PC a month old, randomly shuts down within minutes

Yer Majesty

Yer Majesty

Yer Majesty

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8 Oct 2017
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i bought a PC from overclockers just over a month ago, and as of yesterday it's started shutting down within minutes then just restarts itself. The trouble started yesterday when I switched it on and noticed a burning smell, so I instantly turned it off. The next day I opened it up and couldn't see anything visably burnt, but it now just switches off within a few minutes of being turned on if that. It does boot up fine, aside from the switching off. I've changed the CMOS battery and done the paper clip test on the PSU and that's fine. No idea what else it could be? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance

Specs below
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What temperature are your CPU and GPU hitting?

If you apply a high workload does it shut down instantly?

If you have a spare kettle lead, try using that.

As this is a pre-built PC. I would start talking with them about the issue.
 
new boy said:
What temperature are your CPU and GPU hitting?

If you apply a high workload does it shut down instantly?

If you have a spare kettle lead, try using that.

As this is a pre-built PC. I would start talking with them about the issue.
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I'm going to phone them tomorrow but the lines aren't open today.

And about 25 degrees when I briefly got to look, but it's hard to see anything when you've only got between 30 seconds and 2 minutes.

And it shuts down instantly doing nothing, I don't get chance to open anything

And thanks for your reply


EDIT: the weird thing is it seems to stay on longer if it's on its side with the side cover off, as soon as I try to put it upright it just goes dead again
 
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Yer Majesty said:
Well now it's not even booting..... Getting deja vu here, the pc this one replaced did the exact same thing.
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Sounds like the psu might have given up. The burning smell is more than likely coming from inside the unit. If you can afford a better power supply then I would ask them to change it for something else (If it turns out to be the psu). Something like a Corsair CX (Grey label) if you are on a budget.
 
lee32uk said:
Sounds like the psu might have given up. The burning smell is more than likely coming from inside the unit. If you can afford a better power supply then I would ask them to change it for something else (If it turns out to be the psu). Something like a Corsair CX (Grey label) if you are on a budget.
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Yeah possibly, sadly don't have another PSU to check. Thanks for the help guys I'll ring them tomorrow and see what I can do about it.



EDIT: oh no it's booting again. Now I'm even more confused.
 
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warren_1979 said:
Out of all of those components I'd say it was the PSU as its definitely the weak link but its just a guess.
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Thanks. It's definitely a possibility. It's remained on for just over an hour now while on its side with no cover on, seeing if it cuts out again. I've checked temperatures and they seem fine, between the PSU and the motherboard I think.
 
Yer Majesty said:
Can I have some recommendations for budget ish PSUs to look into from you guys?
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A 450W unit would be enough for an i3 and GTX 1060. You can go with a 550W if you want more headroom for the future i.e stronger cpu/gpu. I would go through the RMA process first with ocuk to make sure it is the psu at fault.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £118.44
(includes shipping: £10.50)



​
 
lee32uk said:
A 450W unit would be enough for an i3 and GTX 1060. You can go with a 550W if you want more headroom for the future i.e stronger cpu/gpu. I would go through the RMA process first with ocuk to make sure it is the psu at fault.
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Thanks, I'm definitely going to call them tomorrow and see what the say.

The most recent update is, it doesn't mind if the pc is stood up like usual or lay down, but if I put the side cover on properly it switches off and restarts immediately, and won't boot up at all with the cover on properly. Everythings around 30 degrees.. definitely isn't overheating.
 
Sounds like when you put the side on you're either pulling on / bending a cable, or there is a damaged wire, which is shorting on the side of the case if it works with no side on.
 
Munchies said:
Sounds like when you put the side on you're either pulling on / bending a cable, or there is a damaged wire, which is shorting on the side of the case if it works with no side on.
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Yeah possibly. Seems to particularly be the corner near the PSU but it did still cut out with the side not on properly after a couple of hours. I think this probably sounds silly but the cpu cooler is really tall and I think there's a chance a metal component on that could be touching the side as well, could that short it? Or only a wire?

Also potentially irrelevant side note, while it was on I played a game while monitoring the temp and it goes up to about 60 degrees, and is a little up and down but definitely seems unrelated to the cutting out. It cut out while I was in the game and out.
 
Yer Majesty said:
Yeah possibly. Seems to particularly be the corner near the PSU but it did still cut out with the side not on properly after a couple of hours. I think this probably sounds silly but the cpu cooler is really tall and I think there's a chance a metal component on that could be touching the side as well, could that short it? Or only a wire?

Also potentially irrelevant side note, while it was on I played a game while monitoring the temp and it goes up to about 60 degrees, and is a little up and down but definitely seems unrelated to the cutting out. It cut out while I was in the game and out.
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Side cover could be pressing down on the cooler, making the board flex a bit. Which is all it would take for a memory stick/slot (for example) to not work stably. But it would be odd for a Brocken ECO to not fit properly in a BitFenix Nova case. Not sure if it could also short just by lightly touching the side. Perhaps.

However, what makes the oddity irrelevant is that burning smell you mentioned. Definitely needs sending back and the source of that smell located and component replaced, plus checking for the other, possibly related, issue.
 
Danny75 said:
Side cover could be pressing down on the cooler, making the board flex a bit. Which is all it would take for a memory stick/slot (for example) to not work stably. But it would be odd for a Brocken ECO to not fit properly in a BitFenix Nova case. Not sure if it could also short just by lightly touching the side. Perhaps.

However, what makes the oddity irrelevant is that burning smell you mentioned. Definitely needs sending back and the source of that smell located and component replaced, plus checking for the other, possibly related, issue.
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The more it's gone on, and happened again twice with the additional issue of the monitor remaining black even though the tower appears on (fans moving etc) I'm pretty sure it will indeed be the PSU. If it happens without the side on it can't be pressure on the board, not alone anyway. I'll be glad to be able to phone them in the morning and see what can be done.
 
Yeah, at the end of the day, you have paid extra for someone to build the pc for you, so you might as well use the benefit you get from that and let OCUK sort it. Chances are, it's PSU but it could be anything really
 
new boy said:
Yeah, at the end of the day, you have paid extra for someone to build the pc for you, so you might as well use the benefit you get from that and let OCUK sort it. Chances are, it's PSU but it could be anything really
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The motherboards give signals when given components are not placed properly/there's something wrong with them.
 
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