Random restarts

[Cancer12]

My computer has been randomly restarting lately. I'm can't identify the problem, so I am hoping Anandtech will shed some wisdom on my suffering. The restarts are random, typical restarts that go straight to the boot up screen, and the restarts don't seem to cause any problems. They typically happen when I am playing games.

I think it is either overheating, power issues, or my video card messing up.

It could be over heating because my temperatures are very high in the bios. I always thought the temperature was bugged though. It typically starts at 60c and goes up from there in the bios. I use a stock intel heatsink. The temperature just seems too high, no one else with a similar setup has such high temps. Because of this, I always thought the post temp was glitchy. Airflow is not a problem because these restarts occur even with an open case. Also, why would this problem be surfacing with environmental temps dropping?

It could be power issues causing this. I have a 465w Enermax with 33a on the 12v+ rail, and I always thought that this was plenty. I've been running all summer without much problem. Some may say that this is underpowered for my system, so conceivably it could be this.

Another possibility is that my video card is messing up. I sometimes see graphical artifacts while playing, rarely, but they have happened. This could also be linked to my overheating or being underpowered.

My specs
C2D E6600
8800 GTS 320
4 gig DDR2 667
Raptor 120g
465w enermax
Gigabyte MB (forgot the spec, it was the highly recommended one on all the hardware sites.)

Thanks for your thoughts, I'm not sure what I need to do. Anyone have any experience with issues like this?

 

[MarcVenice]

Hmz, 33a should be plenty for your rig. I would try reseating the cpu/heatsink, use AS5 as thermal grease. If it happens mainly during gaming, I'd say temperature, or PSU. I'd try to rule out temperature first though. Dust could have accumalated in your heatsink, and now your PC heats up then it did before. You should install rivatuner/ntune and keep an eye on the temp of your 8800gts as well. The graphical artifacts could just have been bugs too.

 

[themisfit610]

that's sounding like a heat issue to me...

You've got more than enough power, assuming your PSU is working properly. I doubt you use over 400W on load.

What kind of case cooling do you have, and what are your idle / load CPU and GPU temps? The graphical artifacts would indicate that the video card is overheating.

If your temps are ok, then check your RAM with memtest86+ or something along those lines.

Let's get this sucker figured out!

Oh, and BTW, make sure you have automatic reboot un-checked in the startup and recovery area of system preferences. You might be missing a descriptive blue screen.

~Misfit

 

[Cancer12]

Ok I think I'm gonna dust off my heatsink and reset it, i hope it helps

 

[Cancer12]

Update
Two weeks ago I reseated the heatsink. That did not do any good. So then I went out and ordered a new power supply and heatsink, the Corsair 520 and a Tuniq. I thought my problem was solved at that point. Then after vacationing a week, I played some games and it happened twice in a short time. I'm about ready to pull out all my hair, toss my computer into the river, then live life as a techno phobic monk.

 

[Tiamat]

run memtest86. It is possible that you have some bad ram, or, perhaps, you just need to go into the BIOS and feed your ram and chipset a little more voltage.

For me, random restarts are usually ram related (bad ram or not enough voltage). Failing that, it is due to poorly written drivers or software. Does it randomly restart on a new windows install?

 

[oynaz]

You mentioned artifacts. That often means a faulty video card. Do you have a spare one lying around you can try? Actually, the power supply and heatsink were the least likely culprits.