Question Computer shuts down when I play Games

[William Day]

Hi,
For the past year, my PC has been shutting off when I try to play games. Most games are affected, but it isn't limited to graphic intense games. Anything from PUBG to Age of Empires 3 force my computer to lose power. Typically, this happens straight after I leave the main menu (no game shuts down in the main menu) but with csgo I am sometimes able to play one or even full two games before I crash, other times I crash 7-10 times per game. I was able to solve this issue for a very small selection of games by lowering the graphics to the bare minimum, however this doesn't work for really graphic intense games such as Mordau. Perhaps the strangest thing is that certain games aren't affected, such as League of Legends and Tannenberg (which has decent graphics and lots of npc and modules) but 99% of games are affected.

The strangest thing is that when it does lose power, the blue light on my power adaptor also turns off, like I have unplugged it from the wall which isn't the case. To get it to turn back on, I have to unplug the cord from the wall and then plug it back in, otherwise when I press the power button on my desktop, it doesn't turn on.

So far, the power adaptor & cord and the motherboard have been replaced so they can't be the cause of the issue. I thought it might have been the CPU or GPU so I stressed test my pc using online stress tests but it didn't turn off. I also monitored my temps during this and they didn't exceed above working capacity, even when I was playing games.

At this point I don't really know what the cause could be or how to go about trying to find the cause. I don't really know much about how computer's work and whats inside so any help would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Will

PC Specs:
OS Name Microsoft Windows 10 Home
Version 10.0.17134 Build 17134
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Manufacturer Alienware
System Model ASM201
System Type x64-based PC
System SKU 072B
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700T CPU @ 2.80GHz, 2801 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Alienware 1.0.13, 16/07/2018
SMBIOS Version 2.8
Embedded Controller Version 255.255
BIOS Mode UEFI
BaseBoard Manufacturer Alienware
BaseBoard Model Not Available
BaseBoard Name Base Board
Platform Role Desktop
Secure Boot State On
PCR7 Configuration Elevation Required to View
Windows Directory C:\Windows
System Directory C:\Windows\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "10.0.17134.765"
User Name DESKTOP-CJSD5CU\willi
Time Zone E. Australia Standard Time
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 8.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 7.95 GB
Available Physical Memory 3.13 GB
Total Virtual Memory 11.4 GB
Available Virtual Memory 4.56 GB
Page File Space 3.50 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys
Kernel DMA Protection Off
Virtualization-based security Not enabled
Device Encryption Support Elevation Required to View
Hyper-V - VM Monitor Mode Extensions Yes
Hyper-V - Second Level Address Translation Extensions Yes
Hyper-V - Virtualization Enabled in Firmware Yes
Hyper-V - Data Execution Protection Yes

 

[PC Tailor]

Welcome to the forums my friend!

What is your full system spec including PSU make and model?
The above list only really tells us the CPU and how much RAM you have, but not what model(s).

the blue light on my power adaptor also turns off

What adapter are you referring to if this is a desktop PC, an extension cord of some kind?

I also monitored my temps during this and they didn't exceed above working capacity, even when I was playing games.

What temperatures where they specifically, remember to monitor individual CPU cores, not just the overall package.

Does the issue only happen under load? If not, can you confirm if the issue still occurs in safe mode?

 

[CosmicDance]

It really sounds like your power supply is failing and not providing enough power when the system demands it.
As you said it worked for a while by turning the graphic settings down this does reinforce the apparent issue.

Not being able to start the PC up until you unplug it from the wall is a symptom of a failing power supply too.
If you switch the PC off at the back by its own power supply and leave it for 10 seconds you will find it behaves the same as unplugging it.

If you do replace the power supply, which I would with those symptoms, use an online PC power supply calculator (just google it) to input all of your components individually as you haven't given your full PC hardware specs.
Better to get a power supply that is rated above what you actually need as opposed to a borderline one.
I use a 650 watt one but it's an overkill as new GFX draw much less power than older ones which it was originally built for.

Andy