Question Only Games Trigger Instant PC Shutdowns

[dan_11]

I have been experiencing a strange issue with my PC.

It can run Superposition, Heaven Benchmarks, Furmark, and other benchmarks. I don't remember the names for 20 to 40 minutes without any problems. However, as soon as I try to play PUBG, my PC turns off.

Initially, PUBG played fine until 10 minutes into the middle of a match, when it crashed. Then, I tried testing the game on the menu and removed the FPS limiter in-game. It caused an instant shutdown as soon as I enabled this.

In Warzone 3, when I changed the resolution to match my monitor's native QHD, my PC unexpectedly shut down. It used to allow me to adjust the resolution without any issues. The game typically crashes after 20 to 40 minutes of gameplay, regardless of whether it's on low or max settings.

This also happens with other games in sessions. It happens in SQUAD and CS2 but after 30 mins+- sessions.

I have sought help from two different IT centers, and both technicians have tested my system with different GPUs, CPUs, PSUs(Tested an 850W gold and 1000W gold), and RAM, but they all experienced crashes. One technician suggested the issue was with the Corsair H150i, while the other thought it could be the H150i or the NVME.

Unfortunately, neither technician had spare air or liquid coolers to conduct tests and confirm if the AIO was causing the problem.

Before investing in a new AIO, I want to confirm whether the AIO is indeed the root cause of the issue. All the drivers are current, including the GPU (I used DDU to clean up any display drivers), and the motherboard's BIOS has been updated to its latest version.

Here are my PC specs:
- CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-9900KF CPU @ 3.60GHz 3.60 GHz
- Installed RAM: 32.0 GB 3200 MHZ (4x8)
- MB: Gigabyte Aorus Master z290
- NVME: Samsung Evo 970
- GPU: EVGA RTX 3090 FTW3 ULTRA
- PSU: Seasonic FOCUS Plus 850 Gold
- AIO: CORSAIR HYDRO Series H150i PRO RGB AIO Liquid CPU Cooler, 360mm,
- Case: Lian Li PC-O11DW 011 Dynamic
- Fans: 6 Intake (bottom and side), three exhaust (AiO)
- OS: Windows 10 Pro, version 22h2, OS Build 19045.3803

Please let me know if you need additional information or specific details about my system setup. I'm desperate to find out what is causing these sudden shutdowns.

Update: Dec 31:
I tried troubleshooting an issue with my PC yesterday. Initially, I thought running games on my other hard drives was causing the system shutdown. So, I disconnected all other hard drives and played warzone and PUBG on my main NVME drive. PC still had sudden crashes.

Then I ran a Windows 10 reset and installed multiple games on my nvme. However, I faced an instant shutdowns again in Warzone and Pubg menus.

To further diagnose the problem, I installed a 9th gen Pentium. I found that Warzone didn't open with the new CPU. Then, I tried playing Paragon - a game that previously caused sudden shutdowns on my 9900kf CPU. Surprisingly, the game opened up and I could play it for an hour without any shutdowns.

Based on my observations, I am wondering if the issue is entirely CPU-related.

 

[Shmee]

I would look into temps on the CPU, it could be thermally throttling possibly, if the AIO is not properly mounted, or something is wrong. Also, run memtest86, to ensure your RAM is stable, even if you tested with other RAM. Keep an eye on temps when you can. Lastly, maybe test with a different GPU to verify it is not related to your 3090.

 

[dan_11]

I would look into temps on the CPU, it could be thermally throttling possibly, if the AIO is not properly mounted, or something is wrong. Also, run memtest86, to ensure your RAM is stable, even if you tested with other RAM. Keep an eye on temps when you can. Lastly, maybe test with a different GPU to verify it is not related to your 3090.

The maximum temperatures recorded during all the stress tests were around 80-83 degrees. Both technicians confirmed that the AIO was correctly mounted, and I also tested it myself. All four RAMs were also tested and confirmed to be working fine.

Additionally, different GPUs were tested, including a practically new 4060ti.

The sudden shutdowns (it shuts down and turns on automatically after a couple of seconds) only happen when gaming but never when stress testing. I can stress test the PC for around an hour with no crashes. CPU, GPU, or CPU+GPU stress tests never crash my PC.

 

[In2Photos]

Have you updated the BIOS? My son's AMD system had a similar problem. I could run benchmarks and stress tests all day, but as soon as he played games it would crash. A BIOS update fixed it.

 

[dan_11]

Have you updated the BIOS? My son's AMD system had a similar problem. I could run benchmarks and stress tests all day, but as soon as he played games it would crash. A BIOS update fixed it.

The issue persisted even after updating the BIOS to the latest version. I also updated all other drivers, and the problem still happens.

Yesterday, I tried CS2 for around 15 minutes, and it didn't shut down. I suspect it will be between 30 mins to an hour.

I then tried Warzone 3, and it shut down as soon as it loaded the game menu.

 

[fralexandr]

Info - [UPDATED] Samsung SSDs reliability :: Firmware fix available for 990 Pro, other drives potentially afected

[Update 2] More drives and multiple controllers potentially affected. [Update] Firmware fix available via Samsung Magician utility A number of concerning reports regarding 990 Pro drives have been popping up the web since December 2022. The drives are apparently losing serious chunks of drive...

forums.anandtech.com

have you tried updating your samsung 970 firmware? Some of the 970 are effected.

