PC restarts whilst gaming

[autopsyhater]

Z87-G55 gaming mobo
XFX Pro 650w gaming psu
Intel core i5 4670K (non overclocked)
MSI Nvidia GTX 760
Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 RAM memory
Crucial 500GB SSD

My system is nearly 6 years old, built in November 2013. Originally, I thought it was an overheating issue.

So I disassembled the PSU, CPU cooler and graphics card.

I set about removing all the dust that had collected over nearly six years of gaming and general use.

Where the CPU and GPU were concerned, I also reapplied a fresh layer of thermal grease and according to GPUZ, temps are nominal.

I have also alt tabbed out of games to get a live reading whilst gaming and the CPU and GPU temp are within normal range.

Airflow through the case is good, with 1 intake fan up front and 3 exhaust fans.

From reading a few threads on Google, it would appear the PSU is at fault, which would surprise me, because XFX are supposed to be the enthusiast's choice.

So before I go ahead and replace a potentially perfectly good PSU, does anyone have any other suggestions on here.

[The_Jackal]

There is no easy solution. As above, make sure all your Windows updates and driver updates are done.
If temps are all ok and it only happens with games, I would start with replacing the PSU and graphics card. Do you have spares or ones you can borrow to test it with, otherwise it will get expensive trying new parts.
Stating the obvious, make sure ALL your connections inside are clean and secure.
Oh and check the logs, it may give you a clue.

[autopsyhater]

Thank you for you're tips chaps. I have updated my graphics card driver to the latest version as of the 5th of this month.

I have also removed and replaced the graphics card and made sure it's clipped in securely and also the two PCIE power connectors from the PSU.

In fact, I have also cable managed my whole case just recently as part of the maintenance, so I've unplugged and replugged everything.

The Window's system log just thows a generic event 41 error which tells me the system has shut down unexpectedly.

I do have a surge protector that I've had since the system was new, I am going to attempt gaming without that and my machine plugged straight into the wall, but I doubt it will make a difference.

Furthermore, I've gamed for 1 and a half hours recently without experiencing any restart events, so it's quite random as to when it will do it.

Edit: Also, I do not have any spare parts, but I do wonder if my graphics card is on it's way out. For some reason I suspect that more than the PSU.

Edited by autopsyhater on Sunday 29th September 10:29

[HRL]

It does sound like a PSU issue TBH.

If it was the GPU I’d expect BSOD’s rather than restarts, although restarts can happen.

Edited by HRL on Sunday 29th September 10:33

[autopsyhater]

Right, just tried without the surge protector. Restarted after just 10 minutes of Metro 2033 Redux, so that rules that out. Looks like it might be the PSU. Any tips to get a bit more out of this one?

That's the last time I'm buying XFX, they don't even seem to have a presence in this country anymore when I looked up about warranties.

I'm plumbing for a Seasonic this time, according to the likes of Tom's hardware forums, they are the best.

Edit: This is a review on my exact PSU, it was well regarded at the time, that's why I chose it

https://www.eteknix.com/xfx-pro-650w-core-edition-...

Edited by autopsyhater on Sunday 29th September 11:25

[paulwoof]

check the event viewer at time of crash, Will give you an indication of whats causing it, although it can be vague. windows event view, windows logs, application.

check around the time of the crash to see if something was recorded

[autopsyhater]

Error 41, unexpected loss of power, no further details as to why because it just restarts.

I've also tried the other pair of PCIE connectors in the graphics card. No difference. Also updated my BIOS as well, haven't tried to game yet but expecting no difference.

[souper]

Probably PSU, you could try with only 1 stick of memory and swapping memory slots, if still fails swap in the other stick/s of memory which could narrow it down to a faulty memory stick or poor memory slot.

[The_Jackal]

Think of going for a 700 or 800w PSU. And get a Gold standard rated one (I think that is what they are called).
Having a PSU working near its max is never a good thing. Forget any gaming related boasts, just get a solid PSU.

[Sporky]

My PC did exactly that when the PSU started going. It seemed to be the harder the GPU was working the more likely/sooner a restart. No BSOD, just a straight reboot without warning.

[Camelot1971]

6 years for a PSU seems ok - not sure why you are so annoyed it's failing after that long. All that heating and cooling, plus the dust bunnies you only just cleaned out means it's probably had a hard life.

I don't think I've ever made it to 6 years for any PC part without selling it and buying an upgrade

[MattyB_]

Mine used to do this. £150's worth of platinum rated "Superflower" PSU down the drain. It would just die while gaming, I was convinced it was overheating as it was always worse when the ambient temperature was high. Was only 12 months old, 6 years warranty left!

However, despite having it sent back, fully tested (at my cost) they couldn't find anything wrong with it. Put a £50 crappy bronze-rated (with lower wattage) and it's been fine since.

Sorry, minor rant. Have you (or anyone you know) have a PSU you can use temporarily as a test?

[autopsyhater]

souper said:

Probably PSU, you could try with only 1 stick of memory and swapping memory slots, if still fails swap in the other stick/s of memory which could narrow it down to a faulty memory stick or poor memory slot.

I've ran memtest84 for an hour. No errors detected, so I think it's safe to say the memory is okay. Although it is only 8GB but I don't think that would cause the issue.

I am going to add 16GB soon though as my next upgrade, taking my total system memory to 24GB, which sounds a bit overkill but should be good future proofing.

