Computer Shuts off during GamePlay - Help?

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dthomp87

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Jan 31, 2015
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I have a Lenovo M82 SFF PC that i put a MSI GTX 750 TI low profile graphics card in. The PSU is only 240watt but from the calculators ive used my setup should only require about 195watts. all i have hooked up is an SSD 240 Hard Drive, 4GB DDR3 (single stick) and the graphics card. and about 4 fans total.

When i try to play Far Cry 3 it gets through the intro video then when it gets the gameplay part the computer turns off within a minute or so. I suspected maybe the power supply is bad so i went out and bought a TFX ff 300watt powersupply from frys, but its a 20 pin connecter, i noticed that my mother board uses a 14 pin connecter that is unique to this computer. so i considered splicing wires to make it work but noticed there are no 5v wires on my system, everything runs of 12v or 3.3v and the 12v amps on the new power supply was actually lower than the current one i have, since it has a lot of amps reserved for 5v which i wouldnt even be using, so i assume this wouldnt work for my pc. Ive found converters online that convert 24pin plugs to 14 pin plugs but im not sure if the wattage for 12v would be correct.


im also not even sure if the power supply is even the issue as i checked the voltages and they seem to all be within the tolerances. and i opened it up and everything seemed fine.

i updated the bios and set video card to pcie card in the bios. with no change. I monitored the temp of the CPU during the issue and its around 50 degrees.

what do you guys suggest I do? this is so frustrating i just want to play!
 
Solution
coozie7
Random thoughts:
Power supplies that devote a large percentage of their output to the +5V and 3.3v lines are usually old designs and best avoided for more modern systems that draw (as you've noted) most of their power off the 12V line/s.
Newegg DO list some SFF PSUs', maybe you'll find something suitable there.
Check the graphics card temperatures, the GTX750Ti isn't exactly a room heater but it still needs to be cooled and OEM SFF cases are not usually over equipped with fans, GPUZ is an excellent GPU monitoring freebie, grab it here: http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/
Does the card need a 6 pin PCI-E lead for power? If so, is it connected? <- Yes, I know, insulting, but it's an easy error to make.
Not sure if this'll help you but I've...
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coozie7

coozie7

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Jun 2, 2007
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Random thoughts:
Power supplies that devote a large percentage of their output to the +5V and 3.3v lines are usually old designs and best avoided for more modern systems that draw (as you've noted) most of their power off the 12V line/s.
Newegg DO list some SFF PSUs', maybe you'll find something suitable there.
Check the graphics card temperatures, the GTX750Ti isn't exactly a room heater but it still needs to be cooled and OEM SFF cases are not usually over equipped with fans, GPUZ is an excellent GPU monitoring freebie, grab it here: http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/
Does the card need a 6 pin PCI-E lead for power? If so, is it connected? <- Yes, I know, insulting, but it's an easy error to make.
Not sure if this'll help you but I've had great problems with my GTX970 crashing out, the solution SEEMS to be to set the power management mode from 'adaptive' to 'prefer maximum performance' in the drivers: Open Nvidia Control Panel>Manage 3d Settings>scroll down to power management and set it to 'prefer maximum performance', then hit the 'apply' button.
 
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dthomp87

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Jan 31, 2015
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Thanks for the tip about the GPU monitor. So last crash the temp was 55 degrees. The power consumption hits 50.3% last on the log, looks like VDDC jumps from .98 to 1.112 for a few seconds before the crash..

 
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dthomp87

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Jan 31, 2015
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I'm considering running to the store downt the street to buy a new motherboard just so i dont have to worry about the weird connector and use the 300w psu i bought today.. but what you say about 5v power is older style would that not be good for the GPU either? I assumed there wasnt a power connector on the GPU but ill power down and check right now just to be sure. Also could i damage any components by keep testing stuff and causing power crashes?
 
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coozie7

coozie7

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Jun 2, 2007
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Potentially an expensive and problematic solution to the oddball connector issue, I'm not sure how Windows will react to a MB change, at the very least you'll need to install new drivers and maybe reactivate Windows if you go that route and being an OEM licence reactivation with a non standard MB may not be possible.
If the current PSU (the 240Watt one) has more output on the +12v line than the new one, I'd leave things as they are. Older PSU's gave more on the lower voltage lines because older systems drew more power off them, more modern systems draw more off the 12V line so more modern PSUs' devote more of their wattage to that line.
If the PSU IS causing the crashes it is possible it MAY cause damage IF you continue to overload it AND it lacks decent protection.
Power supplies lose output over time BTW, Google 'Capacitor ageing' so if it's an old part it may have already lost enough output to be effectively overloaded, even though the system draw is below its rated output.
 
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dthomp87

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Jan 31, 2015
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Installed windows 8.1.. did all the drivers and everything and still crashed at same place.. from the GPU log it seems to happen about 10 seconds after the VDDC jumps up. Is there a way to prevent this? is this OverClocking?
 
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dthomp87

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Jan 31, 2015
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OK I FIXED THE PROBLEM!!!! for now...

SO, i have the MSI GTX 750 TI which has "afterburner" technology built in so it overclocks the chip once it gets graphically intense. I downloaded the MSI Afterburner utility and "underclocked the chip and it works fine now... probably just uses a lot more power when overclocked and kills the PC. Ill order a 300W PSU from new egg that has high 12v AMPs and mod it to fit the 14 pin connector
 
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