Computer is very slow and shuts down.

[Bauer18]

Hey all,

My computer has seemed fine until tonight when I booted up Fortnite. Computer became very slow. Task manager seemed like everything was fine. Restarted my computer and it continued being very slow, then shuts completely off after 5-10 minutes multiple times now. The computer is around 4-5 years old. I have replaced the HDD once and upgraded the video card a year or two ago.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[Shektron]

System specs please.

The random shutdowns could be a dying PSU or faulty RAM essentially, but other things can be at fault too.

 

[Bauer18]

Sorry, life got a little busy.

MSI MS-7760 motherboard
Nvidia GTX 1070 GPU
16 gb DDR 3 ram
Intel i7 3820 cpu

 

[Shektron]

And PSU?

Run memtest86 to check for RAM errors, also check Event Viewer and find the Critical errors corresponding to the time of the shut down. Tell us the Event ID or Google it yourself and see what causes it.

 

[R_1]

My canned random reboot Rant
Random reboots are usually caused by the PSU, the RAM or software AND in that order of likely-hood.
PSU - If you can borrow/swap a PSU for testing. sibling/friend you can swap out the PSU and each system will be testing the other.
RAM - run the system with one stick of RAM see if stability returns if not Test all the RAM with memtest 86 for three passes or overnight. if you get no errors after more than three passes the ram is good. with the random reboots I would suggest running this test after the PSU swap or after the PSU has been cleared.
Software - Drivers or other issues can cause reboots. Boot to a linux distro on a USB drive. mint linux will boot to memtest86. you can run the OS from the USB and await reboot.
end canned rant

booting to linux is a quick way to test hardware. I do not think the reboots you are describing are related to the PSU, but its worth a check.

Canned Grounding Rant-
shut down system and remove side panel. with the power cable plugged into the PSU touch a bare unpainted metal area of the case. (my favorite spot is an unpainted screw securing the PSU) once you have grounded yourself you can unplug the computers power cable from the PSU and can touch the system.
if you move your feet, or shuffle in your chair, plug in the cord, reground yourself and unplug again.
end canned rant-

run a RAM test with memtest86
after grounding and testing the RAM a few things to try: removing and reseating the RAM, changing SATA ports the drive is connected to, change cables the drive is connected with.