CPU too hot? Causing PC to shut off

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ParagonKnight21

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Apr 29, 2013
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Hello everyone,
recently (2 months now) my pc has been shutting off whenever i do anything too serious, such as playing a game (Minecraft, Bioshock, rendering a video, etc.). I don't know what is causing this...The PC has been working fine for 3 months (November 2012 - February 2013). Originally my pc specs were:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229361
The only thing i have changed from this, was the graphics card to a Nvidia GTX 460 SE around January. Even then it still worked perfectly fine. I never really paid much attention to the heat because everything was running smooth and had no problems what so ever. Now when i play a game such as minecraft my cpu goes high up to 80c.
http://puu.sh/2JJjV.png
Any help or tips is really appreciated :) Thanks for reading!
 
Solution
I
Ok, at a first glance it sure looks like that power supply should be able to meet the needs of your computer. It definitely appears to have proper output levels to supply adequate power to your parts.

That said, I did a quick Google search on that specific power supply model (Xtreme Gear XG-H700) and the results I came up with were pretty bad. I couldn't find any real reviews (like this one for an XFX brand PSU) that perform a battery of tests to determine whether
a) the PSU is made with decent quality parts
b) the PSU can actually output its rated power levels and
c) what quality of power output is delivered

I also noticed that Xtreme Gear is not even listed as a PSU manufacturer in Tom's Hardware's "Who's Who In Power...
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Unless you also removed and reseated the CPU heatsink/fan then adding a GPU should in no way affect your CPU temps, certainly not to the degree that it would be overheating the CPU.

Two questions:
1) have you overclocked the CPU at all?

2) can you post the specs of the included PSU? There should be a sticker with a table detailing how many amps each rail gets. That is the important information.
 
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Sorry it took me a while to figure by what you meant for the second question
Ok for the first question; no i have not overclocked (i dont even know where to begin to be honest)
I didnt know what to search for the second the question, so i just copied down everything it said on the sticker:

XTREME GEAR 700W ATX PowerSupply
Model: XG-H700
AC Input: 115V/230V 10/5A 50-60Hz
+5V & +3.3V combined: 130W

DC Output +3.3V, +5V, +12V, +12V, -12V, +5VSB
Max Output Current: 20A, 24A, 24A, 24A, 0.5A, 2.5A
Min Current: 0.5A, 0.5A, 0.5A, 0.5A, 0.0A, 0.5A
Peak Current: --, --, --, --, --, 3A

Hope that helped :)
 
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Ok, at a first glance it sure looks like that power supply should be able to meet the needs of your computer. It definitely appears to have proper output levels to supply adequate power to your parts.

That said, I did a quick Google search on that specific power supply model (Xtreme Gear XG-H700) and the results I came up with were pretty bad. I couldn't find any real reviews (like this one for an XFX brand PSU) that perform a battery of tests to determine whether
a) the PSU is made with decent quality parts
b) the PSU can actually output its rated power levels and
c) what quality of power output is delivered

I also noticed that Xtreme Gear is not even listed as a PSU manufacturer in Tom's Hardware's "Who's Who In Power Supplies, 2013" Article. What I did find, however, were several discussions about that specific model. They essentially rated it as a bottom of the barrel power supply that should be avoided like the plague. Given this information, I think you may end up having to replace the PSU.

That said, there are a few other things you can verify before taking that step. Please bear with me as some of them are very basic.

Verify that there are no cables obstructing or contacting your CPU heatsink fan and it is spinning properly. Also make sure your 4-pin power connector is connected to the motherboard (to the left of the CPU).

Verify that you didn't accidentally bump your CPU heatsink when installing your GPU. It should be firmly seated and not wiggle. You can also do a visual check to verify that the metal hook on the side of the heat sink adjacent to the top of your computer is firmly connected to the CPU socket and the lever on the opposite side of the heatsink is pressed in all the way as well. If you have any computer experience or feel comfortable enough to gain some, you can remove the heat sink, clean off any existing thermal paste, and purchase some new thermal paste and reinstall the heat sink. Newegg has a pretty good video on Youtube that includes a How To on removing and installing a heatsink. (Link Here) This second video shows how an AMD heatsink attaches.

Also verify that your new GPU is seated correctly and all power connections are firmly attached. Do this by disconnecting everything from your GPU and pulling it out of your motherboard. Then go ahead and reinstall it back into the motherboard. Be sure it is fully inserted into the PCIe slot and connect all of the required 6 or 8 pin power connectors.

