Question Pc suddenly restart when gaming

[Tihomir Grubisic]

So this has been happening for 2 months now. And it happened again today, I was playing Fall Guys with a couple of mates. We were about 2 hours into the game when suddenly the screen went black, and then my pc restarted, when it restarted it showed me a windows update, then it booted to windows as standard.

Before anyone asks, the CPU and GPU temps where normal, around 65 for both I think. My GPU drivers are updated, and the restart has been happening in more games like For Honor and GTA V.
I dont think its because of the PSU because it has double than what I need.

Specs:
CPU: i5-4460
GPU: Amd Rx 470
Ram: Samsung 2x8gb
MB: Asrock H81M-VG4
PSU: Super Flower SF-650P14 650 Watts
1 Sata SSD
1 Sata HDD

I spoke to a guy, he thinks its because the motherboard is crappy, so it isnt delivering enough power to the GPU.

Here's what I found in the event log

If anyone else has any other solutions or causes I would greatly appreciate it.
It would be a life-saver.

 

[Darkbreeze]

What motherboard BIOS version is currently installed?

 

[Tihomir Grubisic]

What motherboard BIOS version is currently installed?

Sorry for a late response,
by my System Information the current BIOS Version/Date is " American Megatrends Inc. P1.40, 7/2/2014 "

 

[Darkbreeze]

Ok, so that's good information. Always try to provide that kind of information in the future when, if, you have other issues, because details matter when it comes to PC hardware and solutions.

So, You are a few versions back from the latest one and since this is really an older board, that obviously didn't have support for the generation of GPU that you are trying to run, at the time that THAT BIOS was released, as a decent place to start I'd really suggest that upgrading to the most current BIOS version would really be a good place to start. Often, problem solved. And if it isn't, we can at least move forward from there knowing that THAT is NOT the problem, which makes narrowing it down a bit easier.

 

[Tihomir Grubisic]

I updated to the latest version of BIOS, there have currently been no restarts. It will take some time to test it because I'm very busy these next to 2 days, so I'll return to the thread then.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Sounds good man.

 

[Tihomir Grubisic]

Sounds good man.

This morning somehow I found some free time. I played Ark and after a hour the same thing happened, but then I played it again and this time it only took 10 mins to restart. Atleast we know that an outdated BIOS isnt the problem

 

[Darkbreeze]

What series is that Super Flower PSU? Is is a Leadex or a Golden green, and approximately how old is it?

 

[Tihomir Grubisic]

What series is that Super Flower PSU? Is is a Leadex or a Golden green, and approximately how old is it?

Im not really into PSUs, is there a way you can tell by the picture?

 

[DSzymborski]

Im not really into PSUs, is there a way you can tell by the picture?

By the picture of the label, probably. Best thing to do is take a picture of the amp/watt chart on the PSU itself, upload it somewhere like Imgur, and post the link here. While I see the model number you posted, I only can find the F14 model PSU, not the P14 one you linked. At the very least, it would be nice to source a year and how much of its output it can do in +12V power (all quality PSUs are able to do all or almost all of the output in +12V power while anything that falls short by more than a couple watts is almost always an older, lower-quality unit).

Most modern Super Flower PSUs are very solid. But even solid PSUs can sometimes fail. And if you go back a long way, Super Flower also made some lower-quality PSUs, mostly sold in Eastern Europe and South Asia, that aren't of the same quality as their modern stuff.

 

[Tihomir Grubisic]

By the picture of the label, probably. Best thing to do is take a picture of the amp/watt chart on the PSU itself, upload it somewhere like Imgur, and post the link here. While I see the model number you posted, I only can find the F14 model PSU, not the P14 one you linked. At the very least, it would be nice to source a year and how much of its output it can do in +12V power (all quality PSUs are able to do all or almost all of the output in +12V power while anything that falls short by more than a couple watts is almost always an older, lower-quality unit).

Most modern Super Flower PSUs are very solid. But even solid PSUs can sometimes fail. And if you go back a long way, Super Flower also made some lower-quality PSUs, mostly sold in Eastern Europe and South Asia, that aren't of the same quality as their modern stuff.

Here's the label.

I just so happen to be from eastern Europe. So this may be one of those lower quality PSUs, as I said, I'm not really into the PSUs. Thanks for the information.

 

[Darkbreeze]

So, that unit is an unknown quantity since it's model translates into a "Black edition" which I've never heard of, which is unusual since I've heard a great deal about a great many Super Flower models. Assuming this is an Asian or European only model, it COULD still be an ok unit, but I have serious reservations since we know that over the last two years or so Super Flower has farmed out some of their manufacturing to some pretty shady low end companies that resulted in terrible units.