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I thought my XFX was reputable back when I bought it.

Here is a review on it from back in 2013

https://www.eteknix.com/xfx-pro-650w-core-edition-...

It has died after only 6 years. I've also gone for months without gaming with it, so it's had an easy life sometimes, with only intense gaming over the winter months.

I am going for the following Corsair

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CORSAIR-TX650M-Semi-Mod...

Unless anyone says otherwise. A bonus is also that I can return it to my local Curries branch if I have any issues. It's 80 Gold rather than Bronze and also semi modular, so a good upgrade from my old fully wired XFX unit.

The_Jackal said:

Think of going for a 700 or 800w PSU. And get a Gold standard rated one (I think that is what they are called).
Having a PSU working near its max is never a good thing. Forget any gaming related boasts, just get a solid PSU.

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I would have thought 650w was enough headroom? I see people with similiar builds running 500 or even 450. The Corsair 650 (Same wattage as my old XFX) will be Gold rated rather than Bronze, however.

Camelot1971 said:

6 years for a PSU seems ok - not sure why you are so annoyed it's failing after that long. All that heating and cooling, plus the dust bunnies you only just cleaned out means it's probably had a hard life.

I don't think I've ever made it to 6 years for any PC part without selling it and buying an upgrade

Ah, the reason for not clearing the dust bunnies sooner is because to do so means removing the lid off the case which voids the warranty. There is a tiny sticker over one of the screws which says "warranty void if removed". I even tried scraping it with a razor blade so that I could stick it back over once I'd finished but it just came apart.

I don't think compressed air would have got the big pieces of fluff out, so I never bothered trying to clean it with compressed air either.

I think it might be part of the manufacturer's plan to make it so that cleaning inside components voids the warranty, so that when they are just out of warrranty, they break and then you have to buy a new one.

You are right though, 6 years is a decent run, but it's annoying in the sense that I thought I'd have reliable power for 10+ years as a PSU isn't exactly something you can benefit out of replacing, unlike any other component. For instance, if it was my GPU that would have been a good reason to upgrade.

I suppose at least I can go to semi modular and 80+ gold in this case.

Sporky said:

My PC did exactly that when the PSU started going. It seemed to be the harder the GPU was working the more likely/sooner a restart. No BSOD, just a straight reboot without warning.

MattyB_ said:

Mine used to do this. £150's worth of platinum rated "Superflower" PSU down the drain. It would just die while gaming, I was convinced it was overheating as it was always worse when the ambient temperature was high. Was only 12 months old, 6 years warranty left!

However, despite having it sent back, fully tested (at my cost) they couldn't find anything wrong with it. Put a £50 crappy bronze-rated (with lower wattage) and it's been fine since.

Sorry, minor rant. Have you (or anyone you know) have a PSU you can use temporarily as a test?

Hopefully that is the case of it being the PSU then. It's annoying because it's not completely died and only seems to be when playing Metro 2033 Redux. I played for an hour and a half on Deus Ex Human Revolution yesterday just fine.

MattyB, that sounds incredibly frustrating. I too was told that XFX was a decent "enthusiast" class model, only to have it fail on me a few years down the line too.

Sometimes I think all these posts on the likes of Tom's Hardware and other forums are just complete nonsense about certain brands/model lines being the premium, much like with people singing the praises of companies like Volkswagen in the automotive world.

There's no way Super Flower should have treated a customer like that at all, they should definitely be called out on their terrible customer service.

MattyB, unfortunately I do not have a spare PSU, no. I do not have any PC gaming mates either.

Edited by autopsyhater on Tuesday 1st October 10:24

[Sporky]

autopsyhater said:

Hopefully that is the case of it being the PSU then. It's annoying because it's not completely died and only seems to be when playing Metro 2033 Redux. I played for an hour and a half on Deus Ex Human Revolution yesterday just fine.

Mine was fine unless I was playing Fallout 4 at 4K.

[autopsyhater]

Just played Deus Ex Human Revolution for over 2 hours. It restarted after 120 minutes. That's the first time I remember that it's done it playing Deus Ex Human Revolution.

But with Metro 2033 it's restarted whilst it is still going through the intro credits.

So it can't be an overheating issue. But I do wonder why it did eventually do it after a long session on Deus Ex Human Revolution.

Anyway I've decided to plump for this Corsair unit:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CORSAIR-TX650M-Semi-Mod...

Edit:

Just relaunched Deus Ex Human Revolution after last unexpected reboot.

It rebooted again 2 minutes into the game. So definitely NOT overheating related.

Edited by autopsyhater on Tuesday 1st October 19:14

[Camelot1971]

autopsyhater said:

Just played Deus Ex Human Revolution for over 2 hours. It restarted after 120 minutes. That's the first time I remember that it's done it playing Deus Ex Human Revolution.

But with Metro 2033 it's restarted whilst it is still going through the intro credits.

So it can't be an overheating issue. But I do wonder why it did eventually do it after a long session on Deus Ex Human Revolution.

Anyway I've decided to plump for this Corsair unit:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CORSAIR-TX650M-Semi-Mod...

Edit:

Just relaunched Deus Ex Human Revolution after last unexpected reboot.

It rebooted again 2 minutes into the game. So definitely NOT overheating related.

Edited by autopsyhater on Tuesday 1st October 19:14

Heat cycling of components causes failure eventually - it could be that as soon as the PSU has any stress put on it, it fails.