Computer shuts down at random when running multiple programs

[insanity89]

It first started a few weeks ago when playing a game called rust; after a few hours it would shutdown without warning and restart if i tried to go back in it would shutdown again shortly after. At first I thought the game was the problem since that was the only time this occurred but now its shutting down when doing other things like playing WoW and running pandora in the back ground. Any ideas what is causing this? Also how could i hopefully fix this without having to take it into the shop?

 

[Sakata]

Can you list your specs?
Also do the fans rev up at all?
Have you cleaned you PC out? ( dust and stuff)
does it get crazy hot?
what settings do you play at?

 

[insanity89]

Intel i5 core CPU
8G Ram
GTX 760 GPU
1TB hard drive

I've cleaned out and dusted it, the outside doesn't feel hot but i don't know how to get the CPU and GPU temps without buying some kind of reader. Also I don't recall hearing the fans rev. I usually play it high setting in 1920x1080 res but this has never been a problem before until recently. I've had this set up for over a year

 

[Sakata]

Install Speccy or some form of System monitor from a trusted source, it should be able to tell you your temps.

 

[Andragoras99]

Hi Insanity89,

It sounds like this is a reproducable problem. I would start by running a memory test and checking your system temperatures in the bios. The system may be shutting itself down to prevent damaging the cpu. If your CPU temps are close to these values, the motherboard will do this.

If memtest and your heat are acceptable, the next step would be to begin testing individual parts. This is easiest if you have spare parts. Testing the ram this way (removing one and swapping) would also be acceptable. After that I would swap the power supply and check if your cpu fan was seated properly and has thermal paste that is still viable.

I hope this helps.

 

[insanity89]

using speccy now trying to see if i can cause the problem again but so far its fine, at one point the gpu got to 70C but mother board and cpu hovered around 30c the whole time, is it possible the gpu is overheating and shutting down as a safety thing?

 

[Sakata]

Have you tried while you were gaming? Specifically with rust? Also if 70C is just an idle temp then that is way high.

 

[insanity89]

Install Speccy or some form of System monitor from a trusted source, it should be able to tell you your temps.

cpu and mother board temps stick to about 30-40C while gpu rises into the 70s is it likely the gpu is overheating and causing a shut down as like a fail safe?

 

[Sakata]

If you aren't doing something GPU intensive then I would think so. I would get thermal paste of some sort and remove your card and take off the heatsink and clean it and apply new thermal paste. Now note this could void your warranty and you are doing this of your own risk, but I have known this to help with such issues, especially on older cards or cards with poor thermal paste.

 

[insanity89]

If you aren't doing something GPU intensive then I would think so. I would get thermal paste of some sort and remove your card and take off the heatsink and clean it and apply new thermal paste. Now note this could void your warranty and you are doing this of your own risk, but I have known this to help with such issues, especially on older cards or cards with poor thermal paste.

The gpu temp at resting is about 30C when i start rust or any other big graphic games it slowly climbs to 70C and gets higher. Is it possible that its just shutting down to prevent damage?

 

[Sakata]

That is likely, also what is the capacity and age of your PSU, it may be failing.

 

[insanity89]

That is likely, also what is the capacity and age of your PSU, it may be failing.

PSU is about 2-3 years old not sure about its capacity

 

[insanity89]

That is likely, also what is the capacity and age of your PSU, it may be failing.

I was able to induce the problem again and gpu temp read at 34C when it occurred so i think it might be the psu after all.

 

[Sakata]

yeah it maybe PSU although I would run Memtest, Also have you ever cleaned out your PSU? It could be very dusty, which would cause it to heat up. So I would check it and in doing so find out the brand, manufacturer (as the maker and brand may not be the same) And also the capacity.