Question I have a very annoying problem

[AlphaInvoker]

My pc randomly shuts down while gaming, I have the following specs:
Core i7-9700K (I never overclocked it)
GIGABYTE GE FORCE RTX 2070 (Graphics Card)
GIGABYE Z390 UD V2 (Motherboard)
Coolermaster MWE GOLD 650 (PSU)

The problem is that the pc shuts down and immediately turns on again with the CPU error light on the mobo, I have to switch off the power supply for it to work again.

What I tried so far is the following:
I reassembled the entire pc and cleaned the dust => nothing changed

I did a stress test with 100% utilization of the cpu => test went fine and the test ran for over 30 mins.. nothing wrong so it's not power supply issue.

I have all drivers up to date and no viruses I did a thorough scan with no issues.

What I'm assuming the problem is the CPU is incompatible with the motherboard, but I can't find it anywhere online.

 

[rgd1101]

brand and model of the psu?

 

[AlphaInvoker]

Coolermaster MWE GOLD 650

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

The CPU is totally compatible with the board. It wouldn't work at all if it wasn't.

What it sounds like is the VRMs that control the voltage to the CPU are overheating and causing the PC to shut down.

Can you monitor your temps before and after when one of these shutdowns occurs? I would guess that the CPU temp and GPU temp would be OK, but the mainboard temp would probably be hitting 50-60C

I notice your board doesn't have any cooling on the MOSFET chokes which are part of the VRMs. I circled where they are on the picture below:

They don't need a lot of cooling. You might have some luck sticking some little copper heatsinks to them, e.g:

FIT0506 | Heatsink, LattePanda, 13.2 x 12.1 x 4.8mm, PCB Surface Mount | RS

uk.rs-online.com

 

[AlphaInvoker]

Thank you for your reply!

I do have a cooling fan from Cooler master applied for cooling which is functioning at around 1000 RPM (I found this from the BIOS when I first booted my pc and went to BIOS mode)

Here are the picture of my pc hopefully you would see if there are any issues with it?

Image 1

image 2

image 3

(My apologies I'm still new to this forum and I dont know how to properly upload an image..)

EDIT: I have the case always open also so the airflow is not a problem and the room temperature is always low (air-conditioned room)

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

Looks good, but your cables are a mess and the CPU cooler is caked in dust.

You should route all those cables behind the motherboard to improve airflow.

Something like this:

see how all the cables disappear behind the motherboard? Its not just for show, it allows your PC to breathe.

You really need to take the whole thing apart and clean it anyway, so when you put it back together, try to get the cables looking like that.

Also, install temperature monitoring software and monitor your temps before and after. You should find a good cleaning reduces temps a lot.

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

Oh also, your CPU cooler is on the wrong way around. It is blowing into the case when it really should be blowing out.

Turn the CPU cooler around 180 degrees when you clean it, this should help a lot.

 

[AlphaInvoker]

Thanks so is this the reason why my pc keeps shutting down randomly? like it's not compatibility issues or some hardware issue? (this is the first PC i build so I was pretty impatient building it and want to test it out..)

Edit: My case is always open so the airflow shouldn't be a problem for the fan right?

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

I can't know for sure without more information. I need to see the temperatures inside the PC to know more. Install some temperature monitoring software please.

 

[AlphaInvoker]

Thank you, I'm using MSI Afterburner I just used it for 1 minute at 100% load for CPU as you can see temp is getting to 75C max.. My issue only comes while gaming for 2 hours or 3 hours.

MSI Afterburner Screenshot

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

75C is relatively hot for a CPU, but as I said I don't think it is the CPU itself that is overheating it's the VRMs.

Clean the PC, turn the CPU fan around correctly, tidy up the cable management and I think this issue will go away.

 

[Zerk2012]

Thanks so is this the reason why my pc keeps shutting down randomly? like it's not compatibility issues or some hardware issue? (this is the first PC i build so I was pretty impatient building it and want to test it out..)

Edit: My case is always open so the airflow shouldn't be a problem for the fan right?

It looks like the memory is in the wrong slots check the motherboard manual, put the fan on the other side of the cooler blowing the air into it, and run memtest on the memory.

What memory is that looks like a off brand.

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

Edit: My case is always open so the airflow shouldn't be a problem for the fan right?

Close the case! You might think running with it open helps airflow but it doesn't, it creates dead spots in the PC that get no cooling at all (such as your VRMs which are only partially cooled)

Also running with the case open lets dust inside, which is probably why your CPU cooler is caked in dust.

Put the side on the case.

 

[AlphaInvoker]

It looks like the memory is in the wrong slots check the motherboard manual, put the fan on the other side of the cooler blowing the air into it, and run memtest on the memory.

What memory is that looks like a off brand.

I'm using 2 Samsung 8gb DDR4 2660 (I think) RAM sticks

Close the case! You might think running with it open helps airflow but it doesn't, it creates dead spots in the PC that get no cooling at all (such as your VRMs which are only partially cooled)

Also running with the case open lets dust inside, which is probably why your CPU cooler is caked in dust.

Put the side on the case.

I didn't know about that.. Let me reassemble my pc and test it out then I'll confirm here, thank you!

 

[AlphaInvoker]

Update, I have managed to fix the problem with the help of a friend.. Apparently the issue was this:

• Note:The Gigabyte Z390 UD ATX LGA1151 Motherboard has an additional 4-pin ATX power connector but the Cooler Master MWE Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply does not. This connector is used to supply additional 12V current to the motherboard. While the system will likely still run without it, higher current demands such as extreme overclocking or large video card current draws may require it

I'm using an older version of a power supply which is NOT fully supported by my motherboard.. I changed my power supply and so far everything has been working smoothly! (Hopefully no more random gaming shut down sessions)

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

Update, I have managed to fix the problem with the help of a friend.. Apparently the issue was this:

• Note:The Gigabyte Z390 UD ATX LGA1151 Motherboard has an additional 4-pin ATX power connector but the Cooler Master MWE Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply does not. This connector is used to supply additional 12V current to the motherboard. While the system will likely still run without it, higher current demands such as extreme overclocking or large video card current draws may require it

I'm using an older version of a power supply which is NOT fully supported by my motherboard.. I changed my power supply and so far everything has been working smoothly! (Hopefully no more random gaming shut down sessions)

Huh?

In this image:

You can clearly see something plugged into both ATX 12V sockets at the top left of the picture...

Did those wires not actually go into the PSU?