PC restarts every time I launch a game

[Raz415]

Hey guys, I need help  My PC has been randomly losing power to peripherals while playing games for the past week (less than once per hour; the lights and fans on the PC would still be going, but the keyboard and mouse would lose power and the monitors would be black). This didn't happen while idle or when browsing, only when playing games. Today, when I launch ANY game it immediately restarts OR goes into the same state as I describe earlier.

One of case fans also started being weak two weeks ago, then after one day it magically worked well again... and today it failed again. I had already bought a new one last week so the fan got replaced anyway, the new one doesn't have this problem.

PC Specs:
https://valid.x86.fr/ifa69v
And a EVGA 500B PSU

 

Things I tried:
Benchmarked GPU with Furmark for 30 min, the max temp was 71C and nothing weird happened.
Tested memories with memtest64 for 2h (I will leave it overnight with memtest86 tonight), no errors.
Tested CPU with Prime95 - it restarts after a few minutes. The temperature is normal (doesns't exceed 53C).
Looking at HWMonitor for 30 min on idle and finishing with turning on Prime95 Blend test and the computer restarting, I'm wondering if these voltages are good (Min - Max):
SB2,5V: 1,221 - 1,253
+12V: 11,314 - 11,772
+5V 4,960 - 5,014
+3,3V: 3,357 - 3,401.
The +12V was usually at 11.600+, until I turn on Prime95, then it dips a lot and then it's a constant high until the restart. Is this normal?

 

I opened up the computer already and removed dust, made sure all cables are connected right. There's no strange sounds or anything.

Is there anything I can do to test if the problem lies with the CPU or the PSU?

[meenmeen1103]

Haven't checked what voltages are normal as an average, but the symptoms make it sound like a PSU issue. Do you have another PSU to try on it?

[Raz415]

2 minutes ago, meenmeen1103 said:

Haven't checked what voltages are normal as an average, but the symptoms make it sound like a PSU issue. Do you have another PSU to try on it?

Unfortunately no, I don't. I just came across the PSU tier list on these forums and I see that mine is Tier 6, feeling a bit self conscious now lol. I'm hoping I can make it work with mine for now, the old one is still in warranty (I bought this whole PC in June last year). 

[Jasun]

Do you have any overclocks currently applied to the system? If so, reset them back to default. 

[Raz415]

15 hours ago, Jasun said:

Do you have any overclocks currently applied to the system? If so, reset them back to default. 

I didn't do any overclocking myself, but all the voltages are set to Auto by default and the "OC Tuner" is set to "Optimal Performace" so I assume it does some OC by default.

 

Today I wanted to look through BIOS and try to make it not OC, but I can no longer turn on the PC at all. I push the power button, the PSU and one chasis fan start and the blue LED under the power button turns off (which is normal), but nothing else happens. The CPU fan doesn't spin, and the other case fan is also dead. No display, no beep, no power to keyboard or mouse.

 

I don't understand how this could happen overnight, the PC was off  

 

I don't really know what to do here. My PC is quite new so everything is still in warranty, but I would really like to switch to a better, modular PSU. I'm not at all rich right now so I'm afraid that if I send some parts to service and there's nothing wrong with them they'll send em back and pass me the bill. 

 

Which part do you think is most likely at fault here? I'm hoping the PSU, but would it be possible to send it to service and request that instead of giving me this one back they refund me or give me a huge discount on buying a more expensive model? I'm thinking of buying a EVGA G2 or G3.

[Raz415]

Gosh. what a chore I opened it up again and I found the cause of the problem getting much worse over the last week and finally not starting up at all.

 

When I put in the new fan, the 4P connector going from the PSU to the motherboard got disloged, it was barely in the mobo. It fell out as soon as I slightly tugged at it. 

 

So after plugging it back in (and this time REALLY checking that all cables are plugged in properly), the PC turned on. I redid benchmarks. The voltages look a lot better (the 12V is almost always at 12.000+ now, with the lowest being 11.900).

 

But the PC STILL shuts down peripherals during CPU benchmark with Prime95, after just a few minutes. CPU temp was 61 degrees before restart.

 

Could it still be PSU? Or do I have to look into the CPU being at fault now?

 

Just to clarify, it does not restart the PC, it goes in a state where all peripherals that draw power from the PC are shut down. The ones that have power cords stay on, but receive no signal (monitor is black, no sound coming from the speakers).

[meenmeen1103]

5 hours ago, Raz415 said:

Gosh. what a chore I opened it up again and I found the cause of the problem getting much worse over the last week and finally not starting up at all.

 

When I put in the new fan, the 4P connector going from the PSU to the motherboard got disloged, it was barely in the mobo. It fell out as soon as I slightly tugged at it. 

 

So after plugging it back in (and this time REALLY checking that all cables are plugged in properly), the PC turned on. I redid benchmarks. The voltages look a lot better (the 12V is almost always at 12.000+ now, with the lowest being 11.900).

 

But the PC STILL shuts down peripherals during CPU benchmark with Prime95, after just a few minutes. CPU temp was 61 degrees before restart.

 

Could it still be PSU? Or do I have to look into the CPU being at fault now?

 

Just to clarify, it does not restart the PC, it goes in a state where all peripherals that draw power from the PC are shut down. The ones that have power cords stay on, but receive no signal (monitor is black, no sound coming from the speakers).

I haven't heard of a cpu crash cutting peripheral power, and given the high probability of the psu fan being off during use I highly suspect the issue is your psu. My last psu went out because of the fan also not spinning, though in my case the psu was so old the grease in the fan dried up to the point it became sticky enough to keep the fan itself from spinning. Sounds like your psu may have a faulty power rail.

[Raz415]

@meenmeen1103 Well, here I am with a brand new PSU (BitFenix Whisper 650W), but I have the exact same problem.

 

Since the PC does this within 2 minutes of me starting a CPU benchmark (Prime95) but not while benchmarking graphics card or memory, should I assume that the problem lies with the CPU and send it back to AMD?

[meenmeen1103]

On 5/1/2018 at 1:21 PM, Raz415 said:

@meenmeen1103 Well, here I am with a brand new PSU (BitFenix Whisper 650W), but I have the exact same problem.

 

Since the PC does this within 2 minutes of me starting a CPU benchmark (Prime95) but not while benchmarking graphics card or memory, should I assume that the problem lies with the CPU and send it back to AMD?

Are you using small FFT for Prime95 run? If so, that's an extreme synthetic CPU stress load that doesn't reflect any real-world load scenario and also HWMonitor may not be keeping up with actual CPU temps (I've had better luck with HWiNFO64) which may be causing the CPU to lock down. It's also possible the motherboard CPU VRM is shutting down and causing your issue (mine throttles CPU frequency to reduce load and temps but different gen mobo and CPU). If small FFT Prime95 runs are the only scenario where this issue surfaces, I personally wouldn't go through the trouble of RMA or buying more new equipment unless other users with similar equipment aren't experiencing the same issue (in that case I would just consider the extra hassle, not necessarily jump toward a solution).

[Raz415]

The thing is, this also happens while playing games. It happens really often in XCOM2 for example, very rarely in Wolfenstein 2 or Divinity Original Sin. Never in MOBAs or Overwatch or TESO... AMD approved the RMA but I have a bit anxiety over sending it. I'm thinking it might also be the motherboard itself, since nowadays I also have another strange symptom: 

When the PC boots up for the first from cold (after it was plugged out from the socket), it turns on but shuts down after 3 seconds. I wait 3 more seconds, then it turns itself on again and works without issue.

Does anyone have experience with sending an item for RMA and it working correctly? Does it cost a lot of money?