6600 can be a little tricky to get the heatsink mounted right.

 

Yeah, definitely needs more power. I'm hoping we'll eventually be able to plug a Videocard into it's own powersupply. You can now, but it doesn't supply power because the Mobo hasn't told it to do so.

But yes, it does sound like faulty RAM could be the culprit. I just recently fixed a laptop with the same problem. A few years ago I might have suggested in sufficient RAM. Check to make sure you don't have something that's running multiples. I had to disable my Anti-Virus because it was repeatedly starting scans until it destabilized the entire system.

 

I've used the wattage calculators before, and the maximum wattage i can get out of them is around 400w. Im going to try putting in different ram and seeing if that fixes the problem. Im also looking at a new psu, theyre so expensive! this is my idea: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

 

I had similar problems with a new build and found CPU to be bad.

My CPU was a Kentsfield Q6600.

It worked but kept randomly rebooting, swapped out and problem went away.