system shutdown during certain games

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14 Nov 2003
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Built a new system recently, specs as follows:

i5 2500k, msi gen3 mobo,Kingston HyperX 16gb RAM, Lepa B series 750W 80 Plus Bronze, Radeon HD4850, 2 WD blacks 1TB (RAID 1) and 1 WD 2TB Green, plus a DB ROM, USB , Win 7 64bit, Direct X 11

Have run following test:

  • Prime95 high FPUs for approx 45 mins, full load, temps maxed out at 75C for 3 cores with the remaining core being around 66C.
  • RTIH HDL app for GPU, maxed out everthing for 20 mins or so and no probs
  • ran the above simultaneously with Prime 95 for 20 mins
  • ran 3D Mark Vantage on Extreme mode, tests went through fine

Been playing portal 2 lately with no probs at all.

however during Crysis 2, system shutsdown during initial stages of game (submarine, when I am about to open door underwater)... its a proper shutdown and not a reboot or an abrupt shutdown...

upon switching pc back on and going into the game, it switches off even quicker i.e. before I even get to the underwater door opening scene...

Thought it was just Crysis 2, so I installed Civ V and was playing for approx half an hour when system shutdown!

not sure what the problem is, as per above, temp readings seem to be fine and also graphics card was working fine in my old system (on which I played Crysis 1 with no probs). Would be very suprised if it was PSU as I have been told its a decent brand...

graphics card drivers are latest version as I downloaded once doing a clean install of windows.

any ideas?

thanks
 
sounds like a thermal cut out to me. this will occur if gpu or processor overheats. check the drivers you downloaded as they may not be controlling the fan correctly on you gpu. check the cpu cooler is seated correctly
 
If it's just completely shutting down (as in power loss), then in my experience the PSU has been to blame... I see you have a Lepa PSU? Is this new or one from an old system? It could be having problems and your computer is shutting down as soon as it gets to a point where it's under strain, like during games.
 
its a brand new Lepa PSU,

system does not shut down abruptly but does a proper shutdown (but screen goes blank first)

CPU cooler is fine and I also cleaned out the dust with some compressed air...
 
is there a program that does a full on simultaneous graphics/cpu/sound benchmark i.e. all three at once?

I remember in the early 2000s there used to be one in 3dmark but not anymore!

cheers
 
ok i re-ran 3dmark on extreme settings, ran test successfully.

also ran passmark, ran successfully

tried disabling sound drivers and playing Civ V, still ends up in a shutdown.

Right before shutdown I can hear graphics card fan operating at full speed and then screen goes blank, pc shuts down and fan powers down...

not sure if the gpu has lost its juice or its a power issue...

whats a decent upgrade, around £100 or so for my Radeon 4850? has to be DX11 ofcourse

cheers
 
Try running the Heaven Benchmark along side Prime95. It's what I do once I'm happy both my GPU and CPU are stable. because it gives you a realistic case temperature. If hot air isnt being vented adequately, You generally find out.

Also, 45 minutes isnt really long enough to have stability guaranteed. Some times it fails after a few hours. Sometimes its rock solid for 24 hours. You need to allow prime 95 to stress longer.
 
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ok, I ran the above simultaneously, for approx 90mins, no issues, CPU temp maxed out at around 63C

the time of the above is over 3 times what Civ V manages to last!

It could be that my Graphics card does not like the game coding with Win7 64bit... the only other thing is that in my old system I had 4GM ram, whereas I now have 16, don't know if that matters!
 
tried running Civ V under direct X 9 (it has the option to do so); it selected low graphic settings by default.... played for an hour or so with no issues.. then I maxed graphics settings and restarted game and it only lasted approx 20 mins before shutting down!

so definitely a GPU stress issue but what I still don't understand is how it can get through all the benchmarks!
 
using latest drivers (just updated yesterday),

one thing I have noted is that the IDLE GPU temps are around 88C!

under load it takes it beyond 110C..I suppose thats why it cuts out...

not sure how/why as I never messed with the GPU heatsink and also I cleaned out dust from fans with compressed air...
 
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