The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
Please vote in the Forum Structure Poll. Polling will close at 2PM EST on January 21, 2025.
Computer randomly turns off..?
L Ron Howard
The duckMinnesotaRegistered User regular
The duckMinnesotaRegistered User regular
Hey there. I'm having some issues with my computer randomly shutting down when gaming. I don't know if it's a heat issue or what.
It's an AMD FX-8250, I think, with 8 gigs of RAM. It has a cooler on the CPU like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103064 and a standard fan on the end of that.
When I open up the case, all the fans are spinning. Bios says that the CPU fan idles at ~1400 RPM at around 25°C.
I'm not really sure what else to do.
Help, please?
It's an AMD FX-8250, I think, with 8 gigs of RAM. It has a cooler on the CPU like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103064 and a standard fan on the end of that.
When I open up the case, all the fans are spinning. Bios says that the CPU fan idles at ~1400 RPM at around 25°C.
I'm not really sure what else to do.
Help, please?
0
Posts
As for temperatures, you can download a program like HWMonitor, turn it on, see what everything is idling at, start the game and go shoot some zombies and get everything ramped up, then quit before it shuts down. HWMonitor will record the highest temp all your stuff reached. Voltages too, which may diagnose a power supply issue, but I wouldn't know what to look for.
I'll run a hw monitor and see if I can get it to fail.
What are the symptoms of needing to add more thermal paste? I've only ever done it once and never had a problem in the past.
Is it going through a semi-normal Windows shutdown without you providing relevant input, or is it just powering off very suddenly?
If the latter then it sounds very similar to the issue I was having with a damaged power supply, replacing it solved the problem entirely.
I'm thinking it might be the PSU. When running a game last night, my computer shut down again. This time I had troubles turning it back on by hitting the switch. So I went to reach for the cord, and noticed that the PSU was extremely hot.
Yeah, that sounds like PSU problems I've seen before. Don't screw around with a bad PSU, get a new one ASAP. Otherwise it can fry other parts of your computer when it fails, and I've had that happen too.
No way. In more than 20 years, I have never seen this. If the thermal paste is there, leave it alone (unless the heat-sink moved due to improper assembly).
Run the computer with the case open (side panel off).
Also, blow all the dust out of it, make sure you blow air in the heat-sinks and flush 'em out of dust. I recommend doing so every 6 months.
Get a new power-supply or try another one (from a friend or something, borrow it).
Above are the obvious things to try.
I have seen capacitors fail on motherboards. But you can cross that bridge if the above suggestions failed.
My 0.02 dollar.
Would you guys have a recommendation for a PSU?
I'm leery about trying to RMA the one I currently have, as that means no computer for like 5 months or so.
I have been running a "Thermaltake 430W ATX12V V2.2 Dual 80mm Fans Full Cable Sleevings Power Supply" for years.
Reliable, cheap and well made. None of those super-light transformers that explode after 12 months of use. If your power supplies weights next to nothing, it's a crap one. That's my experience.
Yeah, not having your computer for 5 months is not worth paying $35 for a new power supply. See what I am talking about:
newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153023
I need the 20+8 (or 20+4+4, whatever) for the mobo itself, as well as at least 4 SATA connections.
And the PSU that just died is a Thermaltake TR2 600W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153166
I think I'd like avoid them in the future, as it died almost exactly a year after purchase.
Keep in mind, you can also buy molex-to-SATA power adapters if you do not have enough SATA power connectors.
You know, something like this:
newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200061&Tpk=SATAPOWADAP
They are less than $2.
Yeah, well, figures. My Thermaltake power supply is on all the time, been for years, and is rock solid.
Is there a specific series I should look at? Newegg has HX, TX, CX, CS, GS, THQ, THX, and LMNOP. I assume there's a disparity for a reason, but I'm not wise enough to find out why there are different ones.
Actually, I have three SATA drives, and one old Molex drive. Since the Thermaltake didn't have any Molexes, I bought a converter for SATA->Molex.
And really, who uses floppies any more? I have seen a few that have like two or 4 that have floppy adapters...
I'll be doing some hunting, but I appreciate any help or recommendations.
For Corsair, off the top of my head...
CX is like the low-end bargain series. Non-modular, except for the new ones with "M" at the end of the name, which are semi-modular - meaning everything is modular except for the CPU and mobo cables.
TX is called enthusiast series but it's actually more the middle of the road. None of them are modular I don't think.
HX is getting into actual enthusiast level. These are semi-modular.
AX is "professional" series, the top end. Fully modular.
GS is "gaming series," they come with LEDs and shit I guess. Probably fine in terms of performance/reliability, but they're flash over substance and they're all non-modular. I think these may be discontinued now or on the verge of it?
I don't know how SeaSonic divides up their various product lines unfortunately.
Edit: and what type of PSU does Geth use, I wonder?
Robot Jelly
You'll probably want to move with some haste, too. It's anecdotal, but my last PSU failure started out like yours. Then a capacitor blew out, cause a short and blew the breaker while making a sound like a gunshot. It didn't fry any other components, though, somehow.
The bottom of the motherboard was sometimes touching the case (due to poor fastening, before the mobo tray days). This in turn would "short" somewhere and the system would shutdown like what we're talking about.
Discovered it after a while, and even though the computer would work (most of the time), the main ATX12V power supply connector that hooks in the mobo was all blackened and fried!
Just a thought.
After reading some power supply reviews, it's all hit or miss. Same with all computer hardware these days. You never know what you're gonna get. Might get a good one that last, or might get a unit that will fail in 1 month. Quality is going down on everything.
Remember the computer builds back in the 386SX and DX days? Then the 486 with the Vesa Local Bus video cards? The components in those days were built to last... ah, the memories.