PC shutting down whenever I play a game. NOT a heat issue and NOT a PSU problem. PC does not shut down under load.

i8toast

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Recently, my PC has been starting to shut down randomly when in game. No BSOD or anything. It just restarts on its own with no warning. Now first, let me state why I'm very certain it's neither a heat or PSU problem. All of my components are running at stock settings. No overclocking.

I downloaded CAM to monitor my temps and on top of that my case has sensors to detect the ambient temperature within the case. None of my temps seem high. I put my CPU under load with cryptocurrency miners and stress testers. Temps were fine. No issues. I put my GPU under load with cryptocurrency miners and stress tester. (Unigene Valley and FurMark) Temps were fine. No issues. I put both under load simultaneously. Temps were fine. No issues.

I've even left my computer under load overnight and had zero issues. PC didn't restart. Temps were fine whenever I checked. I've actually had my PC run MUCH hotter in the past with no real issues.

So considering my PC can be under load for extended periods of time without any issues I don't see how it could be a PSU issue. On top of that, I've had my PC restart on game menus. Meaning there's no way any of the components are under any real load. If the PSU was having issues delivering enough power then logically my PC should also have problems when the PC is put under load. In fact, it should have more problems considering most of my stress tests probably put the components under way more load than when I play games. I usually don't play super demanding games and I have decent components.

I also eliminated heat being the issue because, well, the temps I was seeing were completely fine and my PC has ran much hotter in the past.

Every time I google this problem I just see a bunch of answers insisting it's a PSU or heat related issue, but I've reached a point where I severely doubt it's either of those. It very well could be, but I'm going to need a thorough explanation to be convinced. I don't want to run out and buy new components only to find out it doesn't fix the problem.

The oldest components in my system are the HDDs and RAM. My CPU, GPU, and motherboard are all only a year or two old.

SPECS:

CPU - AMD FX8350

GPU - Radeon R9 380

RAM - 8 GB DDR3

Motherboard - MSI 970A sli Krait Edition

PSU - I forget the brand, but I'm certain it's 80+ Bronze and 500W.

My system was running perfectly fine with all the parts I currently have for a long time. This problem started occurring recently.
 

i8toast

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Put the GPU under load. Doesn't reset unless it's a game.

On top of that, the PC has reset while simply on a game's menu.

 

i8toast

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PC has reset on menus meaning there's minimal load. I doubt it's due to different load peaks. On top of that, the PC can remain under near full load, GPU AND CPU, overnight with zero issues, but as soon as it's a game it resets itself after a minute or two.
 

i8toast

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Any game. Sometimes my PC shuts down randomly though. That actually just started, but it's a very uncommon occurrence.

 
only other thing to try is test your hardware in another system and other known to be working hardware in yours. Beginning with graphics card, power supply, hard drive, RAM, CPU, motherboard
Faulty hardware is not always following logically to symptoms.

Which PSU brand and model do you use?
 

i8toast

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I forget the brand, but I know it's a well-established brand like EVGA. It's also 500W and 80+ Bronze certified.

I just forget the exact model.

 
It´s labeled on the power supply, usually you just have to remove the side of your system and can look directly at it ;)

Is your CPU running at the desired frequency while running a stress test? run prim95 with the option smallFFT and have a look at the frequency as well. Does it drop to about 800MHz? How hot is the CPU after about 10minutes?

Please run 3dmark basic edition , click on compare result online after that and post the address from your upcoming browser
https://www.techspot.com/downloads/5775-3dmark.html
 

i8toast

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Tested RAM with the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool. No problems.

Checked boot drive with Seagate SeaTools. No problems. I ran all the tests too. (SMART, Short Generic, Long Generic, and Short DST)

Again, I don't see how it can be a PSU problem when my CPU AND GPU can be under near full load overnight with zero issues, but as soon as I launch a game it'll restart my PC within a minute or two. It even restarted in a menu once, but usually it restarts it very shortly after I actually get into a game. It doesn't matter how demanding the game is. It restarted on CSGO, which isn't all that demanding.

EDIT: I also tested the drive my games are stored in. It passed all the tests.
 

i8toast

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CPU is not undervolted. Are you telling me to undervolt?
 


Well what is it exactly?
 

i8toast

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EVGA 500 B1.

This one: https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=100-b1-0500-kr
 

R0GG

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Could you download/install Hwmonitor and perform screen capture ? with GPU + CPU temps, clocks, usage and fan speeds while idle and under load, also motherboard fans and temps especially northbridge and voltages ( basically all sensors in hwmonitor)
 

i8toast

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EVGA 500B. It's a 500 watt 80+ bronze certified PSU, as I said.

When I ran prime95 with the smallFFT option the frequency almost always stayed at 4000MHz. Sometimes it would go slightly over and very rarely slightly under. The CPU only gets to the high 40s. The PC did restart after a while of running this test though. This didn't happen on my previous stress tests, but lately if I stress the CPU it restarts, so I guess the problem is getting worse? It doesn't seem to be due to heat though, and the other thing that perplexes me is the fact that when gaming the CPU is under a fraction of the load at most. The CPU almost never reaches 60%+ usage and sometimes it restarts when I'm simply on a menu.

I'll post another comment once I test it with 3dmark.



EDIT: I ran prime95 a second time for another person and my PC restarted basically the moment I started the test. The first time it took several minutes.
 

i8toast

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Screen cap it as in take a video? My PC has actually begun restarting even when the CPU is under load, so I guess the problem is getting worse. It previously did not do that. So it's probably a PSU or MOBO problem, I guess.

Here's the video of what I got: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v033mdJrG-s

Please be aware that my PC basically shut down the moment I started the CPU stresser, so you're probably only seeing the idle info. I'll try to get load info.
 
In my oppinion it´s the VRMs not getting enough juice to the CPU and therefore cuts the power. Downclocking the CPU including Vcore and ventilating the CPU socket area by a strong fan could help temporarily.

Would try another power supply, could still be the culprit.
A 990FX motherboard for this power hungry CPU would have been the right choice back in the days.
Another board would be my second suggestion, but if you don´t have warranty on your board anymore, I would check for a better way
-> latest gen CPU, motherboard and DDR4
 

i8toast

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Well, all I did was take out the motherboard and removed the battery for a while, which I assume just resets the bios, and now my PC is magically okay. I tried undervolting it and my PC actually didn't turn on at all. Like nothing turned on after I did that. My PC was essentially bricked.

I'm a bit confused over how this helped though. I don't think I ever touched the BIOS in the past, so reverting everything to default, when it more than likely was default to begin with... Not sure how that'd magically fix everything.