My Computer has recently started turning off when I watch videos or play games

[Mannykins]

I recently had a computer made by a friend. We bought parts separately and put it together and for a short while it worked no problem. More recently however it has begun to turn off randomly.

My previous computer had been experiencing similiar problems, in that it would turn off randomly with no apparent reason. I reformatted the hard drive, reinstalled windows, de-dusted the insides of the computer but the problem never went away.

After a while I put the old hard drive from my old computer into this new one, and it was shortly after I did this that the shutting off problems returned.

However, it seems that I can leave the computer running for aslong as I like with basic programs like Word and the internet, however as soon as I run a game (Only tested with Civilization 5 so far) the computer will abruptly turn off and then restart.

My friend warned me there might not be enough fans in the compuiter, there are the standard ones that came on the Graphics Card, Processor and one other at the front of the case, however I have not gotten around to installing anymore yet, as the computer ran for a week without any overheating problems.

I have also read that it might be a power problem, I am currently running

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit(6.1, Build 7600)
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) I7 CPU 930 @ 2.80GHz (8CPUs, ~2.8GHz
Memory: 6144MB RAM
Graphics Device: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
Power Supply: Corsair TX650W Power Supply

Something of note, I don't have the power supply unit's chord that came with it. It says on the wire I am using 250W, so my first guess is that obviously that is 400w lower than the power supply, and could be a problem however I am not counting on it being as simple as that.

Any help you can provide would be great, I apologise if this message is a bit cluttered.

 

[moody89]

I'd agree with your assessment so far that the issue is either temperature or power related. The way that the problem seems to arise under high loads (games etc.) would suggest this. That being said your PSU is more than enough for your setup and is actually a very good, reliable unit. If by the power cord, you mean the kettle lead that plugs into the PSU and then into the wall then I can't imagine this being a problem since I think they are pretty much standard. At this point I'm thinking temperature's may be the problem here.

Download, install and run HWMonitor from CPUID:

http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

It's a free utility that monitors the temperatures of most of your system hardware. Check that the temperatures are ok while your system is at idle and then fire up your game etc that usually causes you issues and keep an eye on your temperatures of all your components. The issue is likely to be your CPU or if not the Graphics Card. If your temperatures seem fine then the problem must be elsewhere. Post back with your temperatures at idle and at load and we'll take it from there. Good luck!

 

[OgCracKer]

I would have to agrees with moody89 with leaning towards a heating issue. I would assume the one fan in the front of your case is for intake and no other fans for exhaust. Which in turn would trap a lot of unwanted heat inside your case. You could remove the side panel and use a house fan to cool your system as a test. As moody89 has suggest using HWMonitor, which should point you in the right direction for heating issues. Let us know.

 

[Mannykins]

Idle

ASUSTeK Computer INC. P6X58D-E
Temperatures
SYSTIN: Min: 28oC Max: 29oC
CPUTIN:Min: 29oC Max: 37oC
AUXTIN:Min: 44oC Max: 44oC

Intel Core i7 930
Temperatures
Core#0 Min:45oC Max: 49oC
Core#1 Min:42oC Max: 47oC
Core#2 Min:45oC Max: 51oC:
Core#3 Min:41oC Max: 47oC

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
Temperatures
TEMPIN0 Min: 29oC Max:37oC

I was unable to get exact readings for when the game was running, but some of the Intel Cores had increased to 69oC and the Nvidia had increased to around 40-45 when the computer shut down.

Any ideas? this is all the data I could get whilst the computer was working, I hope it is enough. Thanks again in advance.

 

[Mannykins]

*Silly edit problems. Sorry!*

 

[king smp]

since it happended after you put in the HD that would be my guess.
also I had a similar problem and it was the capacitors on my mobo.
I tried everything first.
Look closely at motherboard at the capacitors and see if any are bulging/leaking

 

[king smp]

temps are fine

 

[Mannykins]

Enabled Crash Dumps but there are no problematic files appearing in the program upon reboot of computer. This may be because the computer is not blue screening, it just shuts down.

I checked the Motherboard Capacitors and none are bulging or leaking.

 

[OgCracKer]

Seeing that the temps are within range and your not getting any BSOD's. I would look at your PSU and try a different one if you have one available. I'm thinking when your gaming the PSU is under a higher load and no longer can sustain the load required by your system at this time.

 

[king smp]

^+1 good suggestion
also wonder if the old HD is to blame
possible short condition?
excessive amperage draw?

 

[king smp]

just re-reading the post
this stuck out
"My previous computer had been experiencing similiar problems, in that it would turn off randomly with no apparent reason. I reformatted the hard drive, reinstalled windows, de-dusted the insides of the computer but the problem never went away.

After a while I put the old hard drive from my old computer into this new one, and it was shortly after I did this that the shutting off problems returned."

that really tells me the HD is to blame
check out this link:
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/technology/how-to-tell-when-your-hard-drive-is-going-to-fail.html
Right in there it says rebooting is a symptom of hard drive failure.
Just IMHO

 

[Mannykins]

Yes, however I took that old hard drive out when the problems returned, and am no longer using the old hard drive at all, only the new hard drive I purchased with this new set up.

 

[king smp]

Seeing that the temps are within range and your not getting any BSOD's. I would look at your PSU and try a different one if you have one available. I'm thinking when your gaming the PSU is under a higher load and no longer can sustain the load required by your system at this time.

^+1
he already did crash dump
PSU most likely

 

[Mannykins]

your pc switching off will be logged as a bsod. download bluescreen view and check your crash dumps. it wont hurt wont it?

I did this, but there were no results in the program. When I opened bluescreen view after a crash, there was nothing there.

 

[Mannykins]

I tried a few things today, a replacement hard drive, reset BIOS, but nothing proved effective.

I got in touch with Corsair and did their paperclip test to see if there was a PSU problem, and it failed so there may well be a problem with the PSU.

Thanks for your help guys, hopefully with a replacement from Corsair this will be the end of the line.