*bump* So my desktop has randomly started hard-rebooting a few minutes after I turn it on, and sometimes I have to hit the reset button a few times before it actually starts booting (although the fans rev up and down a bit in the meantime). What would you guys suggest I should do in terms of debugging? I have some ideas, but I want to see what you have to say first. I should also mention that I don't have a lot in the way of spare/duplicate hardware to swap out.
Swap the screens around and disconnect them till it works, and narrow the monitors and ports down will you find the culprit(s).
Gudenau offers good advice. Also, you can start with one monitor and plug them in one at a time; start with 0 work your way to 5. If Windows keeps a record of errors (kernel panics, etc) look at it once you are able to keep the system running.
KermMartian wrote:
*bump* So my desktop has randomly started hard-rebooting a few minutes after I turn it on, and sometimes I have to hit the reset button a few times before it actually starts booting (although the fans rev up and down a bit in the meantime). What would you guys suggest I should do in terms of debugging? I have some ideas, but I want to see what you have to say first. I should also mention that I don't have a lot in the way of spare/duplicate hardware to swap out.

Have you changed anything hardware wise recently? It could be a faulty GPU going, random reboots could be bad ram, or possibly a failing PSU? If its not getting enough power all the time it might just shut down. Also what about overheating? I've had a friends computer that locked up from a dying HDD.. along with heat damage (I think) on the cpu from years of dust and dog hair buildup.
rcfreak0, I'll check thermal paste and dust buildup. I have not changed any hardware recently. My personal suspect is the PSU.

comic, gudenau: I think the GPU or monitors would just cause my screens to fail but the computer to remain on and accessible. That's not what I'm seeing at the moment.
Kerm, didn't you reuse your PSU from your old box? I would recommend getting a new one and see if that helps. Or borrow one from another machine to see if that helps.
TheStorm wrote:
Kerm, didn't you reuse your PSU from your old box? I would recommend getting a new one and see if that helps. Or borrow one from another machine to see if that helps.
I reused a 620-Watt Corsair PSU that was manufactured in about 2007, so I could easily believe it's dying. I'm afraid I would have trouble finding a replacement to swap in, but I'll ask around the office. I'm considering just trying to find a good deal around Black Friday / Cyber Monday and crossing my fingers.
KermMartian wrote:
TheStorm wrote:
Kerm, didn't you reuse your PSU from your old box? I would recommend getting a new one and see if that helps. Or borrow one from another machine to see if that helps.
I reused a 620-Watt Corsair PSU that was manufactured in about 2007, so I could easily believe it's dying. I'm afraid I would have trouble finding a replacement to swap in, but I'll ask around the office. I'm considering just trying to find a good deal around Black Friday / Cyber Monday and crossing my fingers.

0.o its only 650Watt? I would just assume that is the issue and just replace it, you were most likely working it near its max wattage which wore it out sooner.
TheStorm wrote:
0.o its only 650Watt? I would just assume that is the issue and just replace it, you were most likely working it near its max wattage which wore it out sooner.
620W, even. Smile I did the power calculations and I think I'm giving it at least a 30% margin under full load, but I could easily have made an error. What do you recommend these days in PSUs? Or should I just see what HardOCP has to say?
So Cool. these arrays of monitors reminds me of the film (about 5 to 10 years ago?) in which Sigourney Weaver plays a traumatised character who only communicates through forums and the internet and generally does not venture into the outside world.

Uhm...Smile
Haha, thanks for that implication. Razz I think I missed that film when it first came out. Anyway, I took a look around at the 750-800W supplies that [H]ard|OCP likes right now, and I'll probably use that plus whatever Newegg and Microcenter have on sale around Black Friday to decide what to buy.
*bump* After letting my desktop rest for a few days, it seems to be working again, but I still think it's a good idea to look for PSUs since the one in my machine is somewhat old and somewhat taxed. NewEgg has this one on sale for $90 for a 750W Antec PSU until Wednesday with code EMCWWVR38; AnandTech seems to think it's respectable.
KermMartian wrote:
*bump* After letting my desktop rest for a few days, it seems to be working again, but I still think it's a good idea to look for PSUs since the one in my machine is somewhat old and somewhat taxed. NewEgg has this one on sale for $90 for a 750W Antec PSU until Wednesday with code EMCWWVR38; AnandTech seems to think it's respectable.


Kerm, that doesn't look bad and anything from a known brand should be fine, PSU's aren't the most complex things and I'd expect the more established brands to do a decent job of not cutting corners. That said I'd suggest going for more overkill like 800W or 850W but that's just me.
*bump* I'm back to the PSU issue. I know that some of you swear by Hard[O]CP, and I agree that 800-850 Watts is what I should get, for future-proofing. Any thoughts on the Corsair or Antec supplies that NewEgg has on sale this weekend?
*bump* Just a few updates on my five-monitor desktop build:
:: Power Supply: I ended up buying an EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G2 220-G2-0850-XR 850W power supply on November 7th for a mere $110, installed it eleven days later, and have been very happy with it so far, knock wood. The cabling is much neater than my old 620W supply (which it turned out had modular cables anyway! I didn't realize), and my computer has been stable since I installed it.
:: Monitors: One of my four 22" Acer AL2216W monitor developed a green column that no amount of massaging the panel or its circuit board could fix. I did some research, looked at used AL2216Ws I could buy and pull the panel from, and eventually discovered that the A220Z1-H01 TN panel used in the Acer AL2216W was also used in the ViewSonic VX2235WM monitor (which also seems to have been branded as a Westinghouse monitor, perhaps)? I found a panel for $30 with free shipping on eBay, pulled off my left pair of 22" monitors this evening, transferring the power and signal PCBs from the old monitor onto the new panel, hooked it up again, and so far it's looking great. My color temperature settings were even stored in the signal PCB's EEPROM, so I didn't have to adjust the new panel at all.

Holy potato. That's a delicious looking setup Kerm! Smile
JamesV wrote:
Holy potato. That's a delicious looking setup Kerm! Smile
Thanks. Smile It's great for Unreal Tournament, Minecraft, AoE2, and movies and TV shows... I mean programming.
This is totally rad Kerm; thanks for sharing! <3 ily bro
Okay, my six-output Radeon HD 6950 is finally biting the dust after about 8 years, sadly; I need to get myself a new GPU, ideally as powerful as possible (for Train Simulator World and other games), especially since I've gotten to test out a GTX 1080 for a few days and was incredibly impressed with it, even though it could only drive three of my six monitors. I have a DisplayPort hub from EVGA, so I can get away with a 3-output card, but I really would prefer a solid 6-output card (ie, EyeFinity and hence AMD cards) for future-proofing. What is going to be the best bang for my buck for modern gaming?
I recently upgraded from a Radeon HD 7870 to an RX Vega 56, which I'm happy with so far (but I haven't done much to push it to its limits yet). 3x DisplayPort and 1x HDMI seems to be the primary (only?) configuration available on Vega cards right now.

Given I wouldn't recommend anything but Vega when limiting to AMD, choose your budget (deciding between a 56 or 64) and an OEM because there's very little to differentiate otherwise. The squirrel cage blower on the 56s and air-cooled 64 variants is a bit noisy (noticeably so in my otherwise very quiet system, but only under load when I usually have headphones on anyway), so you might prefer a more expensive 64 for that reason.
  
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