[SOLVED] Computer power shuts off randomly

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A friend purchased an Origin PC five years ago, back in 2016. At the beginning of this year, the PC started having a problem of the power unexpectedly shutting off. To be clear, it's not just the image of the monitor going black, but all the case fans and all electrical components inside the case completely losing power.

frequency of power shutdowns before PSU replacement: In as little as 5-6 minutes, to as long as several hours between power shutdowns.

specs: Intel core i7-6700K / 16GB RAM / EVGA G2 1300 / RX 580 RX 480

Based on all the available information, the power supply was thought to be the likely culprit. The PSU was RMA'd and a factory b-stock replacement was issued and installed. The problem appeared to be resolved, as the new PSU was received and installed last week Friday (10/8/21) and there had been no shutdown's until yesterday (Wednesday 10/7/21). Yesterday, the power shutdown for the first time since getting the replacement.

Miscellaneous but perhaps relevant information: (1) The computer is plugged into a surge suppressor (not a UPS). She also has several other devices plugged into the suppressor, such as a light and her phone charger, which she hasn't noticed any interruption to either of them losing power when the computer shuts off. I've asked her to temporarily bypass the surge suppressor or use a different one for troubleshooting purchases, which she plans to do tonight. (2) The inside of the computer has a visibly noticeable layer of dust, although none resembling a tumbleweed. (3) The CPU is being cooled by an Origin branded 360mm AIO. One of the three 120mm fans on top of the case started making a very loud noise last year, loud enough to keep family members in the household from sleeping restfully. Therefore she permanently placed heavy object on top of that one fan to prevent it from spinning, while the other two function normally. I've informed her that she needs to either replace the malfunctioning fan, or swap out the entire AIO for an CPU air cooler. Noctua NH-U12S Redux might be a nice simple thing for her to install, since we both live in separate cities.

frequency of power shutdowns after PSU replacement: The computer has shutdown once, and only after five days, which is the longest it's gone without randomly shutting down, since the problem began the beginning of the year.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions or insight.
 
Hey there,

I'm not exactly clear, but what was make/model was the replacement? The same G2 1300 as B-stock? Hard to say if the replacement wasn't new. I guess it could be cabling. Have you tried swapping out the modular cables for new ones? Are any of the connectors/sockets for power on the mobo loose to touch?

When the PC 'shuts down' does it just switch off, and not restart? Or does it re-start without prompt? If it doesn't restart, the problem could very well be motherboard or even CPU.

In terms of the misc. stuff. We all need to take care of our systems. They are or had/have at least some value for us :) Some general housekeeping is always a good thing. Cleaning away dust, removing or replacing dead/dying fans, maybe even replacing thermal paste every 3-5 years to ensure best performance as much as possible.

Swapping out the aging AOI might be a good idea. To do that your friend will have to replace thermal paste anyway, and do some general cleaning.

You might ask her to bench the system, monitoring with something like HWMon/Info and using a strong enough bench like Cinebench R20/R23 and push the CPU a little, to see if it's a temperature problem causing the shut downs. If the CPU gets too hot it will shut down to protect itself. I'm not saying this is what's happening, but it's possible.
 
I'm not exactly clear, but what was make/model was the replacement? The same G2 1300 as B-stock? Hard to say if the replacement wasn't new. I guess it could be cabling. Have you tried swapping out the modular cables for new ones? Are any of the connectors/sockets for power on the mobo loose to touch?

When the PC 'shuts down' does it just switch off, and not restart? Or does it re-start without prompt? If it doesn't restart, the problem could very well be motherboard or even CPU.

Hello Keith. The original power supply was a new EVGA G2 1300 that came with the OEM system. The replacement PSU was a b-stock EVGA G2 1300. The official description of b-stock is below, but they are basically factory recertified. I assume that they are the returned PSUs that EVGA fixes up to sell or send to warranty activating customers.

B-Stock Products are units which may have small scratches, small dents, or noticeable use. B-Stock products are Factory Recertified to meet the performance and reliability of a new product of the same model. B-Stock products do not come with any optional accessories and only include the accessories required to use the product as listed below.

Cabling: You know what, that honestly didn't occur to me. When you seek a RMA, they have you ship back the unit, but tell you to keep the old cabling. The replacement b-stock unit was the only thing shipped back to the customer (my friend). It did not include new cabling. I will have her order new cabling from EVGA. Question: Do you think it's sufficient to only order the cables needs to power the system (two 8-pin GPU, one 24-pin MB, one-8-pin CPU, one-sata SSD) or would you choose to opt for an entire set of cables? Disregard this part of my inquiry. Turns out that a set is only $30 USD + $5 shipping (https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=101-CK-0850-B9). When I initially looked it up, I came across the webpage for the "individually sleeved" cable set that costs $90, which I thought was excessive until I realized that this is EVGA's idea of semi-custom cables.

Shut down: It switches off (loses power) completely, not a restart.

HWMon/Info: The thought occurred to me, and should have been apart of the initial troubleshooting, but I honestly can't recall if I had her check the temps or not. In the past, I've seen numerous systems thermal throttle and eventually reboot from CPU over-temping, but I've never seen it cause a shutdown of the system. But I'm open to considering any possibility at this point. I will have her run HW Monitor tonight as well. I normally have her play her main game, Ark Survival, as a test. What is the official location to download Cinebench? I've seen multiple reviewers use it, but I never have.

Addendum:
"Are any of the connectors/sockets for power on the mobo loose to touch?"
Hmm...this is another good suggestion. I will have her to check that and pay particularly close attention to the 24 pin and 8 pin PCIe connections on the motherboard. Then once this is done, then have her try new modular cabling as a troubleshooting step. Thank you for all the great feedback.
 
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Update:


surge suppressor: just ordered tonight; not installed yet.


PSU cabling: official EVGA Power Supply Cable Set (Sleeved) just ordered tonight; not installed yet.


"Are any of the connectors/sockets for power on the mobo loose to touch?": My friend disconnected / re-connected both ends of the 24 pin (to motherboard)/ SATA (to storage devices) / 8-pin (to GPU). However, she was unable to disconnect / re-connect 8-pinc PCIe to the motherboard at this time, because the release tab is blocked by the 360mm AIO's radiator. Even though it's too challenging for her to reach this single cable now, she's aware that it'll be an absolute necessarily once the new PSU cabling arrives.


HWMon/Info

Idle CPU temp (core i7-6700K): 31C
gaming Load CPU temp (core i7-6700K): 48C


Addendum: ETA of both surge suppressor and PSU cabling is approximately one week. Delivery to my friend's address is moderately complicated, hence the one week shipment time.
 
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