Computer shuts down when gaming

[andyKCIUK]

Firstly, I'm not quite sure where to post this thread, I've decided to place it here but the problem occurs after reverting to stock settings too.

I've had a longish break with gaming, was surfing the net only. I've recently installed Dirt which I'd never had any problems with. Now I can't play the game for any longer then 5, sometimes 10 minutes, cos my PC shuts down. Sometimes I can see some artifacts like a minute before it dies, but not every time. My 4850 runs rather hot, it reaches 117C after few minutes of gaming, never gets any hotter than that though. My e7200 runs hot too, HWMonitor shows up to 72C/70C when gaming. I don't think it's the problem though, as the temps don't go over the threshold.

So, I took the CPU overclock down and tried to play at stock settings, but to no avail.
I set the sliders in CCC to 500Mhz both for GPU and memory, the problem is still there.

What else can I try?

 

[wesley-mcg-]

117C!!!!!!?????? good lord thats hot(and NOT a good way) i remember when i got my first 5870 i accidentally left the fan speed at 20% and 10min into bad company 2 i went to check the temps and it was 120C and before i up the fan speed i crashed i cant believe it still works. i would recommended getting that g-card cooler and if that doesnt work some of the GOOD techs on here can give you better answer than mine

 

[andyKCIUK]

As far as I know the 4850 is designed to withstand 120-130C, I don't think it would shut down at 117C.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Use an air can or compressor to blow out any accumulated dust inside your vid card housing. Then take the side panel off and run a desk fan blowing into the case and see if there's any change.

 

[jilky]

Issue with power supply maybe?

 

[rawoysters]

You got heat problems! 117C is way hot for any card.

 

[yyk71200]

I have 4850 just like you. It used to get to around 120C in games and it shut down the system. I replaced it with a Zalman cooler (I believe it is VF900). The maximum I have seen since then was 76C under Furmark. Usually temperatures are in 50s, low 60s during normal gaming. So you may want to look at aftermarket coolers.

 

[andyKCIUK]

Would taking the stock cooler off and putting new layer of thermal paste and new thermal pads help? I'm a bit broke at the mo (actually completely broke..) and am looking for cheapest possible solutions.

I actually just cleaned the card, it was dusty all right. The layer of dust on the fan was really thick. I don't have an air can handy, so I blew into the card using my trusty old lungs. Since I'm a chain smoker, I don't think it helped much. I cleaned the fan though

Quick update: she's idling at 82C, that dirty bitch.

 

[yyk71200]

82C idle?! OMFG!!!

Cleaning and putting on new thermal paste may help a bit. I wouldn't expect miracles though. Have you tried to increase speed of fan to 100%? It would get noisy though.

 

[andyKCIUK]

It's even worse, now it's 96C with the fan at 50%. I always game with the fan set to 100%.

 

[jsc]

That, boys and girls, is why I never overclock a GPU.