 

[BoomerD]

That 3090 might be one of the GPUs that was known for transient power spikes that crashed PC’s.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiq_MmQw7KDAxV8HzQIHfi8C8QQwqsBegQIDxAG&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DwnRyyCsuHFQ&usg=AOvVaw1y1hAwrBAuoGmCCsRaixs2&opi=89978449

 

[dan_11]

I tried troubleshooting an issue with my PC yesterday. Initially, I thought running games on my other hard drives was causing the system shutdown. So, I disconnected all other hard drives and played warzone and PUBG. Pc still had sudden crashes.

Then I ran a Windows 10 reset and installed multiple games on my nvme. However, I faced an instant shutdowns again in Warzone and Pubg menus.

To further diagnose the problem, I installed a 9th gen Pentium. I found that Warzone didn't open with the new CPU. Then, I tried playing Paragon - a game that previously caused sudden shutdowns on my 9900kf CPU. Surprisingly, the game opened up and I could play it for an hour without any shutdowns.

Based on my observations, I am wondering if the issue is entirely CPU-related.

By the way, Happy New Year to everyone!

Info - [UPDATED] Samsung SSDs reliability :: Firmware fix available for 990 Pro, other drives potentially afected

[Update 2] More drives and multiple controllers potentially affected. [Update] Firmware fix available via Samsung Magician utility A number of concerning reports regarding 990 Pro drives have been popping up the web since December 2022. The drives are apparently losing serious chunks of drive...

forums.anandtech.com

have you tried updating your samsung 970 firmware? Some of the 970 are effected.

Should I still try updating the firmware after what I tried yesterday?

That 3090 might be one of the GPUs that was known for transient power spikes that crashed PC’s.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiq_MmQw7KDAxV8HzQIHfi8C8QQwqsBegQIDxAG&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DwnRyyCsuHFQ&usg=AOvVaw1y1hAwrBAuoGmCCsRaixs2&opi=89978449

I can confirm that the GPU worked without issues on other PCs at 1440p and 4K. However, the issues only occur on my PC.

 

[BoomerD]

I tried troubleshooting an issue with my PC yesterday. Initially, I thought running games on my other hard drives was causing the system shutdown. So, I disconnected all other hard drives and played warzone and PUBG. Pc still had sudden crashes.

Then I ran a Windows 10 reset and installed multiple games on my nvme. However, I faced an instant shutdowns again in Warzone and Pubg menus.

To further diagnose the problem, I installed a 9th gen Pentium. I found that Warzone didn't open with the new CPU. Then, I tried playing Paragon - a game that previously caused sudden shutdowns on my 9900kf CPU. Surprisingly, the game opened up and I could play it for an hour without any shutdowns.

Based on my observations, I am wondering if the issue is entirely CPU-related.

By the way, Happy New Year to everyone!

Should I still try updating the firmware after what I tried yesterday?

I can confirm that the GPU worked without issues on other PCs at 1440p and 4K. However, the issues only occur on my PC.

What PSUs were in the other pcs? Transient spikes aren't uncommon, but some power supplies handle them better than others...

 

[Brainonska511]

Anything in the Event Manager of Windows and are any dmp files created when the reboots occur? (They can appear in a few different folders in Windows). If so, you could try reading them with something like Blue Screen Viewer. Might give a hint as to what could be causing the problem too.

 

[dan_11]

What PSUs were in the other pcs? Transient spikes aren't uncommon, but some power supplies handle them better than others...

One's a Seasonic Focus plus Gold 850 80 plus gold and the other one's a EVGA 1000GQ Gold 80 plus. There were tested on other pcs but when used with my PC the sudden shutdown still occurred. I also tried using my PC in different outlets and it kept happening.

Anything in the Event Manager of Windows and are any dmp files created when the reboots occur? (They can appear in a few different folders in Windows). If so, you could try reading them with something like Blue Screen Viewer. Might give a hint as to what could be causing the problem too.

Yeah I also tried that but I wasn't able to find an exact reason for the crash. here are some
screenshots of the errors and temps







Since my pc didn't shut off while using the Pentium CPU. That means means the issue is 100% related to the 9900KF?

 

[Brainonska511]

The temps all seem fine based on that chart, so it would make me think it isn't the cooler. If you think it could be cooler/CPU temp related, you could try to run a CPU-specific stress test, like Cinebench or Prime95. It seems weird that a game would crash the machine, but not the stress tests that are more severe on those components (ie, I would think that the ones you already ran would trigger the issue).

Do you have another NVME or SATA-based SSD you can use to test a fresh install with, just to rule out the primary NVME you have? I'd also look to update the Samsung NVME firmware if there is one available - those can be important anyway, even if it isn't related to your current issue.

For the Event Viewer thing - you'll want to click on the top most level ("Event Viewer (Local)") on the left menu of the program, and then look at the summary window. The events of interest would be the critical ones. Generic "Error" are not as useful here.

You might also check this folder for any dmp files: C:\Windows\LiveKernelReports. There are a few other places they can allegedly show up (like C:\Windows\Minidump), but the LiveKernelReports is where Windows 11 seems to dump the few that I had when I first built my machine and was troubleshooting. Could be somewhat similar in Windows 10.