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Computer Shuts down when gaming

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Hello all,

I've had my homebuilt computer for a number of years now, occasionally upgrading components here and there. I've always seemed to have an issue with the rig randomly shutting down while playing games. It doesn't crash, but just powers down like someone pulled to plug. Here are my specs.

GeForce 6100SM-M
AMD 64X2 6000+
4gig Ram
650W psu
nvidia 275 GTX

While idling the GPU is at 41C and CPU at 31. Under gaming stress the GPU sits at about 60-70 and the GPU at 50-55

The graphics card and PSU are less than 3 months old.

The PSU is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


I've read from people with similar issues that it could be a power or power problem, but I ran a stress test (furmark) for about 10 minutes, bringing the GPU temp up to almost 90 and it didnt crash. I also pulled off the side and stuck a desktop fan right next to it and it doesnt seem to help.

It will, however, crash when I load Bad Company 2 and play it for about 1 minute, and there is one point in the game it just refuses to load past. I thought because of this that it might be the game, but this has happened in the past with different games. i've reinstalled it twice just to be sure, though.

Also, when it did this in the past it was with a different graphics card and different PSU.

So there it is. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I'm pretty frustrated trying to figure this problem out.

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My work is now blocking direct links to Newegg, so I can't see what PSU you have. Problems with the system simply powering down are nearly always related to the PSU. Could you post what brand and model your PSU is so I can look up the specs?

That's not a quality unit, so all bets are off. A quality unit will have active PFC (no little red voltage switch on the back) and be at least 80+ certified. That PSU doesn't meet either of those requirements. How old is the PSU? Are you able to return it and pick up a quality unit from a known good manufacturer like Corsair, PC Power & Cooling, Seasonic, Antec, or OCZ?
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I appreciate the quick response. Its about 3 months old so probably no luck on returning it. If it was a power issue wouldn't it crash during a stress test? Its weird i've played some games with similar graphics for hours and had no issues and for some reason this one just does it a lot.

Stress tests and games can put different stresses on different components. Problems where the system simply powers down are nearly always caused by the PSU not being able to provide enough clean power and shutting down to hopefully not damage the system.

Wonderful. Well i'll have to look into that then, if i can afford it. There aren't any programs available that can tell the volts being used up, are there?

Also, just for the sake of argument, if it wasn't the PSU what would be your next guess?

Thanks again for getting back to me so quickly.

I honestly can't think of any other reason why a system would simply power down like you pulled the power chord from the wall. The only other cause for that type of behavior would likely be heat related. The system could shut down if the CPU overheated, but it looks like your temps are decent.

I guess you could check your RAM settings in the BIOS. Which exact RAM kit do you have? Have you manually set the RAM speed/timings/voltage to their rated specs in the BIOS? Have you run Memtest86+ overnight to test for RAM errors? I highly doubt the RAM is the issue, but manually setting the RAM values and running Memtest86+ is a good idea for any build.

I've got 2 sticks of OCZ ddr2 "high performance", and I haven't manually set and ram speed/timings/etc , nor do I know how. I also haven't run Memtest86+, but i suppose that will be my project for this weekend.

I was hoping it was a software related issue but apparently this is going to end up costing me some money. If i get a new psu, i might as well get a new case and if i get a new case then...oh boy here goes the snowball downhill effect =P Are you sure 500-550w would be enough? i think 550 is a bare minimum for my gpu.

once again thanks for the help guys!



scottylespaul said:
Are you sure 500-550w would be enough? i think 550 is a bare minimum for my gpu.

A QUALITY 500W - 550W PSU would power your system (like the ones jtt283 linked to). If you want a little more headroom you could get a 650W PSU. The key word is QUALITY. A cheap PSU will be over-rated and likely blow up (or shut down in your case) if pushed anywhere near its "rated" voltage for any length of time. Quality PSU's are under-rated and can run all day at their rated specs.

Here's a couple 650W PSU suggestions:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=E...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

I was thinking about getting a few new parts anyways but I was just anticipating not upgrade the power supply since its fairly new. Oh well. I'll just add a "quality" PSU to the list. Thanks again fellas. You've been a huge help. If i find out the problem was something else (unlikely, but stranger things have happened) i'll let you know.

Well, here's an update. I upgraded my PSU to an Antec 650W and my case to one that provides substantially better airflow. The result? Same problem. Sometimes it seems like I can play a little longer than I did before, but ultimately I'm having the same issues. I'm almost positive that my GPU and CPU aren't overheating as i'm getting better temperatures than before and I seriously doubt its a power issue now. I've also tried updating all of my drivers as well, but that has not seemed to have helped.

Also, I had a blue screen happen out of nowhere that said something alone the lines of "driver power failure". I don't remember exactly what it said but that was close to it. Maybe this is related to my current problem?

Maybe my gpu is just broken. Questions/comments/concerns? Any and all advice welcome! Thanks again in advance.

scottylespaul said:
Well, here's an update. I upgraded my PSU to an Antec 650W and my case to one that provides substantially better airflow. The result? Same problem. Sometimes it seems like I can play a little longer than I did before, but ultimately I'm having the same issues. I'm almost positive that my GPU and CPU aren't overheating as i'm getting better temperatures than before and I seriously doubt its a power issue now. I've also tried updating all of my drivers as well, but that has not seemed to have helped.

Also, I had a blue screen happen out of nowhere that said something alone the lines of "driver power failure". I don't remember exactly what it said but that was close to it. Maybe this is related to my current problem?

Maybe my gpu is just broken. Questions/comments/concerns? Any and all advice welcome! Thanks again in advance.


Just thought i tell you, your problem is definitely the mobo. That particular model fails sooner or later. In the office 2 machines with that mother started shuting off randomly up to the point that both shutted off when the xp logo appeared. After switching parts the only responsible left was the ECS. Bought two new mobos, problem is gone for a good 6 months now.
We had already tried PSU (my own enermax 750w for a sempron system he) changing case, assembling the PC on a desk and nothing else. No luck.
Just return or buy a new mobo.
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