Power Supply unsure if the issue is my pico 160xt(crashing in overwatch)

[Stupend0usIVIan]

i recently changed the power source of my pc from a 500w sfx-L silverstone psu to a pico 160xt kit, powering my syste:
-i7 4790K at 3.5ghz at 1.015 V
-asrock z97E-ITX
-16gm crucial ddr3 1600
-evga gtx 1060 itx at 75% max power consumption in msi afterburner
-samsung 850 evo 500gb

When running artificial tests I run cinebench and heaven at the same time, and hwmonitor is telling me im drawing in the region of 55-175 W under full load, and i should be safe. However, occasionally when playing overwatch my pc will just shut off and restart, similar symptoms to what happened before I changed the clock of my cpu and gpu. Is the source of my crashing likely the pico, or is it something else. Worth noting is i never encountered the crashing before switching to the pico.

 

[CXH4]

i recently changed the power source of my pc from a 500w sfx-L silverstone psu to a pico 160xt kit, powering my syste:
-i7 4790K at 3.5ghz at 1.015 V
-asrock z97E-ITX
-16gm crucial ddr3 1600
-evga gtx 1060 itx at 75% max power consumption in msi afterburner
-samsung 850 evo 500gb

When running artificial tests I run cinebench and heaven at the same time, and hwmonitor is telling me im drawing in the region of 55-175 W under full load, and i should be safe. However, occasionally when playing overwatch my pc will just shut off and restart, similar symptoms to what happened before I changed the clock of my cpu and gpu. Is the source of my crashing likely the pico, or is it something else. Worth noting is i never encountered the crashing before switching to the pico.

I have my GTX 1060 powered down to 70% and i7 6700 power to 90%. It could be that the GPU is spiking at times and causing it to go over the wattage it can handle. I've had this same issue, but after lowering the 1060 to 70% I had no issues. I would also recommend trying to undervolt your CPU a tiny bit more as it does consume more power than a 65 Watt CPU, so it may take a bit more tweaking. Hope this helps!

 

[Stupend0usIVIan]

is it safe to undervolt the cpu even more? also noted about the 1060 i will try it.
Followup, i dont have a way to measure watts from the wall, so i was using hwmonitor for wattages, is this accurate?

 

[CXH4]

For me it is the opposite, I have a wattmeter, but I don't have any monitoring software. Also it is safe to undervolt a CPU. You have no risk of frying the CPU, if your CPU isn't stable it will most likely send you back to the BIOS. You can reduce the voltage by decrements of 0.005 until you reach a point that will send you back to the BIOS and leave it at the setting which is stable (the one before it being unstable). My CPU functions at 0.965 volts at 3.4Ghz, but since not all CPU's are the same, and yours is the 4th gen on the 22nm process, your results may not be the same or perhaps you could reduce your voltage more. It's just a matter of "silicone lottery" lol

 

[Thehack]

Many users have noted that the AC adapter can't quite handle an i7 and 1060. See if you can upgrade the adapter.

 

[Stupend0usIVIan]

For me it is the opposite, I have a wattmeter, but I don't have any monitoring software. Also it is safe to undervolt a CPU. You have no risk of frying the CPU, if your CPU isn't stable it will most likely send you back to the BIOS. You can reduce the voltage by decrements of 0.005 until you reach a point that will send you back to the BIOS and leave it at the setting which is stable (the one before it being unstable). My CPU functions at 0.965 volts at 3.4Ghz, but since not all CPU's are the same, and yours is the 4th gen on the 22nm process, your results may not be the same or perhaps you could reduce your voltage more. It's just a matter of "silicone lottery" lol

I have my 4790k at 3.5 ghz and 0.93 volts and my gtx 1060 at 67% tdp and i did not experience any crashing running prime95 blend test and unigine heaven ultra preset overnight. I wish i could lower the consumption of my cpu and increase the consumption of the gpu but for now im happy that it stayed fine without crashing. It was crashing consistently as i worked down my cpu and gpu

 

[Stupend0usIVIan]

Many users have noted that the AC adapter can't quite handle an i7 and 1060. See if you can upgrade the adapter.

Do you have any recommendations for 12v acdc adapters other than the meanwell, because the meanwell requires tuning and crimping and i dont have those tools here at college.

 

[Thehack]

Do you have any recommendations for 12v acdc adapters other than the meanwell, because the meanwell requires tuning and crimping and i dont have those tools here at college.

Any decent solution is going to require some tools. I highly recommend you buy a basic set of tools that comes with a crimper/stripper. It'll pay for itself when you need to fix something. You need to get rid of the 5mm barrel connector if you are using it. It's a fire hazard. You need to move up to at least a 7.4mm barrel, or a 4-pin connector of some sort.

If you are stateside, your choices include:
Dell (Alienware) 330W AC Adapter
Meanwell GST280A12
G-Unique Modded PSU (Imported)

None of these options are cheap.

 

[Stupend0usIVIan]

Any decent solution is going to require some tools. I highly recommend you buy a basic set of tools that comes with a crimper/stripper. It'll pay for itself when you need to fix something. You need to get rid of the 5mm barrel connector if you are using it. It's a fire hazard. You need to move up to at least a 7.4mm barrel, or a 4-pin connector of some sort.