Do you have any idea how long this unit has been in service?

 

[DSzymborski]

The fact that it can only do 456W on the +12V rail is an extremely bad sign for its quality.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Hello darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk to you again. 😎

 

[Tihomir Grubisic]

So, that unit is an unknown quantity since it's model translates into a "Black edition" which I've never heard of, which is unusual since I've heard a great deal about a great many Super Flower models. Assuming this is an Asian or European only model, it COULD still be an ok unit, but I have serious reservations since we know that over the last two years or so Super Flower has farmed out some of their manufacturing to some pretty shady low end companies that resulted in terrible units.

Do you have any idea how long this unit has been in service?

I tried searching about it since I had no idea about its age. Finding info about it is a nightmare. Many sites have blank info boxes, the only thing I got is from Spanish Amazon that says it started selling on October 9th 2019

 

[Darkbreeze]

It's a poor quality unit. I'd replace it. The chances are very good that a PSU like that one which has on it's own label the fact that based on it's actual capabilities can only provide 465w (IF it can even provide that, and a lot of these types of units can't which is why they tend to cause these kinds of problems especially if they've got a few miles on them) when the unit itself is marketed as a 650w unit is really all you need to know to know that unlike most Super Flower offerings, this one not a good choice.

And even if the PSU isn't the exact problem you are having you would really want to get something better anyhow. Not doing so is saying "I don't really care about the rest of my hardware" but it needs to ACTUALLY be something better, not just something different.

The following two links should be useful in at least pointing you in the right direction.

Discussion - PSU recommendations and power supply discussion thread - Tom's hardware

Below you will find MY standard list of recommended power supplies and beyond that this thread is intended as a landing place for questions or discussions regarding specific units, platforms or related PSU tech, all of which are all welcome to be discussed here. If it's related to power supplies...

forums.tomshardware.com

Article - [psucultists] PSU tier list rev. 14.8 (Final Update Jul '21)

PSU Tier List 4.0 rev. 14.8 (outdated) Last Update: 12-07-2021 Legend : Gray - EoL/obsolete and/or otherwise not recommended for purchase. Green - small form-factor (gold and blue colors are disregarded due to scarcity of SFX PSUs) Gold - best units in the tier (includes requirements for blue...

forums.tomshardware.com

If you need or would like a specific recommendation at some point then we'd need to know your budget and where you can purchase from or at least what country you are in.

And if it turns out to NOT be the problem, then I'd say the chances are equally good that with a motherboard as old as that one is, that was a relatively low end board even when it was new, there is a pretty good chance of the board being the issue but buying a replacement board for a platform that old seems like a waste of money to me unless you are really satisfied with the performance you have AND you have a good source for a very inexpensive replacement which is improbable at best. If the board needs to be replaced, then given the age of the hardware your best bet might probably be to simply look at upgrading to a newer platform, board, CPU and memory, that will not result in throwing money at something that simply isn't worth it anymore. Obviously there are situations where upgrading aren't possible due to financial and regional concerns, so if that's the case you might not have much choice in the matter but the first thing I'd do honestly is swap out that power supply and go from there.

 

[Tihomir Grubisic]

It's a poor quality unit. I'd replace it. The chances are very good that a PSU like that one which has on it's own label the fact that based on it's actual capabilities can only provide 465w (IF it can even provide that, and a lot of these types of units can't which is why they tend to cause these kinds of problems especially if they've got a few miles on them) when the unit itself is marketed as a 650w unit is really all you need to know to know that unlike most Super Flower offerings, this one not a good choice.

And even if the PSU isn't the exact problem you are having you would really want to get something better anyhow. Not doing so is saying "I don't really care about the rest of my hardware" but it needs to ACTUALLY be something better, not just something different.

The following two links should be useful in at least pointing you in the right direction.

Discussion - PSU recommendations and power supply discussion thread - Tom's hardware

Below you will find MY standard list of recommended power supplies and beyond that this thread is intended as a landing place for questions or discussions regarding specific units, platforms or related PSU tech, all of which are all welcome to be discussed here. If it's related to power supplies...

forums.tomshardware.com

Article - [psucultists] PSU tier list rev. 14.8 (Final Update Jul '21)

PSU Tier List 4.0 rev. 14.8 (outdated) Last Update: 12-07-2021 Legend : Gray - EoL/obsolete and/or otherwise not recommended for purchase. Green - small form-factor (gold and blue colors are disregarded due to scarcity of SFX PSUs) Gold - best units in the tier (includes requirements for blue...

forums.tomshardware.com

If you need or would like a specific recommendation at some point then we'd need to know your budget and where you can purchase from or at least what country you are in.

