Intermittent switching off

Discussion in 'General Hardware' started by AgentOrange, Aug 8, 2016.

  1. AgentOrange

    AgentOrange Member

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    Hey guys,

    Long time reader and there are so many gurus here that I'm hoping someone might be able to help with an issue I'm having with my PC.

    I have a pretty awesome gaming rig that I love and am a fairly savvy enthusiast but it has me stumped. My system consists of a Giga Z68XP-UD3, i7 3770k with an Intel closed-loop water cooler, 16GB GSkill DDR3 1866mhz, a Thermaltake Toughpower 850w Gold PSU, a Giga 980Ti Xtreme, a 128GB Sata SSD boot drive, 2 X 2TB Seagate storage drives with one of them (the one games are installed on) using a 64GB SSD as an Intel Rapid Storage Technology cache drive, all enclosed in a white Corsair 760T, and an Acer CB280HK 4K monitor. I’m providing as much detail as I can to assist in the troubleshooting! (Haven't updated my sig for a while by the way)

    Recently, at very intermittent times, the system will just, without any warning, turn itself off. Most often it’s while playing a game, but it has happened while browsing the web and on the desktop. It’s so random that I cannot work out where the problem lies. I have looked in Windows reliability history which just shows the computer was shut down incorrectly. I also changed the Startup and Recovery setting where on system failure the PC should not automatically shutdown, hoping for a blue screen to see an error message. The system still just turns off randomly and without warning. Plus, I can’t find the dump file it’s supposed to create.

    I have also tried using the second PCI-E slot for my GPU, running with peripherals removed, removing RAM sticks, but it still occurs. I haven’t tried using the integrated graphics yet (can’t bring myself to!), but I suppose I should? The GPU is only about 9 months old – I know problems can still happen though.

    It’s very intermittent and I have been getting by, but I would like to know where the problem is so that if I upgrade my motherboard, RAM, and CPU combo, it won’t still happen! I don’t think it’s the PSU because it’s only a couple of years old, gold rated and pretty good quality. I was, however, running 2 X R9 290s on it for a while which may have pushed it to limits, but it’s now on a much more efficient single 980Ti, and the system still boots fine and so on. So I’m personally thinking it’s the motherboard as it’s the oldest component, and it was fairly budget to start with. But it’s so random that I don’t know if it’s a corrupt sector, RAM issue, processor problem, argh! I’m looking at upgrading my motherboard, RAM and CPU anyway but again, I’d like to not have the problem occur again if I do.

    Any assistance would be greatly appreciated! Please let me know if you need any more info and I will happily provide it. I’m sure there’s more I probably need to troubleshoot and provide.

    I know it's hard so I'm not expecting much, just trying my luck. Thanks guys.

    Adrian
     
  2. Extraordinary

    Extraordinary Guest

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    I'd go with PSU or possibly CPU overheating but I guess you'd have checked the latter

    I ran a TX950 PSU and the 295X2 which is essentially 2 x 290Xs, and fairly soon afterwards the PSU popped, it was old though (4 years)

    I'd try another PSU first, if there are no logs, it sounds like something a PSU could cause
     
  3. AgentOrange

    AgentOrange Member

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    Thanks for the prompt response, and yeah, the temps are all good.

    From another forum the PSU is looking most likely, what a bugger. But it may still have warranty which is good though.
     
  4. Extraordinary

    Extraordinary Guest

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    Good luck with the warranty, but on the bright side at least it hasn't taken anything else out with it, if it is the PSU, my Dads popped and took out his GPU with it
     

  5. AgentOrange

    AgentOrange Member

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    Ooh that sucks! With my 980Ti I would be gutted if that were to occur.

    I just remembered I have my old 650w psu in my garage which I will try out and report back. Thanks again man.
     
  6. Extraordinary

    Extraordinary Guest

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    Luckily it wasn't anything high end, he's not a gamer, and still had onboard, his exact words were "Wow, I don't have an annoying fan noise anymore!" :D
     
  7. Valken

    Valken Ancient Guru

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    My friend had the same problem now when he had the PC case closed with the side fan blowing in. Turns out to be moisture due to the humidity. When the PC was not really in heavy use the humid air cooled down enough so condensation built up.

    Opened the case, blew a dehumidify into the MB and component area for 20-30 mins while PC was off, A/C full on on dehumid mode. Then PC came back on. Ever since it has no issues so long as he keeps the room fairly dry.

    The other issue may be PSU or MB going bad due to lighting spikes or surges which had happened to my system about a year ago. Brownout the PSU which was also a Corsair RX850 but it kept going until the MB shorted out. Replaced PSU, CPU, MB and RAM with new parts.

    Check the cable from the PSU to the MB. Make sure both connectors are super clean and no dark spots. CPU and rest of the parts should / would not burn out due to all the power regulation on the MB. The MB would go before the other parts. Usually.
     
  8. AgentOrange

    AgentOrange Member

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    Thanks for your input, Valken. I've swapped the actual power lead into the PC as well as checked the cables from the PSU to MB and they all look good to the naked eye. I clean out dust every few months and it all does look generally spick and span - no black spots or anything like that anywhere.

    I'm going to test my spare PSU tomorrow hopefully and will report back. Thanks guys.
     
  9. AgentOrange

    AgentOrange Member

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    Pretty much 100% sure it was the PSU now as my spare one hasn't missed a beat. So there you go! I didn't think it was initially! Anyway it's got a five year warranty so I'll be putting a claim in.

    Still wouldn't mind upgrading my mobo - I know it won't do much for performance but it will allow compatibility with newer tech such as m2 drives and so on.

    Thanks for the responses, it really does help to bounce ideas off people!
     

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