- Oct 31, 2015
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- 4,510
So I've been having this problem periodically with my PC, and I'm only an amateur, so I'm not sure exactly how to pinpoint the problem. I built the PC myself, the specs are:
CPU: AMD FX-6300
Motherboard: Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 Micro ATX AM3+
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600
Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 1TB 7200 RPM
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 4GB
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
I built the PC just under a year ago, and it had run perfectly fine for the majority of that time. A couple months ago, however, I started to experience this issue where my PC would shut itself down, and although all the case's LEDs stayed on and the fans ran, there was no display on the screen and I wasn't able to turn it off using the power button on the case, having to unplug it from the wall. I opened up the case and reseated the RAM, and it booted up for me fine. However, the issue returned maybe about a month or two later. Reseating the RAM didn't help this time. After letting it sit for a while, not even touching it out of frustration for maybe a day or two, I turned it on and it worked fine. However, now I get the same issue, but my PC will shut itself off on me randomly, and randomly work again. It's very frustrating. What could the problem be?
I originally thought one of my RAM sticks were bad, but I've been able to get the PC working with both of them plugged in, both individually and together.
I checked the motherboard for any bulging capacitors, and I didn't find any.
I have unplugged everything and put the whole PC back together at least 3 times by now, rehousing it new cases that I thought looked cooler, and I've had the same problem in each case. The only part I never took out was the processor.
My current theory is that maybe something, possibly the processor, is overheating? One time when I was experiencing this problem, I opened the case, cleaned off some dust from the heatsink, and it appeared to work just fine and for a longer period of time after that. But now I'm having the issue again, periodically. It'll happen every few days or so. I installed SpeedFan to keep track of my PC's temperatures, and although this is just an observation based on a small sample size, it looks like my CPU and the PC's core temp seem to run hotter in-between these random shutdowns. Right now my CPU and the core temp are at 51 degrees celsius, and SpeedFan put little flame icons next to them. I don't know what the ideal temperatures would be, but that little flame icon, as opposed to the green checkmark, is leading me to believe that its too hot. I considered the possibility that one of my parts might be faulty, but since I can get my PC to work a lot of the time too, I thought maybe the temperature is the problem since its more varied, especially since its summertime and my house can get pretty warm. My brother's PC, however, hasn't had this issue, and we bought all the same parts and keep our PCs in the same room of the house. The only difference is all the cases I've were bigger with better airflow and more fans. My current case has 3 fans, two intake and one exhaust. Is it possible the thermal paste on my processor dried or burnt out?
Sorry for the long explanation, but I'm at my wit's end. What could be causing this? I hate having my PC crash in the middle of a game.
P.S. I play a lot of ARK Survival Evolved, which is a very demanding game. Could that have anything to do with it?
UPDATE: So I tried replacing the thermal paste on my processor, and although the PC's temperatures appear to have improved, the problem still persists. I replaced the thermal paste and left my PC on, idle, overnight to see if it would be shutdown by morning. It was. Any ideas?
SECOND UPDATE: My PC has been off for a while now, but when I tried to boot it up today, it won't boot up. Still, just loud fans, no display, can't turn it off using the power button. If anyone has any clue at all, PLEASE give me some sort of idea what the problem is, I really have no clue.
CPU: AMD FX-6300
Motherboard: Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 Micro ATX AM3+
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600
Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 1TB 7200 RPM
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 4GB
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
I built the PC just under a year ago, and it had run perfectly fine for the majority of that time. A couple months ago, however, I started to experience this issue where my PC would shut itself down, and although all the case's LEDs stayed on and the fans ran, there was no display on the screen and I wasn't able to turn it off using the power button on the case, having to unplug it from the wall. I opened up the case and reseated the RAM, and it booted up for me fine. However, the issue returned maybe about a month or two later. Reseating the RAM didn't help this time. After letting it sit for a while, not even touching it out of frustration for maybe a day or two, I turned it on and it worked fine. However, now I get the same issue, but my PC will shut itself off on me randomly, and randomly work again. It's very frustrating. What could the problem be?
I originally thought one of my RAM sticks were bad, but I've been able to get the PC working with both of them plugged in, both individually and together.
I checked the motherboard for any bulging capacitors, and I didn't find any.
I have unplugged everything and put the whole PC back together at least 3 times by now, rehousing it new cases that I thought looked cooler, and I've had the same problem in each case. The only part I never took out was the processor.
My current theory is that maybe something, possibly the processor, is overheating? One time when I was experiencing this problem, I opened the case, cleaned off some dust from the heatsink, and it appeared to work just fine and for a longer period of time after that. But now I'm having the issue again, periodically. It'll happen every few days or so. I installed SpeedFan to keep track of my PC's temperatures, and although this is just an observation based on a small sample size, it looks like my CPU and the PC's core temp seem to run hotter in-between these random shutdowns. Right now my CPU and the core temp are at 51 degrees celsius, and SpeedFan put little flame icons next to them. I don't know what the ideal temperatures would be, but that little flame icon, as opposed to the green checkmark, is leading me to believe that its too hot. I considered the possibility that one of my parts might be faulty, but since I can get my PC to work a lot of the time too, I thought maybe the temperature is the problem since its more varied, especially since its summertime and my house can get pretty warm. My brother's PC, however, hasn't had this issue, and we bought all the same parts and keep our PCs in the same room of the house. The only difference is all the cases I've were bigger with better airflow and more fans. My current case has 3 fans, two intake and one exhaust. Is it possible the thermal paste on my processor dried or burnt out?
Sorry for the long explanation, but I'm at my wit's end. What could be causing this? I hate having my PC crash in the middle of a game.
P.S. I play a lot of ARK Survival Evolved, which is a very demanding game. Could that have anything to do with it?
UPDATE: So I tried replacing the thermal paste on my processor, and although the PC's temperatures appear to have improved, the problem still persists. I replaced the thermal paste and left my PC on, idle, overnight to see if it would be shutdown by morning. It was. Any ideas?
SECOND UPDATE: My PC has been off for a while now, but when I tried to boot it up today, it won't boot up. Still, just loud fans, no display, can't turn it off using the power button. If anyone has any clue at all, PLEASE give me some sort of idea what the problem is, I really have no clue.
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