An Extremely Strange Problem

[fhonig]

Hello,

I built my rig about 4 months ago and it has been running great with no problems. However over the last week it has been powering itself randomly after 10-30 min. The wierd part is when i lay the machine on its side it works no problems one hundred back to normal. Any Ideas?

Intel i7 2.6
EVGA GTX 295
Corsair Memory 8gb
Antec 750 w

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Aftermarket heatsink too heavy?
stand-offs not installed?
possibly a short somewhere else or a faulty psu,
try http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/288241-13-read-posting-buyer-guides-troubleshooting section 3 and see i fyou get any joy
Moto

 

[rolli59]

Or just a bad connection. Check up needed.

 

[fhonig]

No aftermarket heatsink, all standoffs installed in correct spots.
I have taken the whole rig apart and rebuilt with the same result.

 

[Twoboxer]

Time to look at temps. (Really wish you had told us your case and the model of the Antec psu - modular?) So I'm reduced to guessing why it works on its side but not upright after 4 months. And I guess dust buildup in a case with a side vent and with marginal airflow for the 295, overheating the cpu when upright.

Anyhow, stand the PC upright, and use CPUID Hardware Monitor to watch core temps. When it shuts down, what were they?

Repeat test with case on its side. Compare temps.

The heat may also be caused by a cpu heat sink that can lean away from the cpu when upright. Doesn't have to be a heavy aftermarket cooler to do that, so check by seeing if you can rock the cooler with your hand.

If its not heat related, we can move on to mechanical issues.