Computer Shutting Down Abruptly

[ignisrenovatio]

First off, I am new to the site, so if I am posting this in the wrong place, I apologize.

I recently purchased Dragon Age: Origins and have been experiencing some problems. After about 20 minutes of game play, my computer shuts down completely. No blue screen, simply shuts down. I checked my CPU temps and found that with even an extremely low CPU usage (Only Google Chrome Browser for example) my CPU sits at around 50c. When I throw up a game like Dragon Age, the temperature skyrockets to around 75c. The reason this is particularly startling to me, is that I have NEVER had this new rig completely shut down on me before, even while playing all the high-demand games of the last year.

Does anyone have a recommendation as to what it could be if its not CPU temp. And if it is, the best way to go about solving the issue. I currently have the stock Heat Sink for the Intel i7 920 on, and the case that I have(While not the Antec 900 /sigh still sports a decent sized front, rear, and side fan) I have the case in a relatively well ventilated area(not enclosed in a computer desk hutch).

Should I check to reapply thermal paste, do I simply need to purchase an upgraded heat sink or better case? And if so, why would this problem only be occuring just now (I purchased and built the rig in February of this year). I have the Computers specs posted below.

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 11/23/2009, 03:28:33
Machine name: ALUCARD
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model: EX58-UD4P
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.8GHz
Memory: 6142MB RAM
Page File: 1950MB used, 10441MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 7.00.6002.18107 32bit Unicode


---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: ATI Radeon Graphics Processor (0x9442)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_9442&SUBSYS_E810174B&REV_00
Display Memory: 3831 MB
Dedicated Memory: 1016 MB
Shared Memory: 2815 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 960 (32 bit) (75Hz)

 

[mi1ez]

what power supply do you have?

 

[chrischoi94]

How do you have Dx11 for Vista?

 

[Scotteq]

How do you have Dx11 for Vista?

It was released in October, and if you ran your updates last month then you probably have it as well. Open an elevated command prompt and type the command: dxdiag


Announcing Final Releases of Platform Update for Windows Vista Technologies

The Platform Update for Windows Vista will be available for free via Windows Update, Windows Server Update Services and the Microsoft Download Center. You will need to have Windows Update “recommended settings” enabled in order to automatically receive the update without additional action.

These updates include the following:

* Windows Ribbon and Animation Manager Library: contains the Windows Ribbon API, a command framework that enables developers to quickly and easily create rich ribbon experiences in their applications, and the Windows Animation Manager API, an animation framework for managing the scheduling and execution of user interface element animations.
* Windows Graphics, Imaging, and XPS Library: components for developers to leverage the latest advancements in modern graphics technologies for gaming, multimedia, imaging and printing applications. It includes updates to DirectX to support hardware acceleration for 2D, 3D and text based scenarios; DirectCompute for hardware accelerated parallel computing scenarios; and XPS Library for document printing scenarios.
* Windows Automation API: allows accessibility tools and test automations to access Windows user interface in a consistent way across operating system versions.
* Windows Portable Devices Platform: supplies the infrastructure to standardize data transfers between an application and a portable device, such as a mobile phone, digital camera, or portable media player.

Note that the Windows Automation API will also be made available as a separate download for PCs running Windows XP.

THIS UPDATE INCLUDES DX-11


Reference: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971644


Please be advised you will still need the appropriate hardware to take full advantage - i.e. an ATI 58** series GPU.



Download KB KB971512 - Includes DX11 - For 32 Bit Vista - (4.6mb)


Download KB 971512 - Includes DX11 - for Vista 64bit (9.4mb)



Screenie of it installed:

 

[Scotteq]

First off, I am new to the site, so if I am posting this in the wrong place, I apologize.

I recently purchased Dragon Age: Origins and have been experiencing some problems. After about 20 minutes of game play, my computer shuts down completely. No blue screen, simply shuts down. I checked my CPU temps and found that with even an extremely low CPU usage (Only Google Chrome Browser for example) my CPU sits at around 50c. When I throw up a game like Dragon Age, the temperature skyrockets to around 75c. The reason this is particularly startling to me, is that I have NEVER had this new rig completely shut down on me before, even while playing all the high-demand games of the last year.

Does anyone have a recommendation as to what it could be if its not CPU temp. And if it is, the best way to go about solving the issue. I currently have the stock Heat Sink for the Intel i7 920 on, and the case that I have(While not the Antec 900 /sigh still sports a decent sized front, rear, and side fan) I have the case in a relatively well ventilated area(not enclosed in a computer desk hutch).

Should I check to reapply thermal paste, do I simply need to purchase an upgraded heat sink or better case? And if so, why would this problem only be occuring just now (I purchased and built the rig in February of this year). I have the Computers specs posted below.

Yah - First thing I would do is remove the HSF, thoroughly clean it, and reinstall. However, I'm of the type who would think to himself "...what the hell... Better to just replace it with an aftermarket onem and I'm tearing the computer apart anyhow...."

50c is very high for idle temps. IIRC, 75 is still in the range for that processor, though it is definitely high.

 

[ignisrenovatio]

The Power Supply is OCZ Stealth X Stream 600W.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341010&cm_re=ocz_power_supply-_-17-341-010-_-Product