Computer shuts off during gaming, Running out of ideas (not temps)

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AdderalAvenger

AdderalAvenger

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Mar 28, 2014
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Anytime I've had issues, Tom's Hardware has always been the answer, I google the issue and its the first link that comes up. I've read several threads that describe the issue I'm having but none of the solutions seem to solve my problem. I've tried the past month to get this fixed, and I've finally bit the bullet and decided to post a thread.

Specs:
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-970A-UD3 AM3+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128519

Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHZ
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

Ram: Corsair Vengeance 8gb (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345

GPU: SAPPHIRE 100351SR - Radeon HD 7970 3GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008

Old Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 TR-500 500W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153165

New Power Supply: SeaSonic SS-750KM3 – 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151087

HD1: Internal SSD – 100GB – OS – 1 Game.
HD2: External USB – 2TB (Games and Programs)
HD3: External USB – 1 TB (back up)

Case: RaidMax Smilodon Extreme ATX-612WEB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156078

Monitor1: ASUS VS238H-P – 23”
Monitor2: ASUS VS238H-P – 23”
Monitor3: ACER ______ - 23”


Problem: Originally, my computer would Crash when playing the Game RIFT, and only RIFT, I could have played in maximum settings, or lowest settings possible. Computer just shuts down. Powers off completely, and I have to pull the power plug out of the PSU and then back in before it will turn on again. I play several other newer, more graphically intensive games on max settings for hours at a time with no issue. Play RIFT, sometimes I'm good for hours, other times I turn it on, 5 mins in, CRASH.

Temps
CPU/GPU Idle around 40 C, Big house fan on the side of an open case with a cold Utah chill coming through the window drops it down to 28 - 30 C, Gaming jumps it up to around 50-55, Max it's ever hit while gaming 62 C. I can give more accurate temps when I am at home if it's needed.

Things I've Already Tried
- Plugging PC into different outlets in the house, using/not-using a UPS
- Upgraded my power supply. My old Thermaltake power supply was only a couple months old, BUT I kind of Ghetto-rigged it when I got my new GPU. My GPU requires 2 x 8 pins, the Thermaltake only had 1 x 8, so I got a converter that took two 4 pin perf cables and converted it into an 8 pin. It worked fine, but after reading threads on here I thought Power supply was my best bet. Got a better brand, more wattage and a card with 2 x 8 pins. Issue remained
- Flashed and updated my Bios
- Cleaned out with compressed air
- Removed CPU, re-applied Thermal Paste (dropped my temp about 5 degrees overall, but didn't fix my issue)
- removed two monitors from the equation, ran computer with only 1 monitor
- removed an external hard drive

Important Notes
- I've read RIFTs programming language is VERY hard on GPU's, and pushes them quite hard
- From my research and my testing, There is definitely no issue with my Graphics card being able to handle the game. It's semi-top of the line, the game is a couple years old, I've played the game on one monitor and in lowest settings and it still crashes.
- The game has crashed, I've booted my PC back up and went into playing games like Titan Fall, FFXIV, both on max graphics and in Eyefinity mode on my three monitors with no crashing at all.
- Just recently (past couple days) it started crashing on more games, where it didn't have an issue before. (diablo III, TERA, FFXIV)
- I think this whole time It's been a computer issue, but I've starting to think it's an issue with my homes electrical output.
- My wife has my hammydown computer, and it runs RIFT perfectly fine with no issues at all.
- I put my wife's graphics card in my computer and I have no issues with anything (GTX 650)

Last thought. At this point, the only thing I can think is that when my Graphics card is pushed hard, it requires more from the PSU, and when the PSU is being tasked more by my GPU, the PSU is "requesting" or trying to draw more power from the house, the house can't handle it, the computer shuts off.... My problem, I'm not an electrician, nor know enough about electricity to know if that's really how power works lol. Not sure if a PSU has a constant draw of power from the wall, or if it can fluctuate, or if it's a issue with my houses power at all.

Sorry this is so long winded, I just know everyone here wants lots of info in order to help, so I thought I'd give you as much as I had.

I'm on my knees begging at this point, it's depressing having a nice rig in front of me that can't run a 2 year old game(originally, but now almost any graphically intensive game)

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide!

p.s. Wasnt' sure if I should check the box (request solutions to this Question (not a discussion) I want a discussion and solution.... :)
 
Solution
A
Your GPU or CPU aren't overheating, are they? An overheating CPU will hard-stop once it reaches a certain temperature (100 C for intel processors, I'm not sure of the value for AMD). GPUs generally have similar heat protection methods but the temperature varies by card.

I didn't even think to ask this before because it's usually semi-obvious when overheating is the issue, and you said you replaced CPU thermal paste, which means you were checking temps. But an overheating GPU could cause this, since it would simply shut down when it reached critical temperature (though usually the rest of your system would keep running for a little while, at least until it crashed because it couldn't find the GPU anymore).

