Computer Randomly Shuts Down

[Kyle7885]

I need help. My computer has been randomly shutting down while gaming. It's as if the power is cut and the computer immediately turns off. It's very concerning. I've noticed that it seems the fan is running very loudly as well. Could these be related?

 

[Jembo]

What are your specs?
Sounds like an inadequate PSU. New video card? Maybe you need to clean the heat sink fan.

 

[Kyle7885]

The computer has been working fine for months. I'll try cleaning the fan. I did see a lot of dust where the computer was located. How do I pull the specs so I can include them here?

 

[Jembo]

There is a little program called Speccy. You can install it & list us your specs here.
https://www.piriform.com/speccy/download
Do you have another PSU you can use to swap in to check stability?

Just post mobo, cpu, PSU size & brand, RAM speed.

 

[Kyle7885]

Ok I'll get the specs and post them. One thing first though. I downloaded the Speccy program and I was monitoring the temperature of the CPU while I had my game running and I noticed that the temperature was gradually increasing and the fan was working harder and harder ultimately rising to a temperature of 58 C before I turned it off. Could this be the problem, the CPU gets too hot and the computer is shutting down?

 

[Ketchup]

I agree that it is an inadequate PSU, or overheating, mainly if it is an AMD CPU (as an Intel chip would just throttle).

 

[Kyle7885]

The PSU is Corsair CX600 CP-9020048-US 600W Power Supply and I have an AMD CPU. I'll include the other specs later.

 

[Burpo]

CPU fan/heatsink needs a good cleaning and probably the TIM should be replaced.

 

[Jembo]

You can max the CPU out then watch the temp in Speccy in Real Time. If it goes over 60 celsius it's probably shutting down because of overheating. In that case I wouls recommend an aftermarket cooler.

 

[VirtualLarry]

The PSU is Corsair CX600 CP-9020048-US 600W Power Supply and I have an AMD CPU. I'll include the other specs later.

Be sure to include the video card specs if you have one.

Offhand, I think that I would agree with Burpo. The CX600, while lower-end / entry-level, is still rated at continuous watts at 25C. So, unless it is really old (more than 4-5 years), or defective, it's still most likely enough for any single GPU (unless both CPU and GPU are OCed to the max).

 

[Kyle7885]

my specs are as follow:

Summary
Operating System
Windows 8.1 64-bit
CPU
AMD FX-8320 22 °C
Vishera 32nm Technology
RAM
8.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 669MHz (9-9-9-24)
Motherboard
Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. 970A-D3P (CPU 1) 30 °C
Graphics
M420SV (1920x1080@60Hz)
2048MB ATI AMD Radeon R7 200 Series (Sapphire/PCPartner) 27 °C
Storage
931GB Western Digital WDC WD10EZEX-00BN5A0 (SATA) 29 °C
Optical Drives
ASUS DRW-24B1ST i ATA Device
Audio
AMD High Definition Audio Device

everything is a year old

 

[Jembo]

The max safe temp for that CPU is 62 celsius.
Maybe the cooler got knocked & is a little loose or maybe it's just really dirty. Clean it & see if that helps.

 

[Kyle7885]

ok I checked the cooler and cleaned it but it didn't have much dust so I don't think that is the problem. Games still cause it to run around the mid 50's. Is there a better cooler I could get?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Yes, you can get better coolers. HyperT2, or something from that family of CoolerMaster heatsinks. There's one of the lower-end / cheaper ones, that I think attaches with a clip, which doesn't require removing the stock factory CPU heatsink backplate.

I also have a "stockpile" of tower / heatpipe heatsinks that use the AMD clip on mechanism. (No longer made.)

 

[Smoove910]

Make sure you go into the BIOS and manually set the voltage for your CPU. If left to adjust automatically, your board's BIOS could be overvolting the tar out of it, causing the overheating. Thinking 1.35v is where you need to be.

 

[Kyle7885]

So here's an update to the situation. It got a lot worse. Today the new CPU fan arrived and it installed it into the computer. When I went to start the computer it would not post. I removed to the fan to see if I installed it wrong and noticed that some of the pins on the CPU are now bent.

Are the bent pins related to why it won't post? Or are these two separate problems? When I first built the computer, it would not post and I had to take it into a repair shop.

 

[Ketchup]

The bent pins could be the cause from the beginning. Did the CPU come out cleanly? I have had CPUs come out with coolers before (the motherboard CPU connection was still in the locked position). The good news is that they can be straightened and in all my cases, the CPU was fine afterward.

So I would try to straighten the pins and see if you can re-install. Let us know what happens.

 

[Kyle7885]

It worked, I moved the pins back into position and once I put it back into the socket it began to post again. Thanks everyone for all the help.

 

[Ketchup]

Good to hear!

 

[mikeymikec]

Ok I'll get the specs and post them. One thing first though. I downloaded the Speccy program and I was monitoring the temperature of the CPU while I had my game running and I noticed that the temperature was gradually increasing and the fan was working harder and harder ultimately rising to a temperature of 58 C before I turned it off. Could this be the problem, the CPU gets too hot and the computer is shutting down?

58C is not a problematic temperature for a CPU per se. However, it depends on the CPU in question as to whether this is an unusual temp for it and so therefore could point to a problem.

AFAIK modern CPUs will go to crazy-high temps (eg. nearly 90C) without problems and most PCs will go into thermal shutdown to safeguard the hardware if it goes too high.