Windows 10 PC randomly restarts

[taki tsan]

My pc randomly shutsdown suddenly without bluescreen whatsoever and after 1 second restarts.It can occur from 4 times in a row or more to once per week. It has windows 10 and i have changed all the settings i found that may cause this (restarting when there would be a bluescreen for example is set to off). I have the most stable graphics card drivers for my gtx 970 (376.09 version) and i dont know whats wrong. The only thing i think might be causing this is a faulty PSU but its still freshly bought. Its a Thermaltake Smart SE 730W 80Plus bronze bought 4 years ago. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[jojesa]

My pc randomly shutsdown suddenly without bluescreen whatsoever and after 1 second restarts.It can occur from 4 times in a row or more to once per week. It has windows 10 and i have changed all the settings i found that may cause this (restarting when there would be a bluescreen for example is set to off). I have the most stable graphics card drivers for my gtx 970 (376.09 version) and i dont know whats wrong. The only thing i think might be causing this is a faulty PSU but its still freshly bought. Its a Thermaltake Smart SE 730W 80Plus bronze bought 4 years ago. Any help would be appreciated.

It could be the PSU but also could be the motherboard.
How are the temps on your computer?

 

[taki tsan]

The temps are always fine. I have the bios option that alarms when the cpu gets to 90C or the system goes to 80C and neither alarms when this happens. Also i could be playing gta V for 5 hours straight no problem, and then watch a movie or let my mother play bubble shooter premium and it restarts.

 

[jojesa]

Which motherboard do you have?
Gigabyte?

 

[taki tsan]

Gigabyte z97x gaming 3

 

[jojesa]

Gigabyte z97x gaming 3

I was guessing Gigabyte, and the reason is that since 2016 I have been replacing Gigabyte motherboards with similar issue.
The computer just reboots for no apparent reason and there are not BSOD or Event Viewer errors.
Eventually they refused to boot.
It will be helpful if you can test that PSU on another PC to just rule that out.

 

[taki tsan]

I unfortunately have no other computer to test my PSU or any other working PSU to test on my computer 🙁.

 

[taki tsan]

I wanted to add that i tried getting of the battery of my motherboard for 1 minute then plug it back in, but still had the problem. Then, thinking that it was a hardware problem (with high probability of PSU damage), i updated the GPU drivers thinking i had nothing to lose. Now my pc doesnt randomly restart ever, only when playing watch dogs. There is almost no chance that its just bad luck that it only happens when i play the game cause i tried using the pc for 5 hours straight and when i open watch dogs (with all other applications closed) the pc will certainly restart within 10 minutes if not sooner. Please help guys im desperate.

 

[jojesa]

I wanted to add that i tried getting of the battery of my motherboard for 1 minute then plug it back in, but still had the problem. Then, thinking that it was a hardware problem (with high probability of PSU damage), i updated the GPU drivers thinking i had nothing to lose. Now my pc doesnt randomly restart ever, only when playing watch dogs. There is almost no chance that its just bad luck that it only happens when i play the game cause i tried using the pc for 5 hours straight and when i open watch dogs (with all other applications closed) the pc will certainly restart within 10 minutes if not sooner. Please help guys im desperate.

When you are playing WD, keep monitoring the temperature and voltages of the CPU and GPU.
HWMonitor
CAM
HWiNFO

You might need to bring your PC to a repair shop.

 

[smorizio]

if the power supply is under warranty see if the vendor will do a cross ship so you dont have to pull it till the new one comes in.

 

[taki tsan]

I am certain this is not temp issue, since i even pulled a stress test on my gpu and it hit max 65C. As I said if my CPU gets over 90C an alarm goes off. The power supply isnt under warranty 🙁 .

 

[taki tsan]

Also if the power supply is the problem why can it pull a GPU stress test and a CPU stress test without restarting, but as soon as i get into watch dogs it does? BTW i just benchmarked it by playing GTA V 20 minutes straight no lags no restarts. What the hell is wrong with my pc?

 

[taki tsan]

aaaaaaaaany help would be appreciated

 

[jojesa]

I am certain this is not temp issue, since i even pulled a stress test on my gpu and it hit max 65C. As I said if my CPU gets over 90C an alarm goes off. The power supply isnt under warranty 🙁 .

aaaaaaaaany help would be appreciated

As I previously mentioned, I think those random restart are cause by a failing motherboard.
Does your CPU gets to 90°C often?
Which CPU do yo have?

 

[taki tsan]

i got an i7 4790k put to 1.200 volt because the default value lets it get as many volt as it needs and that used to cause crazy temps. it doesnt even get 80C now since i clean my case and apply thermal paste (arctic MX-4) yearly.

 

[jojesa]

i got an i7 4790k put to 1.200 volt because the default value lets it get as many volt as it needs and that used to cause crazy temps. it doesnt even get 80C now since i clean my case and apply thermal paste (arctic MX-4) yearly.

You might need to increase the voltage to 1.25
You either need a better cooler or better air flow or both
Which cooler do you have?

 

[taki tsan]

1.200 is the volt my cpu needs. I never said i have temp issues i said the exact opposite

 

[jojesa]

1.200 is the volt my cpu needs. I never said i have temp issues i said the exact opposite

Sorry, but you are contradicting yourself.

i got an i7 4790k put to 1.200 volt because the default value lets it get as many volt as it needs and that used to cause crazy temps.

 

[taki tsan]

I said that if you have the i7 4790k Volts at default value, it doesnt cap at the 1.2 if it needs more power it just gets it. So I have capped it manually at 1.2 volts which is what intel has set as needed for this cpu. When it gets more volts it gets hotter, i have it capped so it's temps are fine. As i said if it gets hotter than 90C my pc alarms me, but this hasnt happened since i changed the CPU Voltage.

 

[jojesa]

So you are undervolting or capping the voltage. Did you cap the multiplier?

Voltages oscillate on a CPU depending on load.
I just ran Prime95 and Cinebench on an old workstation (i7 4790k) at work and the voltages went from 1.063 to 1.357 with max 88°C.

Not all CPUs behave equally since there are so many variables.
How did you arrive at the conclusion that "[1.2 is the volt my cpu needs/b]"

 

[taki tsan]

Because thats what i read on every forum thread of users that have this cpu. They all had temp problems and solved them with that solution. Also in the bios it is preset as 1.2v but if you have the default option on it does the overvolting thing. Youre the first one to tell me that this cpu is pretty cool when under 1,35v, Also no the multiplier is on the default value since the 1.2 are enough for the preset GHz that intel advertises. BTW since i have had this volt cap almost for 3 years now and the temps are fine how is this related to my restarting problem?

 

[jojesa]

Because thats what i read on every forum thread of users that have this cpu. They all had temp problems and solved them with that solution. Also in the bios it is preset as 1.2v but if you have the default option on it does the overvolting thing. Youre the first one to tell me that this cpu is pretty cool when under 1,35v, Also no the multiplier is on the default value since the 1.2 are enough for the preset GHz that intel advertises. BTW since i have had this volt cap almost for 3 years now and the temps are fine how is this related to my restarting problem?

What you have done might work as you have read online. But settings are not standing still on a PC.
A BIOS update, drivers, Windows updates, a game update, a new game, etc.. or a combination of those could cause your PC to crash if not enough voltage is available to the CPU, the same way if you raise the voltage too high.
To avoid crashing you might need to raise the voltage or lower the speed.
Not two CPUs are alike and a setting that might work for you, might not necessarily work on my system.
This workstation have good ventilation and ok cooler (H80i), I have seen others with better coolers (H100i GTX) and lower temps even when the CPU is OCed.