[SOLVED] Newly built PC shuts down randomly

[Startracer]

Hello everyone
I just recent put together a new pc for my dad. However, I have ran into a problem that causes me a lot of headache. The PC I built keeps shutting down randomly.

When I do “lightweight tasks” like surf around in a browser using Edge, Crome or Firefox and read articles, or use apps like Paint, LibreOffice, Microsoft Photos or simply just viewing the desktop screen, the PC will shut down at random intervals. Sometimes it’s 10 minutes after I have turned the PC on, other times it can be after 3 hours . It has occurred between 18-22 times during the last week. The system never freezes, bluescreens, restarts or shows any symptoms before is shuts down.

However if I do intensive gaming, there are no problems and everything is fine. Over the last couple of days, I have done multiple long sessions of gaming in various games. Like 13,5 hours, 8 hours, 10 hours, 12 hours and 10,5 hours of straight gaming, and at no time had the PC turned off while I was gaming, even though it’s in this timeframe the system is under the biggest workload.
I just can’t wrap my head around why this newly built system is behaving like this.

All the parts I have put in the pc are brand new, out of the box.

Specs:
Motherboard: ASUS TUF GAMING A520M-PLUS WIFI
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
Cooler: Wraith Stealth
RAM: G.Skill AEGIS DDR4-3000 C16 DC - 16GB
SSD: Kingston NV1 M.2 NVMe SSD - 1TB
PSU: Inter-Tech Argus RGB-750W CM II
Diskdrive: ASUS DRW-24D5MT - DVD-RW
Cabinet: Fractal Design Focus G Mini
OS: Windows 10 Home edition.

I took the pc to a local computer repair center, where they ran diagnostics for two days. The conclusion from them was that the pc was assembled correctly and none of the hardware showed signs of malfunctioning. They however said that they couldn’t reproduce the problem with the pc shutting down while they were doing tests on the system. Which I find strange because just within 1 hours and 15 minutes after I came home and started using the PC again it continued doing the random shutdowns.

I simply can’t wrap my head around what causes this issue.

Therefore, any advice to solve this issue is highly appreciated

 

[CompuGuy71]

The only hardware I see that would make me wary is the PSU. Don't know anything about their reliability or performance.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey there,

as @CompuGuy71 has said, all things point to your PSU. The one you currently have is pants, and you should seriously consider changing it out.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Inter-Tech Argus = Horrible Quality. Get a decent PSU to run and protect your components.

 

[Startracer]

I appreciate the feedback.

The thought about the PSU have indeed crossed my mind right from when the shutdown issues occurred for first time. I have also afterwards read a lot of skepticism towards Inter-Techs components such as their PSU’s. The thing I just find strange is if it’s the PSU that is at fault, shouldn’t it also be affecting the PC to also shut down when I do heavy gaming like I mentioned above?

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

I appreciate the feedback.

The thought about the PSU have indeed crossed my mind right from when the shutdown issues occurred for first time. I have also afterwards read a lot of skepticism towards Inter-Techs components such as their PSU’s. The thing I just find strange is if it’s the PSU that is at fault, shouldn’t it also be affecting the PC to also shut down when I do heavy gaming like I mentioned above?

So, when a PSU is failing, it's more random than just at gaming load. But gaming can often trigger it. If you continue with the PSU, you will notice the frequency of the crashes increasing, and less often at load.

 

[Startracer]

So, when a PSU is failing, it's more random than just at gaming load. But gaming can often trigger it. If you continue with the PSU, you will notice the frequency of the crashes increasing, and less often at load.

So after you guys raised the concern about the PSU, I arranged for a friend to come by this Sunday with another PSU, a Corsair RM550x I can borrow, hope it is enough juice for the entire system. I will be testing how it performs during next week, if it is enough to power the system. Will let you know if it fixed the issue with the PC randomly shutting down.

BTW, if a new PSU fixes the issues I have been having, would any of you people by any chance have any recommendation for a god and reliable PSU to switch to?

(In my two previously built systems for myself, I have used PSU’s from Corsair. However, since I say that the price for Corsair PSU was about 70% more costly compared to other brands with the same amount of watt’s, I decided to go with another brand this time. I actually thought that as long as I go for an 80 plus certified PSU, I wouldn’t have to be concerned with the reliability of it).

