Certain games power-off computer after new graphics card - need help!

you should monitor your temps in the game because it could be a heat spike then the temps settle when you clog back on. use msi afterburner and install the remote server as well so you can monitor the temps on any smart device on the same wifi network while in game. You could also try this if your comfortable, you could either increas the cards power a little bit and see if it becomes stable or reduce the core and memory clock speeds and see if that helps. do the temp checking first though.

hmmmm most programs can record the data however if your computer shuts off im assuming it wont save it. You or a friend do not have any device running android or ios that you could use?

Since there is no indication of failure. It is not an overheating problem or high voltage contact.. So I would assume its 99% chance that the problem is with your PSU.. either its a fail unit...... or time worn out it's efficiency.... Your Gpu requires high power (Watts) relatively.. So if I am right the PSU is prioritizing the GPU with not enough power to energize other components... So just try another PSU to check.. (This issue is most common when changing GPU's)

If that doesn't work out... I would suppose its either your Rams failure... or your HDD or SSD where your windows run !

I would also be pointing blame at the PSU.

Its not the capacity thats the problem (650w is fine) its more that it could be faulty - Its also a very low end PSU anyway, not really designed for gaming computers.

What graphics were you using before? the 970 will be drawing significantly more on the 12v rail compared to without (gtx 970 would draw roughly double the wattage than your CPU).

Something by seasonic is usually good.

are you running something like msi afterburner, ramp up the fan speed keep the temps lower or create your own fan setting in the program so when gaming the fans don't stay to low as for nvidia's profile the cooler the better.

I had similar issues as you describe. For checking GPU temperature I used a free gadget with my Windows 7. I had two video cards in SLI and monitored each. My particular brand/model of GPU would go into protect mode at 206 F. I found this out from the GPU mfg. site. The failures which ran the gamut from going into power Save mode and shutting down to crashing the game. My cards were eVGA and I used their GPU control software called precision X. While you can tinker with all kinds of stuff I was only interested in manual control over the GPU fan speeds. I'd run the fans as fast as the software allowed which was about 85%. Default speed was about 45%. Long term I had a video card that was slowly failing but speeding up the fans kept things going for a year or more. There are a number of these utilities out there and I believe each GPU manufacturer has their own version and all are free. Some of the aftermarket ones may not be. You'll have to look.

At one time Crucial.com was the best source for checking RAM in your PC. They have a utility that runs that will tell you what RAM you need, how they need to be configured -all the same size or mixable-, the maximum capacity you MN can handle, etc. They sell RAM which is why their utility is so good. You don't have to buy from them but the info you can glean will be accurate. You can double check if you have any issues.

On the power supply, yes too weak an output can cause issues. Some PCs, a couple of my old Dells were like this, have the mounting holes in opposite corners which makes using a power supply other than theirs difficult without some body work. I don't know if they are still like that or id everybody has standardized. I know that was a big pain when I started upgrading with more powerful GPUs because at the time Dell's biggest PSU was 250 watts. I long since abandoned off the shelf PCs because there was too much of that "nobody's stuff will fit but ours". Again, check the GPU's manufacturer data sheet for power requirements. If you can't make sense of it call their support line and ask what kind of power capacity do they recommend. Bear in mind if you are running a lot of USB devices that don't have their own power supplies/adapters the PC's power supply is driving them too which puts an additional load on it.

Another thing I remember was having an ATI GPU that requires two power supply connections but you weren't supposed to use them from the same line. You were supposed to use one plug from one line and another from a different line.

I think your clocking adjustment is disguising something else that's going on because in briefly poking around I didn't see others were having an issue with the games and that card. Also, since it's possible to wreck stuff messing with GPU settings without fully understanding what the settings do I wouldn't think game manufacturers would mainstream market a game that wouldn't work with a common video card without doing things like that. Games are usually designed for the broadest range of hardware and for the least tech-savvy of players while both GPU and games can include the neat stuff that get the more technically inclined excited.

But, whatever works!