Random Shut Downs

[Oldaccount1234123]

Hello all,

 

I am having some problems with my computer, but first I must recount the tale which my PC has gone through.

 

I have an Alienware computer which was bought around 2011. (Specs in sig). In the past 4 years, my PSU has been replaced about 3 times, each time with the same Dell 1000w PSU. This has all been done under warranty may I add. They were replaced because at random intervals my PC would just turn off and reboot. The thought it was because it was drawing too much power and so cutting off to prevent damage. On one occasion they thought it was the GPU so I got a free 970 which was great . 

 

Anyway, back on topic. Everything was working well up until the last few months. I have found out that when playing certain games my computer once again loses power and restarts. So far it has happened with:

 

Rust

Rocket League.

 

I spoke to some of my friends about it, and they thought the trouble might be overheating. I downloaded a stress tested and left it to run for about an hour. I came back to check it, and my PC was running absolutely fine. I am really stuck now and don't know what to do!

 

I don't really want to give it back to the shop for repairs since they take about a week to do anything, and I also think my warranty is ending this month.

 

So, LTT community, I beg for your help - what can I do to solve these problems!

 

Thank you in advance

 

- Daanish

[DarthSlater77]

First find out if it is the PSU. To test this I recommend getting a 20$ PSU tester to see if that is the problem. If replacing the PSU in the past fixed the same problem in the past it probably will again. But this time instead of getting a PSU from Dell get one from somebody like Corsair with an 80+ Gold rating and a warranty. The part is less likely to go out than a stock Dell and is more efficient. Also, unlike the Dell, the warranty is on the part not the machine so you will have a fresh warranty on the new part.       

[Oldaccount1234123]

First find out if it is the PSU. To test this I recommend getting a 20$ PSU tester to see if that is the problem. If replacing the PSU in the past fixed the same problem in the past it probably will again. But this time instead of getting a PSU from Dell get one from somebody like Corsair with an 80+ Gold rating and a warranty. The part is less likely to go out than a stock Dell and is more efficient. Also, unlike the Dell, the warranty is on the part not the machine so you will have a fresh warranty on the new part.       

Thanks, will do. I'll have to wait until the warranty runs out to replace it as the shop refuse to replace it with anything other than the specific parts otherwise the warranty is voided I think, or atleast that's what they said

[GoldSrc]

Your PC would be fine even with a 550W PSU, unless you overclock the CPU.

Can any of your friends let you use their PSU?

[Oldaccount1234123]

Your PC would be fine even with a 550W PSU, unless you overclock the CPU.

Can any of your friends let you use their PSU?

Haha, I doubt any of them could go a day without their PC running!

 

Most of them either have laptops or prebuilts anyway

[GoldSrc]

Haha, I doubt any of them could go a day without their PC running!

 

Most of them either have laptops or prebuilts anyway

Well, that sucks, but as I said before, you could use a 550-600W power supply in your PC without problems, your 980 and that i7 don't use that much power, I really don't know why Dell put a 1000W PSU in there nor do I know how good their PSUs are.

[Oldaccount1234123]

Well, that sucks, but as I said before, you could use a 550-600W power supply in your PC without problems, your 980 and that i7 don't use that much power, I really don't know why Dell put a 1000W PSU in there nor do I know how good their PSUs are.

Pretty terrible in my mind since it's been replaced about 3 times...

 

They also said that "high end systems" often overheat due to dust buildup which might be the cause of the problem, but I don't think there can be THAT much dust in such a short period of time. Once the warranty runs out I'll go out and buy a good PSU.

 

I ran a stress test and it worked fine, so it could be software related... I do have a LOT of bloatware

[GoldSrc]

Pretty terrible in my mind since it's been replaced about 3 times...

 

They also said that "high end systems" often overheat due to dust buildup which might be the cause of the problem, but I don't think there can be THAT much dust in such a short period of time. Once the warranty runs out I'll go out and buy a good PSU.

 

I ran a stress test and it worked fine, so it could be software related... I do have a LOT of bloatware

Dust shouldn't be a problem unless it gets worse than this

 

 

But I guess you should try to uninstall software you don't need.