If you are stateside, your choices include:
Dell (Alienware) 330W AC Adapter
Meanwell GST280A12
G-Unique Modded PSU (Imported)

None of these options are cheap.

im currently using the stock adapter that comes with that wierd 4 pin keyed connector. I dont know for sure but this shouldnt be a fire hazard. Also i appear to be stable at 70% power limit 1060 and undervolted underclocked i7 (i had to increase the voltage on the ram slightly for stability). However, in my case if i needed to i would probably buy a second pico kit, as it is cheaper and i can use a simple jumper, and run the graphics and ssd separately than the mobo/cpu

 

[Thehack]

im currently using the stock adapter that comes with that wierd 4 pin keyed connector. I dont know for sure but this shouldnt be a fire hazard. Also i appear to be stable at 70% power limit 1060 and undervolted underclocked i7 (i had to increase the voltage on the ram slightly for stability). However, in my case if i needed to i would probably buy a second pico kit, as it is cheaper and i can use a simple jumper, and run the graphics and ssd separately than the mobo/cpu

You're completely ignoring my advice. You are asking for advice but you seem you'd rather listen to your own advice.

1. If you are using the 5mm/2.5mm barrel connector, replace it. If you are using this one:

You are safe.

2. You need to replace the AC Adapter with one that is more capable. This has happened to at least two users on our forum and they remedied it by buying a more powerful AC Adapter.

Buying a second PICO board likely won't fix anything. Several users have had good success with the 160XT power an underclocked i7 + 1060. I am personally not a fan of that set up but it has been successful.

 

[Stupend0usIVIan]

You're completely ignoring my advice. You are asking for advice but you seem you'd rather listen to your own advice.

1. If you are using the 5mm/2.5mm barrel connector, replace it. If you are using this one:

You are safe.

2. You need to replace the AC Adapter with one that is more capable. This has happened to at least two users on our forum and they remedied it by buying a more powerful AC Adapter.

Buying a second PICO board likely won't fix anything. Several users have had good success with the 160XT power an underclocked i7 + 1060. I am personally not a fan of that set up but it has been successful.

1. I am using the pictured connector. Thanks for letting me know about the 5mm barrel being a fire hazard.

2. I am exploring what options i have for other powerbricks. My initial idea was that i could use a second pico to power the gpu only, as in this case both picos would be at around 120W load and should be fine. However, if i can resell my adaptech 192W adapter for enough money it might be better for me to buy the 280W meanwell. However, i have yet to see a single review of the meanwell so im going to hold off until i can find some verification.

 

[Thehack]

1. I am using the pictured connector. Thanks for letting me know about the 5mm barrel being a fire hazard.

2. I am exploring what options i have for other powerbricks. My initial idea was that i could use a second pico to power the gpu only, as in this case both picos would be at around 120W load and should be fine. However, if i can resell my adaptech 192W adapter for enough money it might be better for me to buy the 280W meanwell. However, i have yet to see a single review of the meanwell so im going to hold off until i can find some verification.

I think you're confusing a couple of fairly technical terms here.

When you say second "pico" you mean the actually PicoPsu 160XT or similar models right? The PicoPSU you are referring to doesn't make any power for your computer. All it does when you press the 'on' button is to allow power from your AC Adapter to power your GPU and CPU, aside from regulating 5v/3.3v. There is no point to getting a second "Pico." The issue is your AC-Adapter can't sustain the currents your system requires.

 

[Stupend0usIVIan]

I think you're confusing a couple of fairly technical terms here.

When you say second "pico" you mean the actually PicoPsu 160XT or similar models right? The PicoPSU you are referring to doesn't make any power for your computer. All it does when you press the 'on' button is to allow power from your AC Adapter to power your GPU and CPU, aside from regulating 5v/3.3v. There is no point to getting a second "Pico." The issue is your AC-Adapter can't sustain the currents your system requires.

i understand that the pico itself is dc-dc, but what im referring to is the pico kit that comes with the adaptech 192W ac brick. the reason i mentioned this is that i dont know if there is a way to power a single dcdc board with 2 acdc bricks.

 

[flacman]

I've experienced exactly the same issues as you, even with a 6700T; I think the 1060 just pulls a lot of power beyond what would be expected.

I felt that the PicoPSU 160XT+192W brick just didn't cut it for me even with some power throttling. Without throttles, my system would constantly suffer Kernel-Power unexpected shutdowns in the middle of gameplay (any CPU intensive game like Battlefield or Company of Heroes 2).

The HD-PLEX 160 with a 330W brick (mainly for spike overhead) with 80% throttling and 100Mhz Core/Memory underclocks, the system seems to perform just as well (smooth framerates) for the time I was actively playing both Battlefield and Quantum Break on maximum settings.

The only complaint with HD-PLEX is that I now have a tiny bit of coil whine.

 

[Thehack]

i understand that the pico itself is dc-dc, but what im referring to is the pico kit that comes with the adaptech 192W ac brick. the reason i mentioned this is that i dont know if there is a way to power a single dcdc board with 2 acdc bricks.

Then I don't quite understand how doing any of what you stated will resolve the issue. Buying a second kit doesn't solve the issue that you're using a weak AC-Adapter, now you'll just end up with two sets of AC Adapters. If you intend to use one AC adapter and use two Plug DC Board, then that doesn't solve anything. If you intend to use two AC-Adapter, and two Plug in DC Board, then you kind of didn't achieve much cause you just caused yourself more complexity.

All in all, just get a more powerful 12V AC Adapter and wire it in.

 

[flacman]

^ Second what @Thehack said. Get a G-Unique unit or HDPLEX 300W.

 

[Stupend0usIVIan]

Then I don't quite understand how doing any of what you stated will resolve the issue. Buying a second kit doesn't solve the issue that you're using a weak AC-Adapter, now you'll just end up with two sets of AC Adapters. If you intend to use one AC adapter and use two Plug DC Board, then that doesn't solve anything. If you intend to use two AC-Adapter, and two Plug in DC Board, then you kind of didn't achieve much cause you just caused yourself more complexity.

All in all, just get a more powerful 12V AC Adapter and wire it in.

^ Second what @Thehack said. Get a G-Unique unit or HDPLEX 300W.

Noted, thanks guys