PC Powering off while gaming only

[WillPoz]

I have a weird problem that I am troubleshooting with my system. It is older and the system specs are below (I'm planning on upgrading once the new Ryzen CPUs are out). The problem I am running into is that while gaming only the PC will just power off and after a few seconds power back on for the past little while now. I'm leaning towards its a power supply issue, but if I run both a CPU stress test and GPU stress test at the same time the machine is stable and doesn't power off.

 

The CPU is water cooled with a custom loop and barely breaks 60 degrees, GPU gets in the 70s and motherboard is in the 50s so I don't believe its an overheat issue. Using any PSU calculator is reporting anywhere from 580 to 640w of peak usage and I know that the PSU is more than big enough for this system with the fans and other accessories. I have noted though that there sounds like some coil whine is coming from the PSU during games loading, but not during playing.

 

I've swapped the RAM around with a different set with no change, I have even removed the overclock and put it back to stock to test with and same result. Sometimes gaming will work for over an hour with no issues and other times like yesterday 5 minutes in it would power off. Short of replacing the power supply at this point I'm at a loss so I figured I would ask the community for their thoughts/opinions.

 

System specs:

CPU: Core i5-4690K with a 4.4 Ghz OC @ 1.27v

GPU: ASUS Strix GTX 1080TI OC

Mobo: ASUS Maximus VII Hero

3x 500 GB SSDs and 1x 7200 RPM 1 TB HD

RAM: 16 GB of gSkill Ripjaws - 4x 4GB

PSU: Corsair HX850w Professional Series (close 7 years old now)

3x 120 mm fans for the radiator and 3x 200mm case fans.

 

Thanks for any help or suggestions in advance.

 

 

[averagebilly]

What games?

[WillPoz]

Any, older or newer, I've tested a bunch just to see and it does it with all of them. GTA 5, Portal 2, Assassins Creed Brotherhood, Far Cry 4, The Witcher 3.

[Adrian18102001]

12 minutes ago, WillPoz said:

I have a weird problem that I am troubleshooting with my system. It is older and the system specs are below (I'm planning on upgrading once the new Ryzen CPUs are out). The problem I am running into is that while gaming only the PC will just power off and after a few seconds power back on for the past little while now. I'm leaning towards its a power supply issue, but if I run both a CPU stress test and GPU stress test at the same time the machine is stable and doesn't power off.

 

The CPU is water cooled with a custom loop and barely breaks 60 degrees, GPU gets in the 70s and motherboard is in the 50s so I don't believe its an overheat issue. Using any PSU calculator is reporting anywhere from 580 to 640w of peak usage and I know that the PSU is more than big enough for this system with the fans and other accessories. I have noted though that there sounds like some coil whine is coming from the PSU during games loading, but not during playing.

 

I've swapped the RAM around with a different set with no change, I have even removed the overclock and put it back to stock to test with and same result. Sometimes gaming will work for over an hour with no issues and other times like yesterday 5 minutes in it would power off. Short of replacing the power supply at this point I'm at a loss so I figured I would ask the community for their thoughts/opinions.

 

System specs:

CPU: Core i5-4690K with a 4.4 Ghz OC @ 1.27v

GPU: ASUS Strix GTX 1080TI OC

Mobo: ASUS Maximus VII Hero

3x 500 GB SSDs and 1x 7200 RPM 1 TB HD

RAM: 16 GB of gSkill Ripjaws - 4x 4GB

PSU: Corsair HX850w Professional Series (close 7 years old now)

3x 120 mm fans for the radiator and 3x 200mm case fans.

 

Thanks for any help or suggestions in advance.

 

 

Do you have your PC connected to a power strip? rarely but sometimes if the power strip is of lower quality it can cause instabilities, I would try using a mains socket it might not do anything but worth a try as one of my friends had a similar issue

[WillPoz]

4 minutes ago, Adrian18102001 said:

Do you have your PC connected to a power strip? rarely but sometimes if the power strip is of lower quality it can cause instabilities, I would try using a mains socket it might not do anything but worth a try as one of my friends had a similar issue

It is plugged into a power bar, but a higher quality AV one. I will give that a try though and see if it makes any difference. 

 

Thanks

[Robchil]

sounds like your powerdraw is overtaxing your PSU. might consider getting a more powerful one. or just a better. i assume you have plenty USB devices connected to your system as well.  you need to add the fans and usb devices when you use a PSU calculator. I originaly set my system up for SLI, so i have a 1600watt PSU, that has worked perfectly since i set it up, but i checked the load caclulator after adding all fans and USB devices and ended up at ca 1200watt usage. altho it should only draw 900w if i left out fans, pump and usb devices.  

and most PSU's are most efficient when they run at half load. 

