Computer shutting off when playing games after new GPU installed

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anti-citizen

Commendable
Jan 5, 2017
6
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1,510
Recently I replaced my MSI Radeon R7 250 series with an ASUS Dual Radeon RX 480. After installing the new card and installing the drivers, my computer shuts off unexpectedly. What's strange is that it doesn't fully shut off, the power button stays lit up, but the fans, and everything else turns off. I looked at the power consumption of both cards, and apparently my old card used more than my new one, so I don't think power consumption is a problem. When I'm playing the games, I look at the temps and the GPU is always at 50-55 degrees celsius.

Specs:
CPU: AMD FX-8320 Eight-Core Processor
RAM: 16 GB (DDR3)
OS: Windows 10, 64-bit
GPU: ASUS Radeon RX 480 Serie
Disk Drive: ST2000DM001-1ER164 ATA Device
Motherboard: GA-78LMT-USB3 6.0
PSU: Sparkle Power Inc Switching Power Supply, 350W
Manufacturer: CyberPowerPC


 
Solution
B
The R7 250 is a 65 Watt TDP card.

The RX 480 is more along the lines of 150 Watt TDP card.

You're incorrect that your new card uses less power than your old card. It's very likely that your PSU is underpowered and shutting down due to overcurrent protection on the +12V rail feeding your graphics card. That is good for you, since a lot of cheap power supplies will blow up, rather than shutting off. I wouldn't continue using such an underrated PSU with your RX 480, unless you like pressing your luck and risking damage to the PSU and possible more, if it does have a catastrophic failure.
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A

anti-citizen

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Jan 5, 2017
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1,510


I don't understand how my PSU could be the problem, if my other GPU used more power than my new one.
 
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bigpinkdragon286

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Oct 3, 2012
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The R7 250 is a 65 Watt TDP card.

The RX 480 is more along the lines of 150 Watt TDP card.

You're incorrect that your new card uses less power than your old card. It's very likely that your PSU is underpowered and shutting down due to overcurrent protection on the +12V rail feeding your graphics card. That is good for you, since a lot of cheap power supplies will blow up, rather than shutting off. I wouldn't continue using such an underrated PSU with your RX 480, unless you like pressing your luck and risking damage to the PSU and possible more, if it does have a catastrophic failure.
 
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Solution
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anti-citizen

Commendable
Jan 5, 2017
6
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1,510

Okay, so I went and launched CS:GO, and went to Offline with Bots, and hit "GO" and the moment I pressed the button my computer shut off.
Would turning down the amount of power the graphics card uses cause any problems?
 
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A

anti-citizen

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Jan 5, 2017
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1,510


I had searched up the power consumption for both cards, and the sources told me that my old card used more power. I guess they were false.
 
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bigpinkdragon286

Splendid
Oct 3, 2012
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Well, perhaps it is more of a misunderstanding. The RX 480 is fabricated using a 14nm manufacturing process while the R7 250 is manufactured on a 28nm process. To perform the same amount of work as your R7 250, your RX 480 needs far less power. This is good thing, however, the RX 480 is significantly more powerful in terms of performance, with a significantly higher transistor count than the R7 250 you replaced with it, and as such, even though it's individual transistors and circuit design are much more efficient, it still consumers 2 - 2.5x more power when playing games.

If you can limit the card's power consumption in your drivers to a far lower target than the approximately 150+ watts of power the card will normally consume, you may have a chance of gaming without the system shutting down. If this works, it shows how close to the limit your current power supply is, and should probably be replaced anyway. Having only 50 - 75 watts free in your power supply is already too close to the limit, and I would hardly expect a full life-span from it. You were fortunate that your previous graphics card used so little power, but now, it really is time to upgrade your PSU.

Running the RX 480 in a lower power mode may work in the short term, but the PSU will likely be close enough to it's limits to poop out at random intervals, and you're essentially throwing away potential performance by limiting how much power your graphics card can run it's processor on. You also have to accept that if your power supply finally has a catastrophic failure, it may take other components in your system with it. The point of overcurrent protection isn't so you can continuously run your PSU up to it's limit. It's to prevent catastrophic failure. There is hardly any guarantee the overcurrent protection will keep your PSU working long term.
 
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anti-citizen

Commendable
Jan 5, 2017
6
0
1,510


Thanks a lot for the help. I bought a new PSU, and it arrived today. It has it's maximum is 500 watts, and my computer is running great.
 
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