Computer shuts off during heavy gaming.

[Rlahens]

So let's start from the beginning, I want to lay out all the details. Few months ago I built my new rig. My first where I bought all the parts and built it from scratch. Of course these things don't go too perfectly so I was dealing with multiple problems, mainly driver issues and BSODs. These are more or less dealt with, but that's not the problem.

It was only recently did I notice a certain other problem. My computer shutting down during heavy gaming. The very first time this happened it was when I was playing Guns of Icarus online and it shut off and at the time I thought it had short circuited out (luckily I had realized that I had in fact installed the motherboard incorrectly, so I did solve something that day)

I thought it was over until I tried playing Star Citizen (very graphically intense) and it shut off. I thought this was because of how intense the game was and since it was in alpha, this was more of a problem with poor optimization or something.

Overtime I had managed to play Bioshock Infinite with no problems and Payday 2 as well as Skyrim on max settings.
But one day while playing Payday 2 I had realized the resolution was off and when I set it properly, it had shut off 2 minutes later. After some searching I decided to turn off AA and turn on vsync, Game runs perfectly without shutting off. I even did a test with Metro:Last light which I also had played through fine on this rig and noticed I had vsync on. I turned on AA and it shut off a minute later.

Keep in mind, before it shuts off, the fan begins to spin a lot faster (around 1980-2010 rpm) With the games that I am able to run properly, the temps stay around 60c.

So I thought hey, I solved my problem. Just keep vsync on and it should solve the issue. It did not.

The other day I tried to play Nosgoth and that game can make the GPU rise to 80c and make the fans run fast. I must not have played too long because it was today that I had it shut off on me. Then I tried another game, Tomb Raider, which also shoots up to 80c and has the fans working hard.

Now let me list my rig.

Windows 8.1 64
8gb ram
NVIDIA EVGA GTX 760
Intel i5-4690k 3.50ghz
PSU: Corsair cx 600m

Notes: with no games, my GPU sits around 50c (earlier it was like 35, dunno how that happened)

I would say it was my power supply but from what I can tell, it's a reliable brand and as evidence would show with the vsync workaround, it may be something else. Maybe it's the GPU overheating?

I did try MSI afterburner and raised the temp limit, but I'm not even sure if that would work. Still shut off though. Lemme know if any other details are needed.

 

[cry0g3n]

It could be the GPU or CPU or both of them that is overheating.

You could probably play the games if you lower the graphics settings and/or resolution. Have you tried playing on low or medium graphics settings?

I would suggest that you clean the case/components and ensure that there is ample airflow inside the case (also make sure that the CPU heat sink is properly attached).
If you overclock, try to restore the settings to default.

 

[Francky Franck]

You can look if the fan is still working on your Graphic card ?

 

[Rlahens]

The fan is definitely still working

And yes, today I came home with a friend and I wanted to show them the issue using Tomb Raider. Having forgotten I turned down the graphics to low I noticed the game did not heat up my rig and did not crash. So yes, playing at medium and low prevents the shut off but also keep in mind that the FPS does not drop when I put the game at max settings. So the issue isn't really solved.

I have had two rigs before where I abused the GPU and did not suffer this issue.
Would updating the firmware help or something?

 

[Francky Franck]

Yes you could try to update your GPU driver. But I don't think that it will solve your issue. Try it.

 

[ZeroGravity780]

my first guess would be the power supply but seems your card sitting at 50c at idle is odd. do you have another card, maybe an older one that you could plug in and run it a 100% load to see if it plays ok?

 

[Rlahens]

I should also mention I'm using two monitors.

 

[Rlahens]

So a little update. I fixed the case fans (basically is was blowing outwards, not inwards) and now my GPU is around 40c when idle. I turned on Tomb Raider again at max graphics and it still shot up to 80c and played for a bit longer before shutting off. Progress was made but solution still not found.

 

[ZeroGravity780]

fans should be set as followed:

Front: Intake
Side: Intake
Back: Exhaust
Top: Exhaust

There is usually an arrow on the fans showing the direction of airflow hope this helps.

 

[ZeroGravity780]

also try setting autofan on msi afterburner so it will control the fan speed for you to keep the gpu as cool as possible

 

[Arindel]

If it's possible, try the GPU at a friend and see if it still shut downs. If it's fine at the friend's PC, then most likely it's the PSU or maybe MB.

PS: I've seen people here saying that Corsair CX series aren't good PSUs for heavy gaming or overclock builds.

If you have overclocked your CPU, get it back to stock as it's stressing the PSU.

Edit: If the PSU for some reason can't keep up with your build, try underclocking CPU or GPU or both at once and see if it still shutdowns. It's a temporary fix, but "may" show if the PSU is the cause.

 

[Rlahens]

Well I'm not overclocking and I sincerely don't see the PSU as the problem since I've used less popular brands and as I said, abused the GPU and had no problems. Also I was just playing some more PAYDAY 2. Maxed out, temps ran around 65 and no shutting down.

 

[Arindel]

I'm speaking out of experience though, I had a very very similar problem, except it was restarting instead of shutting down completely and only in certain games. CSGO fine, Firefall random restarts, always. Which was odd. In my case it was the PSU that was faulty and it was a very recommended PSU.

I'm not saying your PSU is faulty though, just that it could be. Consider testing it however you can.

 

[Rlahens]

Alright so I found out what was wrong and I might as well tell people so in the future they try this.
Literally, it was just the PSU being in the wrong position. The fan was facing the vent, which I guess for this case and PSU it wasn't good to be in that position. I turned it upside down and was able to play at max with no shut down

I really don't get how this isn't something people recommend to look for.

 

[USAFRet]

Alright so I found out what was wrong and I might as well tell people so in the future they try this.
Literally, it was just the PSU being in the wrong position. The fan was facing the vent, which I guess for this case and PSU it wasn't good to be in that position. I turned it upside down and was able to play at max with no shut down

I really don't get how this isn't something people recommend to look for.

The PSU fan was facing the vent to the outside (the bottom?)? That is a very normal configuration.
Sucks air from the outside, blows through the PSU, and out the back.

Let the rest of the case cooling system cool the rest of the components.