Random Shutdown - PC soon to be thrown from window.

[kebabthief]

Ello peeps. My first post here.

 

My spec:

 

Asus P5N-D Motherboard (750 Chipset)

4Gb OCZ DDR 2, PC6400 RAM (2x sticks of 2gb) 5-5-5-18

Intel E8400 CPU

XFX 9800 GTX (740Mhz ltd edition)

EZInfinity 700w PSU

 

My Problem:

 

The box switches itself off randomly (no blue screen, no error, no warnings or beeps) and doesn't restart on its own. It normally does it under high load, e.g. when playing a graphically intense game (which first made me think that either the graphics card is faulty or the PSU has problems powering the card).

 

The PC can run for days/weeks without powering off then will randomly switch off during a game (I can have been playing for 2 hours or 2 minutes - it seems random).

 

Once it has happened once, the next time will be sooner, then the next time even sooner, and sooner again etc. until it can't even boot into windows without powering off. After many attempts it will stay on for seconds, then won't power on at all. (This would suggest overheating, but read on and you may think differently)

 

At this point, I have reseated the CPU, memory, graphics card and this has no effect. However, If I unplug the main power connector from the main board and plug it in again, it will work fine for days/weeks without turning off. (This lead me to think that I had a static problem).

 

I have tried unplugging the power cable from the back of the PC and holding the power button in (to de-static the PC - I'm aware that this may be a myth but it seems to have worked on other PCs in the past) but this doesn't seem to help the problem. The only thing that solves it is by uplugging the main power connector from the motherboard and plugging it back in again.

 

I'm asking here if anyone knows the sure fire guilty component here, before I hazard a guess and replace either my motherboard or power supply.

 

Many thanks in advance.

[RandyL]

You are right that at first glance it seems to be a heat issue. There is probably not a sure fire solution to anything but check back to see what others think. We have a hardware expert so be patient please.

[kebabthief]

Thanks for the quick reply :)

 

Yes, at first I was thinking this due to the shutdowns becoming more frequent, the more I tried to reboot. But the fact that unplugging the power cable from the board and plugging it back in solves the problem (temporarily) makes me think otherwise.

[Dalo Harkin]

unplugging the power cable would work as it basically resets the BIOS in terms of faults - have you checked in the BIOS on the temps and tried raising the limits on the shutoff temps?

[kebabthief]

When I checked the BIOS, the CPU was running at 57 degrees, which does seem to be a little hot for a 45nm cpu. I did a bit of research on this and found that anything under 75 degrees isn't anything to worry about.

 

I didn't check what the shutoff temperatures were. I'll have a look when I get home from work.

 

I would have though that upon reconnecting the cable, booting up and going straight into a game that the shutoff temperature would soon be reached again. But after i have done this, the PC can stay on for days on end (until the problem starts happening again).

 

Still I'll check what the shutoff temperatures are and see if that is running close. I haven't overclocked the cpu but it is running with the standard retail boxed heatsink and fan.

 

Many thanks for the input :)

[Dalo Harkin]

Intel heatsinks are not good at all and no matter what anyone says 57 is hot :eek:

if the CPU is 57 you can guarantee the MOBO is more probably around 65-75 - It's too hot simple as, and you need to add a new heatsink and extra fans in the case - chances are it will be the MOBO temps that are causing the shutdown.

to give you a comparison my Q6600 runs at 4GHz per core and although its water cooled I have never seen the temps above 30-35 :D

[kebabthief]

Thanks for the advice.

 

I bought a nice Xigmatek heatsink when I bought all my bits, but it was a nightmare to fit (i think the pushpins are a bit dodgy on it). After about an hour of trying to make it stay, I put it back in the box and just stuck the Intel one on.

 

I'll have another attempt at putting the Xigmatek on tonight and if it won't play ball, I'll buy myself a new one.

 

Do you have any suggestions? (I can't push the boat out for water cooling ;) ) Preferably one that doesn't use those naff pushpins.

[Dalo Harkin]

unfortunately they all use the push pins - unless you take the MOBO out there are some that just screw into a backplate, no good really if you have built the PC.

With the push pins - take the actual black pins out from the clips and then line the pins in the MOBO holes and then you can push the black pins in and they lock rather than messing about turning them etc ;)

make sure you do the opposite corners though, so it locks tight

[kebabthief]

Thanks again. I'll give it a try.

 

I have to say that you guys are really helpful. I wasn't expecting such speedy answers :)

 

I'll be sure to come here regularly for PC problems and help out where I can too :D

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Please do Kebab. :)