Computer crashes after cleaning it, possible cpu overheating ?

[gabopea]

After 8 months of leaving the interior of my PC untouched I decided to dust my PC, cleaned it thoroughly with canned air and a brush.

I downloaded and started playing overwatch, and after a while I got a green screen and sudden restart. I played the beta before cleaning my pc and nothing had happened, so I assumed it was the updated version of the game. After playing team fortress 2 I had the same thing happened, I checked the temperature of the cpu with speccy, and saw it rise above 65.

Note: my PC was not overheating when I decided to clean it out

Checked the rpm in the BIOS for cpu fan and it said it was around 2300.
I don't understand why these two games are crashing my pc, I assume it's that my CPU is overheating despite having recently cleaned it, and the fan speed appearing normal.

Basically: my pc would run hot while running games but never crash before I cleaned it. I have cleaned it and it is still running hot and now it is crashing. What could the problem be?

Again, I am assuming that the problem is that my CPU is overheating, but I don't really know. The only change that I've done is clearing my pc of dust.

Could the problem be something completely different? Or am in the right to think the CPU is overheating?
Thanks,
Please help

Edit: I did not remove the stock heatsink fan, only used canned air to clear it of dust

 

[azaran]

Sounds like an overheating issue or possibly a failing PSU.

I'd check out a monitoring software that can show you real time fan speeds. HWMonitor will show you whats spinning at what rate and you can see if a fan is failing to do its job. If you were running hot before, you might want to consider a better cooler.

 

[gabopea]

Sounds like an overheating issue or possibly a failing PSU.

I'd check out a monitoring software that can show you real time fan speeds. HWMonitor will show you whats spinning at what rate and you can see if a fan is failing to do its job. If you were running hot before, you might want to consider a better cooler.

My CPU is running at around 20C when idle, obviously heats up when I start a game, and then crashes. Could this also be caused by the PSU?

If it is a failing PSU, how could I check?

I've checked the fans with HW monitor and they all appear to be ok (around 2300 rpm). I don't really know what any of the other data means, but in case the info help

Again, I don't understand much about these readings, these reading were taken with the computer being idle

 

[azaran]

I'd try some stress tests on the CPU and GPU. CPU testing is going to generate heat, which will see if its a overheating issue and GPU testing will mimic some gaming style load on you PSU so we can see whats causing the crashing.

CPU: Prime95 is one of the standards but it seems to have issues with Piledriver CPUs, so Intel Burn Test-AVX would probably be a better choice for a stable testing.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/intelburntest.html

Something with AMD CPU's and testing temp, you cant use programs like Speccy or HWmonitor for accurate testing. This link will give you the in depth on how to accurately measuring your AMD temps.
http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2122665/understanding-temperature-amd-cpus-apus.html

For a GPU test, you can use Furmark. It will push the card up to high temps so make sure it doesn't go over the mac temp of 95c. The testing screen will show the temp as its going.
http://www.ozone3d.net/benchmarks/fur/

If running one of these by themselves doesn't put the system under enough load, I've even run both at the same time. But if you do please make sure you stay close attention to your temps. Also I would keep HWmonitor open and see if your fans get up to speed when your pushing your system.

 

[gabopea]

I'd try some stress tests on the CPU and GPU. CPU testing is going to generate heat, which will see if its a overheating issue and GPU testing will mimic some gaming style load on you PSU so we can see whats causing the crashing.

CPU: Prime95 is one of the standards but it seems to have issues with Piledriver CPUs, so Intel Burn Test-AVX would probably be a better choice for a stable testing.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/intelburntest.html

Something with AMD CPU's and testing temp, you cant use programs like Speccy or HWmonitor for accurate testing. This link will give you the in depth on how to accurately measuring your AMD temps.
http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2122665/understanding-temperature-amd-cpus-apus.html

For a GPU test, you can use Furmark. It will push the card up to high temps so make sure it doesn't go over the mac temp of 95c. The testing screen will show the temp as its going.
http://www.ozone3d.net/benchmarks/fur/

If running one of these by themselves doesn't put the system under enough load, I've even run both at the same time. But if you do please make sure you stay close attention to your temps. Also I would keep HWmonitor open and see if your fans get up to speed when your pushing your system.

Thank you!
I ran intelburn with no problem, I could see the temperatures rising, but after 6~ minutes the test was over and everything was fine.

The second that I started fur-mark, the computer crashed. This is definitely the problem, it was instantaneous. How do I move on from here? Does this mean I have to replace my GPU altogether?

Either way, thanks so much for helping me find the root of the problem, im very grateful 😀

EDIT: I did most of what was found on this guide http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2492424/laymans-simple-guide-solving-graphics-card-issues.html

I changed my outlet to the wall socket, I re-seated the gpu, I did a clean driver re install as instructed and the problem persists. What worries me the most is the fact that this problem did not occur before cleaning out my PC; could I have physically damaged my GPU?

I have an evga 500W power supply, in case this matters

 

[azaran]

My first guess would be your PSU just isn't delivering enough power. But a 750ti should have no problem with a 500w PSU. What PSU are you using? If it is faulty that would certainly explain things. Any chance you can borrow a video card from a friend to narrow it down to GPU vs PSU?

I don't think you would have damaged your video card, unless your PSU is dealing with some seriously bad faulty hardware.

 

[gabopea]

My current PSU is found here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438016

I don't have anyone close who can lend me their video card, so I might take a while to get back to you.

If I find that the problem is the PSU, do I just replace it? If the video card is the problem, is replacing it the solution? I am asking because it might be a while before I can find someone to help me test. Thanks

 

[azaran]

The W1 series isn't bad, its not great but its an ok budget PSU. There are a lot better ones out there but it is an added cost to get there. I'd highly suspect the PSU is the culprit here but without the correct equipment to check the PSU or a known good GPU/PSU to test with, I dont know how you'd be able to test it out.

 

[gabopea]

I fixed it!!

I disconnected all PSU cables to the motherboard and now everything's running smoothly. I probably still need to upgrade my PSU, or maybe I accidentaly moved something when I cleaned the PC.

Thank you very much for all your help! I really appreciate the time you took to help me.