My PC shuts off randomly after a few minutes! Please Help!

[SamWinchester]

Hi all this is my 3 year old ( or so ) pc:

Intel Core i7 920 2.6ghz
EVGA X58 SLI motherboard
Nvidia GTX 285 1gb
4gb Ram DDR3
Corsair 750w


Some days ago i noticed that the performance my gpu was going down. While i was playing Dota 2, a game that doenst need that much, the fps started to get a lot worse, like if i was playing Crysis or something like that.

So i opened the case in order to clean the dust inside. After that my PC started to shut off itself. It was always like this: I start windows, and after a few minutes( no matter what i was doing ) the pc shuts down like somene else unplugged it. There were no error messages, no warnings, it just shutted off.

I don't know what could be the problem, and i am really worried about it.

 

[Greybush]

It sound's like an overheating issue. Try monitoring your temps In the bios and see if they get to high.

 

[SamWinchester]

Done! I got this

Cpu Temperature 84º C
NB Temperature 50ºC
VREG Temperature 37ºC
System Temperature 28ºC

CPU Fan Speed 2068 RPM

 

[nostall]

I agree with Greybush, sounds like heat. 84C for the CPU is high, especially if that is through the BIOS (when the BIOS screen is up at boot, no other programs etc. are using the computer).
Also, make sure your fans are spinning. The RPM on your CPU cooler looked low. My other PC is air-cooled, is 28C and the fan is spinning at ~2900.
And, another idea; shut down, take your video card out of the case and with canned air or low pressure compressed air (no more then 40PSI) clean and inspect the card. Then blow the dirt out of your case. (I know you said you cleaned it already, but give it another shot).
Can also try opening the case and setting up a regular house or desk fan to blow on the innards while you play: that should confirm the heat issue one-way-or-the -other.

 

[jeremyp79]

Sounds like you need to clean/replace the cpu heatsink/fan. 84c at idle is insanely high. Is it possible that you inadvertantly unplugged the cpu fan ?

 

[SamWinchester]

So what should i do?, Buy another heatsink? Any particular one?

 

[jeremyp79]

Hyper 212 evo is relatively cheap and should work just fine. But again, you might be able to clean your HS, take the fan off and see if it is clogged with dust. Also check and make sure the fan from the cpu heatsink is plugged into the fan header labeled cpu fan

 

[SamWinchester]

So i just saw the cpu heatsink and it is indeed plugged, but i noticed that it has a lot of dust. The heatsink came with cpu when i bought it, should i buy a new one?

 

[nostall]

So i just saw the cpu heatsink and it is indeed plugged, but i noticed that it has a lot of dust. The heatsink came with cpu when i bought it, should i buy a new one?

CLean it with air or vaccum it out, even use a paint brush and brush it out.
Sam, before buying something new try cleaning the old one. You can also take the heatsink off, clean everything thoroughly, check out the fan, and then follow this guide to reapplying Thermal Interface Material (TIM) and reinstalling theheat sink:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/333968-28-thermal-paste-removal-installation-guide

 

[jeremyp79]

You could remove the heatsink/fan assembly and clean it, but make sure you have thermal paste handy for the reinstallation. As for needing to buy a new one, well, its either get the old one clean enough to work properly, or buy a new one. It's kind of up to you. Personally, I would take the time to get the old one clean, but I'm very impatient, and wouldnt want to wait for a new one to come in the mail or via UPS 🙂.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099ed is only 35 bucks, and could be moved to a new system when you decide to replace/upgrade your current parts.

 

[SamWinchester]

Thakns for the answers! Tbh, i never used thermal paste on the cpu ( yes, i am this lame ) So i will clean up the heatsink that i have now, and if it still gives me problems i will buy another one, but a thermal paste is a must buy now!

PS: i just realised that the bad performance on my games wanst because of my gpu, but the high temp of the cpu was the source of the problem!

 

[nostall]

Thakns for the answers! Tbh, i never used thermal paste on the cpu ( yes, i am this lame ) So i will clean up the heatsink that i have now, and if it still gives me problems i will buy another one, but a thermal paste is a must buy now!

PS: i just realised that the bad performance on my games wanst because of my gpu, but the high temp of the cpu was the source of the problem!

Here are two of the best:
Arctic Silver 5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007
Tuniq TX-2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154003
And a good article on TIM performance
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/geek_tested_17_thermal_pastes_face

Let us know how it goes, if it solves the problem.