PC shuts down after exactly 1 hour 54 minutes

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Hi, so I built this PC recently out of some components I had already and some new components. The specs are: Intel Xeon X3440 not oveclocked with a stock intel heatsink MSI R9 270 ASUS P7Q57-M DO Motherboard 500GB Seagate Pipeline (refurbished) Aerocool 500W Integrator 80+ Bronze (brand new) 8GB Micron 1333MHz I was planning on using this for some light GPU mining on the side but I noticed it would shut down after a few hours.

To troubleshoot I left it idling with nothing running and it would still shut down after a while. I tried to take out the GPU and while I couldn't see anything on the display because it has no integrated graphics, it still managed to turn off after a few hours. One thing to note is that the PC usually shows a flashing power LED light after turning off on its own which apparently means it is in sleep mode but I have disabled all of the sleep modes.

Everything has always been completely clean with no dust whatsoever. I've replaced the thermal paste on the CPU and added an exhaust fan. I even left the side panel off and pointed a big desk fan at the case and kept everything at around 35C but it still turned off after a while.

Things I've done so far:
-Reinstalled Windows 10
-Changed all of the power settings to 'never' and turned off fast startup
-Replaced the CMOS battery / Switched the jumpers
-Updated the BIOS
-Changed thermal paste -Kept temps at 35C
-Checked for any damaged capacitors (none are damaged)
-Checked bios and tried changing suspend modes to S1 and S3 (no option for off)

At this point I have no idea if it is software or hardware because I've tried basically everything that I could find software related and as for hardware I decreased the load substantially and kept the temps really low. I'm quite desperate a this point as literally nothing I've done has helped so any suggestions are GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

**UPDATE** I just ran the PC for a while without any hard drive to test whether it was the OS causing it and it shut down again. This must mean it is hardware/BIOS related.

**SECOND UPDATE** Just tested the PSU with just a fan connected and managed to stay on for ~3 hours. Now testing the system without RAM.

**THIRD UPDATE** PC just turned off after 1h 54 minutes with no RAM in it, exactly the same amount of time as I recorded yesterday when doing tests. Can this be a BIOS fault if there is no RAM?
 
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While the timing is suspiciously consistent it does sound like there is some kind of hardware fault with the motherboard.

Capacitors can fail without visible signs (or the only visible sign is a very slight bulging) I had a network switch that took awhile to diagnose that would suddenly start going slow after an hour almost exactly from being power cycled due to a failing capacitor.
 
Sure sounds like possibly motherboard problem.
CPU itself should be basically either works well or crashes fast/instantly part.
Heck, without RAM I don't think CPU can even execute any code...

Can't find any official Xeon support for that motherbaord, so that might be part of problem.
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P7Q57M_DO/HelpDesk_CPU/


Patrick Covernton said:
was planning on using this for some light GPU mining on the side
Click to expand...
And then bought step above firebomb level garbage PSU...
There's reason why AeroCrap doesn't send reviewers PSUs.
Only review of that series shows (likely undersized) AsiaX alias Fuhjyyu in primary, with Su'scons and lot even more nameless caps in secondary.
(guess one of them might be Jianghai APC uses as break down timer in Back-UPS ES)
 
Do you have a different power lead you can try? while it would be pretty unusual it could be some issue with the fuse or something.
 
Could it be a poor signal wire / pin on the heatsink to the mobo causing an auto shutdown. Sorry if I have the wrong end of the stick just had a quick read of the thread.

Try running HSF of another header (3 / 4 pin) and plug another PWM fan to the CPU header to test.
 
Patrick Covernton said:
Surely if the CPU cant even execute code then it wouldnt matter if the CPU would be supported or not.
Click to expand...
Normal program code surely would have troubles without RAM, but BIOS/POST level code might still operate at some level in CPU's caches.
Not to mention CPU's own microcode.


Patrick Covernton said:
b) let the system fry my precious PSU
Click to expand...
You can't fry ATX specifications meeting PSU by shorting its outputs.
(or its faulty/garbage to start with)

But regularity/precision of shutdown definitely hints toward logical level problem.
As if some counter just reached some threshold or something...
 
TBH sounds more like a failing component to me than something that can easily be solved with a BIOS replacement. (Even if what is powering it off is a logic/counter tripping).
 
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