Reboots with a top of the line system

Ok, everything I read tells me that my powersupply is going. I am having such a hard time accepting that though! Is there a super power hungry program or benchmark/stress test program out there that will prove whether it my PSU?

Symptoms:

Random reboots WHEN ON SECOND LIFE ONLY. Started just a few weeks ago. Nothing else causes a reboot. Only second life. Tried Prim 95 stress test and 3Dmark. Passes with flying colors.

Specs: Seasonic (modular) 700 watt power supply (model # SS 700-HM); Athlon dual core 4400+ CPU; 2 GB Memory, ATI X1950 pro 256 MB video card. EVERY POSSIBLE DRIVER/SOFTWARE UPDATED TO THE LATEST.

I'm at a loss. Would appreciate advice. Second Life has been working like a champ for me with this very setup for about 9 months now. I just can't imagine tossing a $250 PSU without proof that it is faulty. How else can I test it?

Thx so much in advance to anyones input...

you can get a little checker at most computer stores, but that really wont do too much good, they only test for basic operation, not under load stress

honestly if 3dmark isnt doing it then its probally not a hardware issue, if you havent already do the SL dance ... that is

uninstall
delete all folders (including that hidden one in my documents)
reinstall DirectX
update ALL drivers
Reinstall SL
and turn yourself around ... thats what its all about (sorry bad joke)

Check your voltages under load to see if they are less than they are suposed to be. Doubt it is the PS though. Everything should crash if it was not just SL. Probably a driver issue.

Thanks. i will do that tonight. I ran prime 95 all night, then looped 3dMark AT THE SAME TIME, without a hiccup. Can't be the PSU.

Crashes happen - what concerns me is complete reboots of my PC.

Voltages on your PSU should always remain within 10% of nominal operating voltages even under load. Check for ripple on all outputs using a bench oscilloscope under load. See if there is any switching frequency leakage on the rails too, indicative of failing capacitors/inductors that are introducing random noise into the system and creating false bus and memory read/writes.

Simple, no? *giggle* Seasonic makes a great product so I am very doubtful that is the problem, but it doesn't hurt to check.

Could be a heat problem, too.. Does your system and/or video card have some way of showing you it's temperature?

edit: probably not a heat problem, if you ran stress all night and it didn't complain. Still worth looking at, though.

The thing that had me thinking maybe the problem might be my PSU is the fact that it's a modular unit. Meaning the power cables and such are unplug-able from the PSU. I've heard that this isn't always the most stable design for a PSU - and although I never bought into that theory, these reboots had me reconsidering.

As for checking the voltages and stuff - i don't know much about that - thats why i just bought the biggest and baddest power supply, thinking I wouldn't *have* to worry about these sort of things!

*giggle* People buy Cadillacs for the same reason and what happens to nearly all of them after a little while? Yup, like anything else, they need a little TLC. That or they occasionally do produce a lemon despite holding themselves to a higher standard. A really good computer shop or a geek-friend can help you out. I can check a PSU for problems like you have been describing in just 5 minutes. Then I like to put it under a 20 minute stress-test load (I got the gadget for that too) and see what happens when it is thrashed up to 85% or more of its capacity. You will be surprised how many PSUs actually pop and burn when you get them within 15% of their rated/sticker load. So it is not necessarily a good thing to spend a ton of cash on these things unless they are of two specific brands that I have consistently tested to operate at their limits....indefinitely. But that is best left for another discussion!

The modular design is really no less efficient or reliable than the Molex connections used to hook up your drives, SLI connectors, SATA power connections, etc. As long as they are positively inserted, they will perform up to their rated capacity, no problem. It is when the connections are not inserted or wiggle free a little that you may have trouble. It induces noise on peripherals. It can also fake the PSU into thinking it is being short circuited when there is a sudden increase in load when an intermittent connection suddenly goes from high resistance to actually being connected. Try plugging in a hard drive into a junk PC already running. Chances are, the PSU will shut off if it doesn't dip so low for a moment under the new load and destabilizes the machine. So check and double check your work, avoid sharp bends or stress on the cables as much as possible, etc. See if the beast clears up for ya.