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

So after you guys raised the concern about the PSU, I arranged for a friend to come by this Sunday with another PSU, a Corsair RM550x I can borrow, hope it is enough juice for the entire system. I will be testing how it performs during next week, if it is enough to power the system. Will let you know if it fixed the issue with the PC randomly shutting down.

BTW, if a new PSU fixes the issues I have been having, would any of you people by any chance have any recommendation for a god and reliable PSU to switch to?

(In my two previously built systems for myself, I have used PSU’s from Corsair. However, since I say that the price for Corsair PSU was about 70% more costly compared to other brands with the same amount of watt’s, I decided to go with another brand this time. I actually thought that as long as I go for an 80 plus certified PSU, I wouldn’t have to be concerned with the reliability of it).

The RMX is a quality PSU, and one we would often recommend. You could also look at Seasonic Focus, EVGA GA/G6, Superflower Leadex III, among many others.

 

[Startracer]

The RMX is a quality PSU, and one we would often recommend. You could also look at Seasonic Focus, EVGA GA/G6, Superflower Leadex III, among many others.

Thank you. I will have that in mind, after I have tried the RM550x I’m borrowing.

 

[DRagor]

They however said that they couldn’t reproduce the problem with the pc shutting down while they were doing tests on the system.

and at no time had the PC turned off while I was gaming

Are you sure you conveyed that information to the shop? Because if not then they most likely tested the system only under load (as it makes most sense typically) and that could be the reason they were unable to reproduce the problem.
And the problem you have is not even that strange as it sounds. I had once the system that had severe coil whine (at least how it did sound) under no load that would end instantly the moment any load was put onto it. Such things can happen. And I agree with other posters that first suspect is PSU, not only for being unknown quality.

 

[elforeign]

It's interesting to me that you write the random shutdowns happen when the computer is not under load and runs fine when under load, signs do point to a faulty PSU.

I would also try using the computer hooked up to a different power outlet to rule out signs of a faulty outlet as well. I know that's cumbersome but a simple extension cord should do the trick.

After so many reboots, I would also recommend a CHKDSK on Windows. This is the steps for your Windows version:
Here's how to run CHKDSK from Command Prompt on Windows:

• Type cmd (Command Prompt) in the Start menu search bar, then click Run as administrator.
• Type chkdsk and hit Enter. CHKDSK will scan for drive errors and let you know if it found any you should repair, but it won't try to fix them without a command.

 

[Startracer]

Are you sure you conveyed that information to the shop? Because if not then they most likely tested the system only under load (as it makes most sense typically) and that could be the reason they were unable to reproduce the problem.
And the problem you have is not even that strange as it sounds. I had once the system that had severe coil whine (at least how it did sound) under no load that would end instantly the moment any load was put onto it. Such things can happen. And I agree with other posters that first suspect is PSU, not only for being unknown quality.

Yeah I actually gave the shop that information about the system being stable and reliable under high load like gaming, and that is was “guarantied” to result in a system shutdown if you just turned the PC on and left it alone for some time (usually with the 10 min to 3 hours mark). But yeah I don’t know how and which test they performed, so could be the case.

I am however glad that more and more is pointing towards a faulty PSU. Appreciate the feedback.

It's interesting to me that you write the random shutdowns happen when the computer is not under load and runs fine when under load, signs do point to a faulty PSU.

I would also try using the computer hooked up to a different power outlet to rule out signs of a faulty outlet as well. I know that's cumbersome but a simple extension cord should do the trick.

After so many reboots, I would also recommend a CHKDSK on Windows. This is the steps for your Windows version:
Here's how to run CHKDSK from Command Prompt on Windows:

• Type cmd (Command Prompt) in the Start menu search bar, then click Run as administrator.
• Type chkdsk and hit Enter. CHKDSK will scan for drive errors and let you know if it found any you should repair, but it won't try to fix them without a command.

So far the total amount of time spend gaming/in a game client is 70 hours with ZERO shutdowns. And total amount of time not performing any major tasks like mentioned in my first post is 54 hours and with approx. 25 shutdowns.

So 0 vs 25 shutdowns.

I have tried hooking it up to different power outlets in different households, my own, my neighbor and at my dad’s where the PC is supposed to be used. Gave the same result all three places.

Thanks for the advice about the scan from the command prompt, I will probably try that tomorrow when I have some time for that.