 

[WillPoz]

2 minutes ago, Robchil said:

sounds like your powerdraw is overtaxing your PSU. might consider getting a more powerful one. or just a better. i assume you have plenty USB devices connected to your system as well.  you need to add the fans and usb devices when you use a PSU calculator. I originaly set my system up for SLI, so i have a 1600watt PSU, that has worked perfectly since i set it up, but i checked the load caclulator after adding all fans and USB devices and ended up at ca 1200watt usage. altho it should only draw 900w if i left out fans, pump and usb devices.  

and most PSU's are most efficient when they run at half load. 

 

When using a PSU calculator (PCPartPicker etc) I have entered in as many devices, fans, waterpump etc that are all plugged in (I've actually gone overboard on those to be safe) and they all come in between the 580w to 640w peak usage. Not saying that's right or wrong at this point but should be in the ball park I think. I have been using this system for over 5 years now with the GPU being upgraded right before the mining craze with no issues until more recently. At the time when I was purchasing it the HX Professional Series for Corsairs were on then higher end, short of going the AX route, but I understand the thought. 

[Robchil]

3 minutes ago, WillPoz said:

When using a PSU calculator (PCPartPicker etc) I have entered in as many devices, fans, waterpump etc that are all plugged in (I've actually gone overboard on those to be safe) and they all come in between the 580w to 640w peak usage. Not saying that's right or wrong at this point but should be in the ball park I think. I have been using this system for over 5 years now with the GPU being upgraded right before the mining craze with no issues until more recently. At the time when I was purchasing it the HX Professional Series for Corsairs were on then higher end, short of going the AX route, but I understand the thought. 

take it out, open it, use a duster to clean out all the gunk in there.... there is usually alot. depending on how far from the floor it sits  mine is knee height(so less) then put it together and try again, try disconnecting any non essential USB devices you don't realy use for those games. you only need mouse and keyboard anyway. 

PSU fades over time, and faster if it's a dusty environment. 

[WillPoz]

3 minutes ago, Robchil said:

take it out, open it, use a duster to clean out all the gunk in there.... there is usually alot. depending on how far from the floor it sits  mine is knee height(so less) then put it together and try again, try disconnecting any non essential USB devices you don't realy use for those games. you only need mouse and keyboard anyway. 

PSU fades over time, and faster if it's a dusty environment. 

I try to keep the PC clean, blown out twice a year last time being 2 months ago and the case has filters over any intakes - NZXT Phantom 820. I just popped the PSU filter out of the case and there is zero dust in it at this point. I will try blowing it out again though just to see.

[Robchil]

Sounds like you know your shit.. 

still.. i don't know what's normal for your system.. but i run two 2080 ti in SLI custom loop, and they hardly go much above 53degrees, cpu goes to 70ish, after i delidded it and applied metal liquid. 

 

i've been down the PSU road before and do as Jayz2cent.. calculate what you need and double it.  PSU's runs better at half load anyway. 

[WillPoz]

2 minutes ago, Robchil said:

Sounds like you know your shit.. 

still.. i don't know what's normal for your system.. but i run two 2080 ti in SLI custom loop, and they hardly go much above 53degrees, cpu goes to 70ish, after i delidded it and applied metal liquid. 

 

Yeah, I have no interest in delidding the CPU at this time as I plan on re purposing the main components to someone else when I upgrade. Lol

 

Just opened it up and attempted to blow any dust out and essentially there was nothing at this point.

 

Just for reference here's a pic.

 

[BlackManINC]

31 minutes ago, Robchil said:

Sounds like you know your shit.. 

still.. i don't know what's normal for your system.. but i run two 2080 ti in SLI custom loop, and they hardly go much above 53degrees, cpu goes to 70ish, after i delidded it and applied metal liquid. 

 

i've been down the PSU road before and do as Jayz2cent.. calculate what you need and double it.  PSU's runs better at half load anyway. 

And to think I always got berated for suggesting people do the exact same thing over at Toms Hardware, even though its basic common sense. You don't want to give your power supply a reason to give you shit, so you give it plenty of room to breathe. 

[Robchil]

2 minutes ago, BlackManINC said:

And to think I always got berated for suggesting people do the exact same thing over at Toms Hardware, even though its basic common sense. You don't want to give your power supply a reason to give you shit, so you give it plenty of room to breathe. 

they did? .. geez.. their loss..  

[WillPoz]

6 minutes ago, BlackManINC said:

And to think I always got berated for suggesting people do the exact same thing over at Toms Hardware, even though its basic common sense. You don't want to give your power supply a reason to give you shit, so you give it plenty of room to breathe. 

