[SOLVED] Ryzen 5900x shutdown when performing specific tasks

[oward]

Hi,

About a year ago I built a PC with a Ryzen 3600xt and an RTX 3060. After 6 months I upgraded to an RTX 3070 and after 2 more to a Ryzen 5900x.

When I installed the Ryzen 5900x I also installed a NZXT x62, for which the CAM just doesn’t work and is always on 100% fan speed. I’ve been meaning to send it back but never got around to it.

When I installed the Ryzen 5900x the PC didn’t turn on until I updated the BIOS.

Since installing the 5900x the PC simply shuts down when performing specific tasks. So far there are only two tasks which trigger the shutdown - installing Vectorworks 2022, or patching Skyrim to downgrade it to Special Edition. The PC shuts down at exactly the same points in the process, and always shuts down when I try to perform the task again

The Event Viewer doesn’t show anything at all except an unexpected shutdown only after the PC turns back on.

What could be causing this, and how can I fix it?

CPU: Ryzen 5900x
GPU: RTX 3070
MB: MSI Gaming Plus Max X470
PSU: Corsair CX650M
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR4
SSD: Samsung 970 Evo 1TB

NB It might not be relevant but since installing the 5900x, I haven’t noticed much difference in performance to be honest. I went on Microsoft Flight Simulator and it seemed to be basically the same FPS at the same settings, which is unusual. Similarly in performing daily tasks things seem to be generally the same. The CPU also seems to be running at pretty high temps given the cooling (the NXZT AIO with two fans exhaust, then 3 intake fans, the 2 in the 3070, and one out the back). Generally it idles at 40-50. I thought it might be a temperature issue and did stress tests on the CPU for extended periods of time but no shutdown. It’s only when I perform those specific tasks that everything shuts off at the exact same point.

 

[g-unit1111]

Sounds like it could be a PSU issue. I'd say if anything that PSU is way underpowered for a 5900X and a 3070.

 

[oward]

That’s what I thought, but when doing generally intensive tasks it doesn’t crash. Flight sim and gaming doesn’t cause a crash, but using a patcher to edit the game files does. The CPU just isn’t under any load when patching - I even set the process to use 1 thread and it still crashes.

The only thing that I can think of is an SSD issue. If it always crashes at the same point in a process, the only thing consistent between separate instances of that process is location on the SSD. Or maybe Windows itself is corrupted somehow. It’s just impossible to find out what is causing the problem and why the PC would simply shut down without any error logging.

 

[g-unit1111]

The only thing that I can think of is an SSD issue. If it always crashes at the same point in a process, the only thing consistent between separate instances of that process is location on the SSD. Or maybe Windows itself is corrupted somehow. It’s just impossible to find out what is causing the problem and why the PC would simply shut down without any error logging.

That's possible.

I would point more to a power supply issue than an SSD issue. I'm dealing with an SSD issue on my rig, and when that drive freezes and crashes, when I start back up again, it says "Reboot and select proper boot device". So if it was an issue with the SSD / boot drive your motherboard would at least give you some sort of error.

I would definitely point to the PSU being the culprit. Those Corsair CX PSUs are not that great and usually have poor quality capacitors. Even an RMx or an HXi would be a better purchase than a CX would be, especially if you're using a high powered CPU and GPU combo. For the NVIDIA 3XXX series you need more power than your average PSU can handle. 650W is cutting it, but I would say at least 750W or 850W, but make sure it's also a quality supply at that. PSUs are one area where you get what you pay for.

I'd say also it could be a motherboard issue if something went wrong with the BIOS update, but that's extremely unlikely. Stuff like that does happen though.