PC shutting down during gaming.

Tediore

Tediore

Tediore

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26 Jan 2011
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Hi folks,

Sudden problem that reared it's head today. I was playing CoD 4 with some friends, and my PC just shut down. All power to it gone. Restarted, got back on the game, and same thing again.

It had been fine up until playing CoD 4, so I just used it for internet browsing, Skype etc. and it went almost 3 hours without a single issue.

Out of curiosity, I tried another game, and within 5 minutes my PC lost all power again. I had the side off this time, and when it tried to reboot itself without me even touching the button, it died again. I pressed the power button, and the PCI-E and CPU status lights on my motherboard flashed, there was an odd fan (I think) noise coming from the PSU/graphics card area, and then it died.

Unplugged it from the mains and left it a minute, started it back up and it's running without a hitch again.

I have another graphics card to try tomorrow, but I just wondered if anyone could shed some light on this? I really don't want to have to get my brother's PSU out of his PC (same model as mine) and then re-route all the cables afterwards unless I absolutely have to.

Anyway, some specs.

Intel i5 760
MSI P55-GD80
Asus 768MB GTX 460
2 x Samsung F4 2TB HDDs (not in RAID)
Antec TruePower New 650w

Nothing has ever been overclocked. AIDA 64 reports normal temperatures. CPU got to around 44 and graphics card to around 40 before it died. Idle temperatures are nice and cool. No airflow issues; four fans and good cable routing in a Fractal Design Define R3. The voltages are also fine while I'm able to check them, however I have no idea what's happening with them when the PC loses power.

I should also mention this is the second PSU I've had as the first one was DoA back in November.

Thanks for reading. I know it's a long post, but I appreciate any suggestions etc. :)
 
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I had something very simular, no issues when surfing etc, playing games it would crash.

My issues was the PSU.

I think your issue will be the same. Its a PSU issue IMO
 
I would agree that it seems like your PSU is to blame.

That said your 650W TruePower should be more than man enough to power the 460. How old is your PSU?
 
I would agree that this sounds like a PSU issue or possibly a temperature issue although I think you've pretty much ruled that one out.
A good test would be to take some of the strain off the PSU, try unplugging whatever you can get away with and remove any overclocks (if applicable) and see if it dose it then.
 
Unfortunately, you all seem to be confirming my fears. It's possible for something else to crash the system like that, but not starting up again seems to be a complete lack of power. It just doesn't seem to be able to sustain the output.

The PSU was brand new back in November, along with the rest of this build. The first PSU was DoA, so I got a replacement sent out, which has been fine up until now.

Nothing's ever been overclocked, and the only things I can take out and still have what I need to replicate the conditions of the crash would be a stick of RAM and a hard drive.

I tried another game this morning though, and, inevitably, it died after about 10 minutes, and seemed to be taking more attempts to start up again afterwards, so something in there must be giving up the ghost :mad:

The graphics card wouldn't cause that, so the only other thing it could possibly be is the motherboard, but as the PC will start up again and run fine for hours when internet browsing etc., and run games for 10 - 15 minutes, I'm inclined to rule that out.
 
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i use to have major problem when i was playing games computer would lock-up,bsod or restart etc i solve part it by turning down my pre-oc graphic card but problem was still their now my pc would sometime have problem booting up so after getting sick and tried of this i open it up got psu info and discover that my psu wasn't powering my system correctly not producing enough amps. since i've change my psu to ax1200 problem hasn't happen again. i finally solve the problem. my advise would be first get reviews of psu you tend to buy and secondly go with a known maker with good rep like corsair, cooler master, antec. i've heard that ocz are making some good psu these days. i would recommend corsair 750w-850w psu 80+ gold but that me. i know i went overboard in buying the corsair ax1200w psu but i do not in tend on buying another psu for many many years to come so atleast i've knowledge that my psu can power a boat load of stuff and still not be pushing to it max
 
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Surely your current PSU will have some kind of warranty with it, i would suggest sending it back. Antec have good customer support and will no doubt offer a new PSU.

I am surprised that it has failed though tbh, the Antec PSUs are normally good value, with good reviews.
 
Could well be your PSU but I would check your BIOS for the temperature shutdown setting on your CPU.

Tony:)
 
The CPU has reached higher temperatures when we had those hot few days recently. If it was that though, the PC shouldn't be struggling to power up after losing power.

It does have warranty, and plenty of it, but I need to be sure it's the PSU first. I tried my brother's graphics card and it didn't cure the problem, so I'm going to try his PSU when I see him tomorrow. It's the same one as mine so...

The PC is also losing power while browsing the internet etc. now, so the problem seems to be getting worse. What are the chances of it being the CPU or motherboard? I don't think they'd cause the PC to struggle to boot, but you never know with PCs... :rolleyes:

I'm surprised as well, to be honest. I had a DoA one at the end of November, and received the replacement on the 9th of December. I had a lot of teething problems with this build, so maybe I've just been unlucky...
 
Just read this back again. Have you checked the temps of the CPU ??

Just thinking that maybe the CPU cooler is not correctly sitting on the CPU.

That would be another reason for the suddent lost in power aswell.

When motherboards die, they normally are completely lifeless. IE nothing works
 
Definitely the PSU in my opinion, I had the exact same issue a few years back with a Hiper PSU, replacing it with a Corsair solved the problem. ;)
 
It wasn't the PSU :D
we tried my corsair PSU which was working fine and still is working fine now I have it back home, and the board was totally dead not even a standby light, it had already completely died with Tediore's PSU a day or so ago. So anyways we're now thinking it must be the mainboard, surely a faulty CPU or any other part couldn't stop the standby light coming on?
 
I tried it with Andy's PSU before you came down as well. Not sure if I told you that?

Does seem to be the motherboard if they are completely lifeless when they go. I tried the power supply in my brother's PC for over 3 hours in a variety of tasks; gaming, HD content, and just some general use, and it didn't skip a beat.

As for temperatures, the CPU idles at about 36 with the stock Intel heatsink. For some reason the LCD on my Z-10s seems to have remembered what the temperatures were when the PC last died, and if I remember correctly, the CPU was at 42, and the graphics card about 36.
 
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