So are you recommending then I look at a 1000w supply or stay around the 850w range, but just replace it with a new one to ensure it's not a failing supply? 

Its interesting to see the different opinions. Researching online I have seen the same, nobody needs anything over 750w now a days and even that is fine according to them if you are doing SLI/Crossfire even though I will never be doing that again.

 

 

[BlackManINC]

Just now, Robchil said:

they did? .. geez.. their loss..  

Yeah, they always threw up these silly charts from random sources "proving" how efficient these power supplies supposedly are. The problem is though, the Information Technology industry has next to zero rules or regulations governing its code of conduct, no oversight whatsoever when it comes to standards that must be met with hardware. Yet, I'm supposed to just trust that such charts haven't been fudged in some way, as if its representative of the actual product. The most we have to ensure the customer doesn't get screwed over is that 80+ power efficiency rating which doesn't really mean that much since the program is voluntary to start with.

[BlackManINC]

1 minute ago, WillPoz said:

So are you recommending then I look at a 1000w supply or stay around the 850w range, but just replace it with a new one to ensure it's not a failing supply? 

Its interesting to see the different opinions. Researching online I have seen the same, nobody needs anything over 750w now a days and even that is fine according to them if you are doing SLI/Crossfire even though I will never be doing that again.

 

 

The way I see it, a good rule of thumb is to simply double whatever the manufacturers claim is the "recommended" amount for your GPU, since that is the amount they recommend to power your entire PC. I wouldn't go any lower than a 1000w power supply with a gold rating. A platinum rated one would be more preferable. I have a 1250w platinum rated PSU myself. 

[Robchil]

10 minutes ago, WillPoz said:

So are you recommending then I look at a 1000w supply or stay around the 850w range, but just replace it with a new one to ensure it's not a failing supply? 

Its interesting to see the different opinions. Researching online I have seen the same, nobody needs anything over 750w now a days and even that is fine according to them if you are doing SLI/Crossfire even though I will never be doing that again.

 

 

I would go with a 1Kw PSU and forget about it ever existed after that. altho. due to lack of availability, if you only get a 850w platinum PSU that should do it too. 

It might be hard to get a new PSU above 450w atm. at an acceptable price. 

 

10 minutes ago, BlackManINC said:

Yeah, they always threw up these silly charts from random sources "proving" how efficient these power supplies supposedly are. The problem is though, the Information Technology industry has next to zero rules or regulations governing its code of conduct, no oversight whatsoever when it comes to standards that must be met with hardware. Yet, I'm supposed to just trust that such charts haven't been fudged in some way, as if its representative of the actual product. The most we have to ensure the customer doesn't get screwed over is that 80+ power efficiency rating which doesn't really mean that much since the program is voluntary to start with.

hmm.. i found a realy cool webreport on the psu i'm using. an EVGA G2 1600W supersomthing.. that was funny to read, and altho it's only marked gold, it delivers Platinum power consistently. https://www.jonnyguru.com/blog/2014/08/18/evga-supernova-1600-g2-power-supply/ this one. 

Jayz2cent and a few others have mentioned it too. but over all.. most powersupplies are more efficient at half load, and drawing less power than it normaly would need. 

[BlackManINC]

 

@WillPoz

 

And don't just go by the 80+ rating either, make sure it has these protections at a minimum:

 

OVP (Over Voltage Protection)
UVP (Under Voltage Protection)
OCP (Over Current Protection)
OPP (Over Power Protection)
SCP (Short Circuit Protection)
OTP (Over Temperature Protection)

 

 

[WillPoz]

5 minutes ago, Robchil said:

I would go with a 1Kw PSU and forget about it ever existed after that. altho. due to lack of availability, if you only get a 850w platinum PSU that should do it too. 

It might be hard to get a new PSU above 450w atm. at an acceptable price. 

 

hmm.. i found a realy cool webreport on the psu i'm using. an EVGA G2 1600W supersomthing.. that was funny to read, and altho it's only marked gold, it delivers Platinum power consistently. https://www.jonnyguru.com/blog/2014/08/18/evga-supernova-1600-g2-power-supply/ this one. 

Jayz2cent and a few others have mentioned it too. but over all.. most powersupplies are more efficient at half load, and drawing less power than it normaly would need. 

Yes, the whole lack of power supply availability right now does make finding something at a reasonable price more difficult for sure.

[Robchil]

yeah, try to disconnect the disks you don't need from power, and test a few games.. generaly disconnect anything drawing power like earlier, usbs etc.. but internaly that you don't need.. if the games start working then, it's pretty sure it's the PSU.. 

[WillPoz]

Just a quick update. Replaced the PSU and the poweroff problem has gone away so it was the culprit. Thanks all for the info.