Computer randomly shutting down even though everything is fine.

demonz

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Dec 31, 2014
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So, recently I done a post saying how my computer was shutting down and I had no idea what it was, well we agreed it was overheating so I took it to a repair shop, they applied more thermal paste as it was lacking but thy found it was still shutting down. They said power supply was fine, all fans were working so they have no idea what it is, due to it being a custom PC they wont look at it any more in case of making more problems.
So I guess if anyone can shed any light on the issue that would be great.
The parts are as follows:
GPU: R9 270x
CPU: AMD fx-8320
RAM: 8GB
Hard drive: 1TB
Power: 500w EVGA
MOBO:ASRock 980DE3/U3S3 Motherboard
 

Petar Raickovic

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Hmm check your ram memory? or your mobo.... i think is that... Or just borrow from some friend Power supply and run it for a few hours... If still ? U need to Borrow Ram memory and try with that new one if again shuts down trly Reinstall system, if again then must be a mobo i think
 

InvalidError

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What sort of test did they do on the PSU? Just a basic DC voltage and maybe a static load test? That's not thorough enough.

I would not rule out the PSU as a probable cause until I either tried swapping in a known-good one and got the same results or observed PSU rails behavior on an oscilloscope during a random shutdown/reboot event and could not see anything wrong there either.

BTW, EVGA sells a handful of 500W PSUs, you need to be more specific. If it is a plain 500W, a B or NEXB series, you may want to swap it out for a better quality model.
 

demonz

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According to the Repair shop all my hard ware is fine, power supply and all. So i cant really see that being an issue, they had it for 5 days running tests. I should add this has only occurred in the past 2 weeks and ice had it for a year.
 

InvalidError

Titan
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If it is a power supply issue as most of us currently suspect, your random shutdowns will get increasingly frequent and at some point, your PC may no longer boot at all.

The main problem with running a PC with a potentially dying PSU is that there is no telling what effect it will have on other components. Excessive output ripple from failing output caps will wear out caps throughout your system and cause premature failure of other components. A more catastrophic PSU failure might destroy other components outright.

Since people like car analogies so much, you might be doing the PC equivalent of driving a car with a blinking "Check Engine" light. Your random misfire from a defective $60 O2 or IAT sensor or other trivial repair might escalate into a $2000 engine blow if not fixed in a timely manner.
 

demonz

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Well in that case I still have a warranty on it, so if thats what you all think ill be sending it back, should i just get a refund or the same one? Is the one I have good or bad?
 

InvalidError

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If it was one of my PSUs/PCs having that issue, I would connect one of my DSOs on the motherboard and GPU power connectors and look at what the power looks like as I put the PC and PSU through their paces. With some luck, the symptoms, such as excessive ripple, slow transient response or under/overshoots, will be obvious even if I don't catch a failure on the spot. A basic PSU tester won't detect any of those issues.
 

demonz

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Ok, im gonna say im stupidly incompetent when it comes to the technical side of computing, so i will pass that on to them and im going to presume they will know what to do. Thanks for all your help though, i may finally be able to use it.
 

InvalidError

Titan
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If it is indeed a PSU issue as suspected, it exceeds what their crude testing can identify and they will simply throw whatever parts they have lying around at it. They may end up charging you more for their tinkering time than a good quality PSU would cost and end up putting in a new PSU that is of generally worse quality than what you already have.

This is a bit like people trusting random mechanics with car repairs: they will try to write you up for everything they can think of and unless you are at least somewhat familiar with maintenance, you might get suckered into 10X the bill you were expecting for maintenance you could have done yourself. The last time I had an oil change done in a shop, they tried to charge me $20 to replace a light bulb that wasn't even burnt out, just a bit of corrosion.
 

demonz

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Well, if you do think its a PSU issue I could just try to get a refund as i still have my warranty for all my pc parts, how ever if you think the MOBO could be at fault in anyway, i wont be so fast to try and get the refund as it will probably cost me more in turn.
 

Kewlx25

Distinguished
Suddenly shutdowns are typically CPU(overheat), mobo(faulty), PSU(faulty). If your GPU, memory, CPU, or other devices have actual issues, they typically result in BSODs, not shutdowns.

In order for your system to shutdown, something needs to signal your system to shutdown or power becomes too unstable for your motherboard. Your motherboard handles the signals.
 

demonz

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I had the CPU tested, it was lacking in thermal paste but they added more and all the fans were working correctly, highest temp was around 56-59 so i dont think thats the issue.
So i guessing all of this stems down to MOBO and PSU then, i will look into having PSU replaced first, since im going to be getting a new MOBO anyways.
 

demonz

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Well it turns out that it was in fact the CPU that is messing up, I got told the wrong information so im having that replaced, I did ask about the PSU and they said they tested through the mobo or something, so I guess i found my problem, thank alot.