Computer freezes, monitor goes in standby when playing games...

[johncarmichael]

Hello anandtech. So I bought this system about a year ago and I had problems with it ever since, especially lately...
my specs:
Intel IvyBridge i5 3550 @3.30 mhz
2x4gb ddr3 @1600 mhz corsair radiator red vengeance
Sapphire amd radeon hd7870 2gb ddr5, ghz edition
z77-d3h gygabyte motherboard
hdd - seagate barracuda 1tb @ 7200 rpm 64mb
sirtec 600w hp-600-g12s
My problem is, when I play game like:
battlefiled 3, battlefield 4, gta iv and other strong games like these, my computer runs just fine @ 60 fps or so without any problems for 30 mins/an hour maybe an hour and a half and then my pc freezes and my screen goes in power consumption mode or whatever its called, its just like the monitor enters the standby mode. My keyboard does not respond, nothing responds... I have to restart my pc to get it running again.
I ran some tests and found out my cpu was running at 100-105 degrees celsius when I was playing these games. I took out the cpu cooler (standard 3550 cooler) and dust it off, it was really dusty.
I put it back together (of course after I added the thermal paste) and now my cpu runs at full load at about 60-70 celsius. I thought I got rid of the shut down issue but after 2-3 hours of battlefield 4 my computer shut down, I tried to play again and this time keep an eye out for the cpu temps with realtemp.exe and the temperatures were pretty normal, again 60-65-max70. A few seconds after I checked with realtemp exe and got back in the game my computer shut down again and my screen went black + my gpu fans went 100%. I tried playing again and keeping an eye out on the amd catalyst and msi afterburner to see what temps do i get on my gpu and they were pretty normal i guess, about 60 to 70 celsius.
So my question is why do my pc keeps shutting down?
I want to mention that my pc is not over clocked in any way and that I reinstaled my windows several times this past year, everytime with this annoying results... Could it be the psu, is it too weak? I would very much appreciate a little bit of help. Thanks!
EDIT:
My computer FREEZES everytime, it does not "shut down" sorry about that, my bad!

 

[Boondox]

I will throw a few things to look out for when it comes to diagnosing this issue:

1. You probably have exceed the maximum temperature of the processor on numerous occasions. This will damage the processor and cause an effect called electromigration. The max temperature on Ivy Bridge should be no higher than 67.4C. A better heatsink will help keep the temperatures lower, but the damage is already done.

2. Sirtec seems to be a bargain basement brand found in Europe. The label may say 600W, but in reality it might not be able to handle more than 450W at full load. A general rule of thumb is to avoid these kinds of power supplies and use something that was built by CWT or Seasonic (Antec or Corsair). Your generic Sirtec may not be good enough to meet your power requirements.