PC crashes only when playing video games

[1qwyjibo1]

Hi. So I have this issue with my PC. Last night I was playing a game, my PC crashed, I went back on the game, it crashed, so I went to bed hoping in the morning it would be fixed. Woke up, went on the game and it crashed again. In idle mode, browsing the internet there is no problems. Now, whenever I open a video game, my PC crashes. It goes to a black screen, I can still hear audio, and then the PC reboots. Crash ID is 41, kernel power. Things I have done: - Updated my GPU driver to latest - Took out the RAM and put it back in - Removed all dust

Yes, my PC is 5 and a half years old. I know this is a factor. But would love to try and fix. If I cannot fix this problem in the next few days I will buy a new PC.

Specs - Intel i5-3570k - GTX 660 Ti, 2GB Vram - 8GB RAM - Windows 10

Thank you. P.S sorry if i didn't follow the rules 100%, i'm new here

 

[Aeacus]

Random reboots or shutdowns are mostly caused by 2 issues:
1. CPU/GPU overheats and to prevent any damage, system shuts down.
2. PSU fails to deliver enough power to the GPU or fails to keep smooth enough voltage for PC's operation.

First check your CPU/GPU temps, both at idle and under load. Also, what's your PSU make and model (or part number)?

 

[1qwyjibo1]

Random reboots or shutdowns are mostly caused by 2 issues:
1. CPU/GPU overheats and to prevent any damage, system shuts down.
2. PSU fails to deliver enough power to the GPU or fails to keep smooth enough voltage for PC's operation.

First check your CPU/GPU temps, both at idle and under load. Also, what's your PSU make and model (or part number)?

CPU cores average at 45*c idle each (4 cores) Under load they go to 60 - 70*c.
GPU core is 60*c idle.
All fans, including the GPU fan are all spinning and working.
My PSU is Corsair vs650

I honestly think it's a heating issue. Before the PC crashes, I hear my fans getting louder and then it crashes.

 

[Aeacus]

Corsair VS-series PSU is the worst offered by Corsair and i won't use it to even power office PC without dedicated GPU and which never sees any high loads, let alone powering a gaming PC with it. Since you have low quality PSU in there, it's no wonder why VS650 can't keep your PC running once you put a higher load on PSU. Also, do note that components do age and get worse the more time passes. While your VS650 managed to pull through earlier, eventually it will fail, as you've witnessed.

Only fix is to buy a new, up to the date PSU. Here, i suggest getting any Seasonic unit, in 500W range.
Why 500W range and not 650W? Because your GPU is 150W and if you add the rest of the system at about 200W to it, total would be 350W. 500W range PSU would be more than enough for your PC, even if you OC your CPU and/or GPU.

That being said, you can go with: M12II-520 EVO, G-550, Focus 550 or Focus+ 550,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/TgW9TW,DPCwrH,bkp323,KmgzK8/

Focus and Focus+ are the newest PSU lines from Seasonic and they come with 10 years of OEM warranty. G and M12II EVO series PSUs come with 5 years of OEM warranty.
All my 3 PCs: Skylake, Haswell and AMD are also powered by Seasonic. Full specs with pics in my sig.

 

[1qwyjibo1]

Corsair VS-series PSU is the worst offered by Corsair and i won't use it to even power office PC without dedicated GPU and which never sees any high loads, let alone powering a gaming PC with it. Since you have low quality PSU in there, it's no wonder why VS650 can't keep your PC running once you put a higher load on PSU. Also, do note that components do age and get worse the more time passes. While your VS650 managed to pull through earlier, eventually it will fail, as you've witnessed.

Only fix is to buy a new, up to the date PSU. Here, i suggest getting any Seasonic unit, in 500W range.
Why 500W range and not 650W? Because your GPU is 150W and if you add the rest of the system at about 200W to it, total would be 350W. 500W range PSU would be more than enough for your PC, even if you OC your CPU and/or GPU.

That being said, you can go with: M12II-520 EVO, G-550, Focus 550 or Focus+ 550,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/TgW9TW,DPCwrH,bkp323,KmgzK8/

Focus and Focus+ are the newest PSU lines from Seasonic and they come with 10 years of OEM warranty. G and M12II EVO series PSUs come with 5 years of OEM warranty.
All my 3 PCs: Skylake, Haswell and AMD are also powered by Seasonic. Full specs with pics in my sig.

Thank you. Yes, the PSU is the problem. It's been super loud for years now, and now it's finally died I guess.
Will do what you recommend. Cheers!

 

[Masoner]

Random reboots or shutdowns are mostly caused by 2 issues:
1. CPU/GPU overheats and to prevent any damage, system shuts down.
2. PSU fails to deliver enough power to the GPU or fails to keep smooth enough voltage for PC's operation.

First check your CPU/GPU temps, both at idle and under load. Also, what's your PSU make and model (or part number)?

CPU cores average at 45*c idle each (4 cores) Under load they go to 60 - 70*c.
GPU core is 60*c idle.
All fans, including the GPU fan are all spinning and working.
My PSU is Corsair vs650

I honestly think it's a heating issue. Before the PC crashes, I hear my fans getting louder and then it crashes.

What are you using to monitor you temps? The issue is that when you crash you can't see where the temps were. Try HWMonitor have it open when you open the game and watch it.

 

[1qwyjibo1]

Random reboots or shutdowns are mostly caused by 2 issues:
1. CPU/GPU overheats and to prevent any damage, system shuts down.
2. PSU fails to deliver enough power to the GPU or fails to keep smooth enough voltage for PC's operation.

First check your CPU/GPU temps, both at idle and under load. Also, what's your PSU make and model (or part number)?

CPU cores average at 45*c idle each (4 cores) Under load they go to 60 - 70*c.
GPU core is 60*c idle.
All fans, including the GPU fan are all spinning and working.
My PSU is Corsair vs650

I honestly think it's a heating issue. Before the PC crashes, I hear my fans getting louder and then it crashes.

What are you using to monitor you temps? The issue is that when you crash you can't see where the temps were. Try HWMonitor have it open when you open the game and watch it.

Open Hardware Monitor