AlphaHelix

That's what I first thought, why I asked if it would post. But a 50/50 to Windows and then it works fine is confusing.
 
I always wanted to build a Hackintosh, never though I could get it to work though.
 
I think if flexwave re-seats and pulls out the 980TI entirely (essentially slick mb), we might be able to see if its the mb.

Inherently, if the graphics card is blowing heated air into the case and not out the back, the temps will rise. If your model is like that (since there are so many 1060s and its hard to know what you have without more info), then poor heat removal is expected.
 
My recommendation is to check your intake and exhaust fans of the case to make sure air is flowing. Also, don't put the case in an enclosed space or back against a wall, this seems to be an issue with people trying to make their setup look pretty. Looks ok, heat isn't being removed though. As Jurrunio pointed out, you can open the case if there is no air flow.
 
As always, you can upgrade cooling, within limitations of the case and power provided. If that is beyond the scope of your or your sons knowledge with PC hardware, stick to improving air flow.

he bought a gaming case with decent air flow, I didnt think the A8 would be able to keep up. hes going top have to use a few more bucks of his Christmas money and get a R3 or R5

Aside from the above two responses, I would also recommend that your son saves up some cash and upgrades that system to a Ryzen 3 or 5 with a compatible motherboard and memory.
 
This doesn't have to be done soon, but I wouldn't recommend sticking with the A8 too much longer.

Everyone's CPU is different and they'll overclock differently. Most 8700k's can hit 5ghz from what I've heard but its a matter of how well the CPU overclocks, and what cooler you have.

Going with what mxk. has said, I've seen a lot of the 8700Ks hitting 5ghz without too much problem. Silicon lottery in play here, just watch your voltages and your heat. Both reduce the effective life of silicon. If you're just squeezing out 10 more fps while gaming (assuming you're CPU capped), why do it? Long-term, I'd leave it at stock or a lower OC, if you plan on it lasting and gaming well.

Silicon lottery my guy

I would not personally be comfortable running above 1.35 volts for an everyday OC, but I suppose 5 years is a good lifespan

yeah I've been suggested this before, I will consider it thank you

Yeah, thats what I believe it is, as he has just been traveling with it and its so easy to just have a cable that comes lose whilst in the boot of a car or something! 
 
I'll relay that back to him, thanks!

If the PC seems to be running like normal, but not displaying anything randomly, I would suspect a bad cable or loose connection that wiggles free or is just barely making contact "sometimes".
 
Dying graphics cards are either sudden or they slowly artifact into oblivion. So that wouldn't be a thing I'd worry about yet.

That's what I first thought, why I asked if it would post. But a 50/50 to Windows and then it works fine is confusing.
 
I always wanted to build a Hackintosh, never though I could get it to work though.
 
I think if flexwave re-seats and pulls out the 980TI entirely (essentially slick mb), we might be able to see if its the mb.

What's going on when you replug the pc into the wall is that the computer is essentially truly being restarted; it's getting rid of most of that residual power from it's components, except for the CMOS (bios settings) as it's powered by the cmos battery.
 
I'd suspect the motherboard might be damaged in some way, or you might have a short. I'd try a different power supply if you have one, or try resetting the cmos (take the battery out and unplug it, hold the power button for 30 seconds and then reassemble).
 
It sounds like the card is fine, so as Alpha said we need to look at the core components; the cpu, motherboard, ram, and psu. I'd try reseating everything, even the CPU to make sure nothing accidentally fell into the socket, like dust.
 
This reminds me of an issue i have with my Hackintosh setup, it's a motherboard i got from a friend after it's watercooler pump failed and almost fried the cpu. The motherboard was damaged in a way where if the pc is unplugged and moved, when it's plugged back in there's a 50/50 chance it could give a CPU error light. After doing testing i came to the conclusion the motherboard or cpu had been damaged (i tried different psu, ram, and gpu), and i never really got a clear answer. So that may be what's going on here as well.

That's a new one on me. I've got plenty of Asus products, never have I had it automatically do anything unless prompted. I have noticed though the EZ Update software in Win will trigger an update if you start one from within the OS. Perhaps this occurred?