My sons PC turning off randomly - looking for help !

[jamesy505]

My sons PC has been turning off at random times for the last couple of weeks. I'm looking to see what troubleshooting we can do.

There is no error message, it just cuts off. This happens only when he is in a game - Dead by Daylight and Armoured Core 6 to name a couple. It doesnt crash to desktop, it completely turns off and restarts. It is happening maybe 2-3 times a week.

Could anyone provide any steps of what we should be looking for / checking to see if we can pinpoint the issue.

The PC is a OcUK Gaming Ballista - Gaming PC For Doom Eternal - AMD Ryzen 5 AMD Radeon RX purchased in 2020.

If you need any further info, please shout.

Thanks in advance

 

[jamesy505]

Turn off XMP/DOCP.

Monitor the temperatures while gaming, to make sure everything looks alright and the fans are still spinning (e.g. with hwinfo).

Check the power cables are all firmly connected and nothing looks loose.

Thanks.

We've checked XMP in the BIOS and it was already disabled.

Power cable was fine, but we made sure it was fully in.

hwinfo has been downloaded. At the moment, max current temp of CPU hit 77.5C (the top line in the screen) in the couple of mins it was running. Average was around 62C. Min was approx 52C

He is going to start logging when he is playing tomorrow to see how it looks if it crashes.

 

[jamesy505]

It might all be fine, but at least you'll have an idea what's happening.


For gaming that is probably fine.

What PSU was fitted to the PC?

It was a Kolink Classic Power 700W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply that was fitted.

The GPU is a RX5700 XT 8GB

 

[jamesy505]

I would be looking at the PSU.

It is a budget PSU with only a 3 year warranty and you have had it ~ 4 years.

Also you would be best enabeling XMP as your RAM will be running at 2133mhz not 3000mhz and ryzen likes fast RAM.

Thanks, I don't think my son has been into the BOIs before, so the XMP has been disabled since getting the PC.

But we can give it a try.

 

[jamesy505]

Could be your PSU is overheating and shutting off. Check airflow to it, and make sure the PC is clean of dust. More info:

If a PC power supply (PSU) gets too hot, it can shut off to prevent damage. Overheating can be caused by several factors, such as:

• Overloading: Drawing more power than the PSU can handle.
• Fan failure: If the PSU fan stops working, it can’t cool down properly.
• Poor ventilation: Inadequate airflow inside or outside the PC case.
• Dust buildup: Dust can block airflow and cause overheating.

To prevent this, ensure your PSU is adequately powered, clean the inside of your computer regularly, and check that all fans are functioning properly

Cheers, I'll check his PC for dust etc.

Would the hwinfo program monitor the PSU fan speeds, so we could see if they are normal?

And just out of curiosity, how easy is it to replace a PSU for someone that doesn't dabble inside a PC?

 

[jamesy505]

An update - on the Dead by Daylight menus, the CPU temp is hitting 90.

I'll get on giving the PC a clean.

Is compressed air still the recommended cleaning product?

 

[jamesy505]

Not normally.


It depends on how much room you have inside the case and where the PSU is located.

If the case is small and the PSU is inconveniently located, you might have to remove nearly everything which is almost like building a new PC.

If the PSU is conveniently located and the case is roomy, then it can be relatively simple and maybe just the graphics card has to come out.

It seems quite spacious, but I'll need to have a look how to get into the PSU as it looks like it's under some kind of shelf/base unit (if that makes sense?)

 

[jamesy505]

So PC temps below, when in Dead by Daylight game.

https://ibb.co/Y3qMR43 - hope this works as dont know how to post image onto the forum

 

[jamesy505]

Umm, I'm not sure. But, the important point in terms of: how hard is this? Is whether pulling out the PSU with all the cables is going to snag on everything so bad that you need to remove practically the whole PC first.

You'd also have to check how much room you have around the power plugs to pull them out.


On first glance that looks bad, because 100c is throttle temp and we're only in a game here, so not something super CPU intensive.

What kind of cooler does it have?

There is no specific cooler mentioned. It was a pre-built PC from OCUK, so I'd assume their standard/basic? Fan on the CPU and one at the back is all there is

 

[jamesy505]

A lot of cases have the PSU under a shelf/shroud.

This video will give you a idea of how to swap the PSU.

Yeah that sounds about right, it's under what looks like a metal plating/shelf

 

[jamesy505]

So another update...PC has been cleaned. Temps down to average of 60-80 in game.

Turns out when my son cleaned his pc before, he never cleaned at the CPU.

Hoping the issue is resolved, but will update if any further issues.

Thanks everyone fornyour help so far