If all of that is fine and the problem still occurs then you most likely need a new PSU. I believe you should be ok with a ~550W 80Plus Bronze model from a reputable brand. I would stick to Seasonic, XFX, Corsair, Antec, and some PC Power & Cooling models (MKIII line). As a general rule of thumb, a model from any of these manufacturers that comes with a 5 year warranty should be a good quality PSU. Unfortunately this is going to set you back roughly $50 (in the US) if you find a good model on sale through Newegg. If you are purchasing in a store then you can probably expect to pay at least $10-20 more.

After a quick search of Newegg's current prices, it appears the best deal right now is the SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze 620W model for $70.
 
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Solution
P.S. I hate recommending such a large purchase (especially from an online retailer where returns can be difficult if the problem is not resolved) without being able to run further testing to verify the problem would be resolved by that part. I definitely recommend running the other checks before purchasing a new PSU, and if you can get a good quality new PSU from a local retail store then it might be worth a shot to go there first. You could even buy a PSU there, test it out, and then return it if it resolves the problem and you could save a good amount of money purchasing it online. Just be sure to look into the store's return policy first to make sure they won't charge you a restocking fee on computer components.
 
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First of let me just say thank you for replying :) nice to see friendly people who can help out. Ok, if i purchase a new psu, how will that solve my cpu heat problem? Also i tried reseating the cpu, even applied arctic silver 5 and reconnected the wires, hopefully nothing bad will happen. Also here is a screenshot of my pc http://imgur.com/hHjikkj Also one question, would it help if i posted event logs?
 
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I agree with icraft here. I'm not a big fan of Corsair's CX line of PSUs. Is there any particular reason you ask about that specific model?
 
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Honestly, I can't say it fully makes sense. Here's what I do know: simply installing a new GPU should have absolutely no effect on CPU temperatures. (Side note: the GPU could add more heat to the inside of the case and increase CPU temps, but I wouldn't expect the difference to be that drastic. More on that below.)

I also know that the CPU is essentially the start of everything with a computer as it supplies the flow of electricity that allows each part to do its work. Think of it as the PCs food supply. If you eat toxic sludge how well will your body function? Now I'm not saying that PSU is supplying your PC with the food equivalent of toxic sludge, but several of the posts I read talked about the PSU supplying poor quality regulated power and taking down other PC component's in the process. I also know that increased power draw tends to bring worsen the output of most PSUs. It is conceivable that your PSU was providing ok-enough power to the components in your PSU because it was operating at a very low output. Changing video cards could have increased your power draw by as much as 100W or more. This could easily have been enough power draw increase to make the output of your power supply bad enough that it is having an affect on your PC performance.

Ok, one more thing I should have recommended before: Have you tried switching back to your old video card and seeing how the computer runs with it now? Monitor the reported CPU and system temps with the old GPU and see if it crashes as well.

If the CPU temp stays down with the old card in then switch back to the new card and try running with the side panel off. This should eliminate the possibility of the new card adding heat to the case and causing the CPU to overheat. If the PC does fine with the old card, but the CPU still overheats with the new card installed and the side panel off then it is looking more like a PSU issue. If it runs with the side panel off, put the side panel back on and see if it overheats again. If it does then you may just need more airflow through the case. Make sure you have the PC stored in a location that provides adequate airflow (don't put it in a cabinet).

Event logs may be useful, bu let's hold off on that for now. When switching cards, did you fully uninstall all of the old drivers and driver software?
 
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I have switched the video cards from time to time to see if the new card was the problem...I fully uninstalled all drivers and installed the right drivers for each card. When i switched back to the 6670, at first it seem to have no problems, then little after my pc started to turn off because my cpu was at 80c or maybe my psu is just slowly dying...
 
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keep in mind that between January to March was when i was starting to use the new card, i had no problems until recently (April to now) when all the sudden i start to play a video game or render a video my pc just suddenly turns off with no reboots or BSOD
 
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Also i chose that psu because one of friends recently purchased it and said it was good and the label was wrong and it was suppose to be 80+ Gold certified. Also because its modular so i don't have to worry about extra cables causing heat problems in the future.
 
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Hmmm... Those are very intriguing pieces of information...

