Shutdown under load

00xygen

Honorable
Nov 20, 2012
8
0
10,510
Hey,

So I recently upgraded my video card to an MSI R9 280X (Gaming 3G edition) from a HD 6850.

Since upgrading I've been having problems with the PC shutting down under GPU load (Furmark, cgminer). The PC will shutdown instantly (as if the power was unplugged), it crashes with no BSOD and does not turn back on unless I flick the switch on the PSU off for a couple of seconds. It will also turn back on upon pressing clear CMOS.

I've tried monitoring temps and the CPU isn't reaching anything above 80C in a Prime95 test and the GPU reaches 75C max in Furmark. The PC hasn't shutdown in Prime95 so far but shuts down in Furmark after around 20 minutes.

My PSU (Corsair TX650V2) is almost 1 year old now. The fan on the PSU doesn't appear to be spinning which I assume is due to the temperature sensitive design, assuming that is the case for this PSU. However, I tried running Prime95 and Furmark together to put maximum possible stress on the PSU and after around 10-15 minutes the system shutdown without the PSU fan ever starting up.

Using a plug in power monitor around 300W is pulled whilst running Furmark and if running Prime95 simultaneously it pulls around 400W.

I had a similar problem to this on my old 460W CM PSU when I upgraded to a new mobo and CPU, although when I changed to the Corsair PSU I still had the problem. I believe this was due to the combination of an unstable overclock, a worn PSU and faulty GPU/sound drivers.

I'm trying to rule out all possibilities before advance RMAing the PSU as it's probably going to cost £30 or so in shipping from the UK due to Corsair's RMA centre being in the Netherlands.

Specs:
Motherboard ASRock Z77 Extreme4
Processor i5 3570k @ 4.4GHz (crash still occurs with default BIOS settings)
Cooler Hyper 212
Memory CMV4GX3M2A1333C9
Video Card # 1 MSI R9 280X
Hard Drive # 1 Sandisk Extreme II 120GB
Hard Drive # 2 WD 500GB Blue
Power Supply TX650V2
Case CM HAF X
Sound Card Creative SB ZX
Operating System Windows 8.1 64 bit
 
Solution
If your PSU fan is not spinning, the PSU is most likely over heating and shutting down to protect your system. It should be a standard 120mm fan inside, so you could try replacing the fan. You could be voiding the warranty by doing so though. I'm not too sure.

PS: Furmark, and bitcoin mining push your computer really hard so the extra heat generated should be expected. They push your system much harder than most games would.
If your PSU fan is not spinning, the PSU is most likely over heating and shutting down to protect your system. It should be a standard 120mm fan inside, so you could try replacing the fan. You could be voiding the warranty by doing so though. I'm not too sure.

PS: Furmark, and bitcoin mining push your computer really hard so the extra heat generated should be expected. They push your system much harder than most games would.
 
Solution

00xygen

Honorable
Nov 20, 2012
8
0
10,510
I just tried running Furmark whilst booting Windows using diagnostic startup. Furmark ran for 2 hours before I stopped it without shutting down.

I then ran prime simultaneously in diagnostic startup and shutdown occurred within 10 minutes.

This was without any CPU OC and default BIOS settings.
 
Do you have a small fan that you could point at your tower with the side off? If so, try that and report back. If it still happens then it is possible that the extra generated heat may of started to damage your power supplies internal components. In which case you should RMA the power supply if you still have warranty.
 

00xygen

Honorable
Nov 20, 2012
8
0
10,510
Haven't got a fan to try that with, air flow shouldn't really be a problem considering I'm using a HAF X. There's a 200mm fan on the side panel so I doubt removing the side panel will make much of a difference without a fan.

The only other thing I could try to reduce internal temps is rotating my cooler to vent air out the top rather than the rear.

The PSU is mounted at the bottom so it's pretty far clear from any other heat generating components in the case. I've got the fan facing down which should bring air in through the bottom, but I'm fairly certain the PSU fan not spinning is the problem. My case is on my desk too so carpet blocking the vents on the bottom isn't a problem.
 

00xygen

Honorable
Nov 20, 2012
8
0
10,510
Update: I checked inside my PSU with a torch to see if I could see any bad caps, but couldn't see any.

I then tried prodding the fan and when I did it clicked. Now when I power my PC on the fan spins initially which it did not do before.

I'll try test it out under load now and see if it makes a difference.

Have been running Furmark and Prime for an hour now with no crash. Pretty sure this is solved.