It's theoretically also...
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A

AnUnusedUsername

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The first thing I'd check for is if your mobo is shorting against something in your case. Make sure there's not like a screw stuck behind it or something. USB devices can also cause shorts occasionally, but I take it you checked that already. You could also try running the system out of the case to be sure (just don't put it on something conductive).

If that's not the case, my guess is that your mobo is either failing or has some weird compatibility issue with another component. There's not a lot you can do to diagnose a mobo problem though, unless you have a spare you can drop all of the other components into. A faulty mobo causes all sorts of unexplainable issues, and can take out other hardware with it eventually.

I would bet against a problem with your CPU/GPU. A faulty CPU or GPU will usually give you BSODs before complete halts. RAM is more likely, but still usually gives BSODs when it's going bad.

You could try removing one stick of RAM at a time and see if that fixes it. It probably won't. Fiddling with overclocking/underclocking settings may also help, sometimes particular settings cause issues with a particular mobo.

PSUs do draw variable power from the socket, but if you tried this elsewhere that's likely not the issue, especially if you already replaced the PSU. I'd try using/not using a power strip if you haven't done that already, but it likely won't have any effect. Your PSU does support whatever the power standard in your country is, right? Wall sockets in Europe and in the US are different.
 
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AdderalAvenger

AdderalAvenger

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Mar 28, 2014
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Thanks for your response, I have not checked anything in regards to shorting, I'm not sure how I would check if any of my USB devices are causing this, could you tell me how? I have quite a bit. As of right now, I have a keyboard, mouse, mic, and two hard drives all plugged into USB.

I haven't got any BSOD's although I'm not sure if they exsist in Windows 8? I haven't seen a BSOD's in Since windows 7 came out, so maybe that's a good sign lol... my computer cuts out, it literally just acts like I shut the power off, the PC shuts down and does not restart.

I decided to run a stress test, so I ran Prime95 last night. Not sure sure how to tell if something went wrong, but it's still running all four tests on my quad core CPU, and it's been 7 hours, so I'm guessing it's good. I'm assuming if it fails it stops testing?

The oldest parts on my PC are my mobo/CPU/Ram which are all from 2011. My GPU is 1 year old, My PSU is a month old. I haven't tried removing RAM yet, but I'm thinking that may be the next test, I think I may run a memtest next unless you or anyone else has any suggestions.

If you could let me know how to test if a USB is causing shorts, I'll do that as well.

Thanks again

*edit* just stopped the test it shows:
Torture Test Completed 342 tests in 7 hours 16 mins, - 0 errors, 0 warnings.
Sounds like I can cancel my CPU out of the equation.
 
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AnUnusedUsername

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To check if a USB device is the problem, just unplug everything and see if you still have the problem, then start plugging things in one at a time until you see the problem again. It's probably not going to be the keyboard or mouse.

I think prime95 runs until you tell it to quit. If it hasn't crashed then you're good. Memtest would be a good thing to try.

 
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AdderalAvenger

AdderalAvenger

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Prime95 ran for 8 hours: passed, no errors
Memtest86+ ran for 8 hours: passed.

Unlpugged everything I could in regards to USB. Left just my Mouse Keyboard, and my 2nd HD. Issue is still occurring.

Any other thoughts on what I could try to narrow down the issue? Could it be something with my GPU? How can I find out.... I'm a complete loss here, I have no idea what I can do from this point to fix my system. I've got enough money to buy a new Mobo and CPU, but I really don't want to do that if that is not the issue.... I need to find out what the issue is before I move forward. Any one have any more ideas?
 
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AdderalAvenger

AdderalAvenger

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Mar 28, 2014
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Not sure if Bumps are allowed on this forum, so I apologize in advance. I still haven't been able to fix this issue so if anyone has any thoughts at all, I'd definitely appreciate any info. I'm willing to try any suggestions.
 
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AnUnusedUsername

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Your GPU or CPU aren't overheating, are they? An overheating CPU will hard-stop once it reaches a certain temperature (100 C for intel processors, I'm not sure of the value for AMD). GPUs generally have similar heat protection methods but the temperature varies by card.

I didn't even think to ask this before because it's usually semi-obvious when overheating is the issue, and you said you replaced CPU thermal paste, which means you were checking temps. But an overheating GPU could cause this, since it would simply shut down when it reached critical temperature (though usually the rest of your system would keep running for a little while, at least until it crashed because it couldn't find the GPU anymore).

It's theoretically also possible for your northbridge or southbridge to overheat, but I've never actually seen it happen. The CPU will almost always overheat and shut down before that happens. It wouldn't hurt to check that the heatsinks on your mobo are actually making contact with the components they cover (maybe one of those plastic pins that holds them on came loose or fell out).
 
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