Regarding your first two responses:

How old is the PC? Is it still under warranty? The fact that it still shuts down on its own with the old card seems to indicate either a problem with the CPU (possibly the poorly regulated power caused it to go bad) that would lead to it needing to be replaced or simply the PSU starting to go bad. In either case you should be able to get it fixed under warranty if you have had the PC for less than one year. It also seems to indicate that the problem is not with the graphics card.

If you have had the PC for over a year and are out of the warranty period then your best bet is to first replace the PSU and see if that resolves the problem. I am fairly confident that the PSU is the root cause and would therefore need replacing even if the CPU has gone bad. If you replace the PSU and the CPU still has heat issues then You should be able to install pretty much any AMD FX series processor you want into that motherboard as a replacement after a BIOS update.

On the subject of that Corsair PSU:
The only 80Plus Gold PSUs that Corsair manufactures are their AX and HX lines. Their CX and TX lines are both 80Plus Bronze. The confusion might be due to Corsair's HX line of PSU, which used to be rated 80Plus Silver but recently got upgraded to 80Plus Gold.
 
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The PC is a good 7 months now (November 22, 2012 - April 30, 2013) As i stated before the pc was working fine up until recently. When i first got the pc everything was working fine, no problems what so ever. a few months later i replaced the card and everything was still working fine. Then a few months later my pc started to turn off by itself whenever i do anything too cpu based, to the point where it makes it go 80c. I think the psu is just dying to be honest, you cant really rely on cheap brands to do any good.

My friend says that it was a packaging error on Corsair's side, so now every site says that its 80+ Bronze when its not.
"the FCC ID brings up the registration page from Corsair's FCC filing and its 80+ Gold."


 
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Interesting again. Ecova Plug Load Solutions hands out the 80Plus certifications and they have it listed as 80Plus Bronze. Can you link the location that says it is 80Plus Gold? I'm genuinely curious to know. I can't see how the guys who hand out the certifications would get it wrong. Unfortunately I can't find any reviews that test that model and verify the efficiency at the 80Plus load levels either.

I can definitely understand not wanting to deal with warranty service. That is entirely your choice and I would just caution you to keep in mind the fact that you could end up spending more to replace other parts if the PSU happened to damage them. I'm not trying to convince you either way here, simply wanting to make you you consider all the options.


Well it really is all up to you, and I think it largely depends on how much you want to spend and where you want to buy (and which site you choose to believe about the CX750M).

If you want less expensive then I would grab the SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze 620W PSU I recommended earlier for $70. You won't ever need 750W unless you plan on upgrading your motherboard and running a crossfire or SLI configuration.

If you want modular and 80Plus Gold for sure then your best deals are going to be the:
SeaSonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W PSU for $89.99 on Newegg
SeaSonic G Series SSR-650RM 650W PSU for $93.49 on Amazon, ships within 2-4 weeks (or $109.99 on Newegg)
XFX P1-750B-BEFX 750W PSU for $109.99 after $20 mail-in-rebate on Newegg

All three of those PSUs should be killer in quality, dependability, and power output.
 
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Well there isnt an exact link to state that its an 80Plus Gold... he told me that he directly spoke with Corsair and they said that it was a packaging error...maybe you should talk to them 😛

I think i am going to go for the Corsair CX750M, but thanks for the suggestions...Thank you for your help, i will come back to tell you the results of the new PSU in the up coming week or so.
 
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Hello ParagonKnight21. I thought it was pretty coincidental to come across this thread because I received my new gaming PC back in November 2012 from CyberPower with the same PSU as you (Xtreme Gear XG-H700), and about two weeks ago (End of April 2013) my PC made a weird spark-like noise near the PSU while I was watching a YouTube video, and my PC instantly died leaving me unable to turn my PC on since that moment. I immediately knew that my PSU had just blown. After doing some research on my laptop I discovered that these PSUs are horrible, and that they give off a terrible ripple effect which is what happens when AC power is converted into DC power. Over time this causes all of your hardware to degrade due to the improper electrical current. It looks like me and you are stuck in the same situation. All of my hardware seemed to be running fine before the PSU blew, but now I'm wondering if I should just send the whole PC back under warranty if all my parts have degraded down to half or more of their lifespan. I'm also worried that the PSU blowing may have damaged my other hardware, so that buying a new PSU would just be a waste of money. I guess this is what we get for buying a cheap PSU. I hope that you're new PSU solves your problem, and if it does then it might convince me to just try my luck with a new one as well. Good luck.
 
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