Computer Shutting down while playing games

Sounds like it's overheating. Is the fan, intake and heatsinks clean of dust?

Have you tried a laptop cooler?

Have you used a temperature recording software to record temps when this happens?

yea, it sounds like a heat issue for sure. download "coretemp" and "speedfan" then what i like to do is run an HD video fullscreen from youtube just to see how hot it gets. If that doesnt get it over heating then while in game press Alt+Tab to switch to the desktop and look at the temps.

Forget coretemp and speedfan, use CPU ID HW Monitor (google).

It will record your min/max temps during any gaming sessions for ALL your components, not just cpu.

I agree with the overheating.

Check the temps of everything. A simple fix might be getting a laptop cooler for the bottom. Do not go cheap on this either. Get atleast a coolermaster brand or spend $30-$50 on a good one if this is the problem after you check your temps. If it doesn't solve it you can always return and get money back.

It takes half an hr to cool down? highly unlikely it is heat related. I would check to see if your laptop is getting power. Could be a faulty power lead.

^Thats true, I missed the 30 min cooldown reference. Check Power Cord / battery. If you have an extra cord around plug that in and see if the problem reoccurs. If the power/battery isn't the problem again it could be heat related or a bigger problem.

Quote "It takes half an hr to cool down? highly unlikely it is heat related" end quote

This would still point to a heat problem. I'll use the CPU as an example (Same concept if laptop has a dedicated GPU with Heat sink.

When you power off the unit (or in this case IT powers Off) you no longewr have a fan blowing air across the HS; Therefore the HS will tend to retain the heat longer. And this would also explain the decrease in run time when restared as The CPU is starting from an elevated temp vs ambient temp.

Could it be Power, Yes as the MOSETs and VR ICs get quite HOT also. However When this occures they normally self distruct and No restart.

Simple solution to identify - as pointed out use a temp monitoring program that DISPLAYs individual core temps and monitor.

It will record your min/max temps during any gaming sessions for ALL your components, not just cpu.

could be right there. the way you explained it does sound it could be heat problems.

But I don’t think so. Half an hr is enough time for heat to dissipate and also to charge with a faulty lead or faulty battery for a further more 5mins.

Could it not be the laptop equivalent PSU issue? I had an old comp with an unreliable PSU in, when it hit heavy loads the PSU couldn't handle it and just lose power and shut the comp off.

@ boju
Yes 30 min is a long long time when whating a clock. But remember in the case of a laptop computer it is some what insulated from ambient room (unlike a desktop which has a large (comparitively) surrounding air. How long does it take a overheaded car to cool off - Not the best comparision, just the first one that came to mind as I have to go back to work.

If it's plugged in and charging while it's off, that would make sense that it takes 30min to cool off because the charging also heats up the entire laptop.