And if it turns out to NOT be the problem, then I'd say the chances are equally good that with a motherboard as old as that one is, that was a relatively low end board even when it was new, there is a pretty good chance of the board being the issue but buying a replacement board for a platform that old seems like a waste of money to me unless you are really satisfied with the performance you have AND you have a good source for a very inexpensive replacement which is improbable at best. If the board needs to be replaced, then given the age of the hardware your best bet might probably be to simply look at upgrading to a newer platform, board, CPU and memory, that will not result in throwing money at something that simply isn't worth it anymore. Obviously there are situations where upgrading aren't possible due to financial and regional concerns, so if that's the case you might not have much choice in the matter but the first thing I'd do honestly is swap out that power supply and go from there.

Money isn't the problem really. The biggest thing that's preventing me from getting a new power supply is that I'm from Bosnia and Herzegovina, I was going to build myself a PC, but there aren't any stores here where you can buy the hardware. And I can't order online because shipping is gonna be more expensive than the actual product(so amazon or ebay or any other retailers aren't the option) . So my best chances were buying a pre-built.

Worst idea ever.

The guys that sold me the PC had no professionalism
The fan control center was broken when I got it.
The original PSU died after 3 days, this one was installed in when I returned the PC to the sellers. They auto-picked and installed it for me
And the way they put Thermal paste onto the CPU is criminal, it didn't even cover the quarter of the CPU.

The only place where I can buy hardware is a site that specifically focusses on Online Shopping in my country
OLX.ba - Svijet Kupoprodaje

That's really the only place from where I can buy stuff, There are PC building companies but from them you can only buy graphics cards and pre-builts.
So this site is the only option really.
My budget for a PSU at the end of the month is going to be 150 euros. Of course I'll be able to a little bit above the budget if needed.

I'll switch the PSU as soon as possible

Anyways THANK YOU for your time and help. It really means a lot.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Don't feel bad. Given your circumstances most if not all of us would make the same decision just to have a system if that was the only way it could happen. And even in the US, AUS, CAN and most of the EU including the quitters, prices on things are stupidly ridiculous. And lame. Plus total BS. And...........LOL.

Let us know as soon as you know something so that if you need further help we can try to do that for you. Hopefully you won't need it.

 

[Tihomir Grubisic]

Don't feel bad. Given your circumstances most if not all of us would make the same decision just to have a system if that was the only way it could happen. And even in the US, AUS, CAN and most of the EU including the quitters, prices on things are stupidly ridiculous. And lame. Plus total BS. And...........LOL.

Let us know as soon as you know something so that if you need further help we can try to do that for you. Hopefully you won't need it.

Hello, sorry to bother you again, I just got an another piece of information which might be useful, since my PSU is arriving tommorow.

So heres the thing.

I was playing csgo to see if the pc would turn off. It did. But then I had an idea, what if I turned "Power Saver" on in the control panel. After that I tested it again. And this time it didnt shut down. My question is: does this narrow it down to the PSU. Like does it prove that the PSU is the problem here

 

[Darkbreeze]

It doesn't "prove" anything, because there is always a "chance" it could be some component that is folding under full power or heavy loads. Plus, for the most part power saving mode is intended to increase battery life on laptops by reducing power consumption but it can have some effect on some desktop systems as well, especially when it comes to CPU behavior on Ryzen systems. I don't think it offers a heck of a lot in terms of effect on GPU sub-system, but I guess anything is possible.

 

[Tihomir Grubisic]

It doesn't "prove" anything, because there is always a "chance" it could be some component that is folding under full power or heavy loads. Plus, for the most part power saving mode is intended to increase battery life on laptops by reducing power consumption but it can have some effect on some desktop systems as well, especially when it comes to CPU behavior on Ryzen systems. I don't think it offers a heck of a lot in terms of effect on GPU sub-system, but I guess anything is possible.

Oh Alright. Just wanted to have that in mind.

 

[John Chesterfield]

Which PSU did you end up ordering? I'm guessing with the budget you had you got something decent.

 

[Tihomir Grubisic]

Which PSU did you end up ordering? I'm guessing with the budget you had you got something decent.

Ended up with the EVGA SuperNova 650 GA 80+ Gold. Im guessing it should be enough, since im not really using a power demanding system.

 

[Zerk2012]

Ended up with the EVGA SuperNova 650 GA 80+ Gold. Im guessing it should be enough, since im not really using a power demanding system.

Has that fixed your problem?

 

[Tihomir Grubisic]

As I currently see, I ran 3 games where the problem occured, and nothing happenedn it ran as normal. So I'm guessing it did. 3rd power supply I switched in this system. Im guessing the 3rd time is the charm.