Computer shuts down when trying to play games, bad PSU?
23 replies, posted
So whenever I try and launch a game my computer will usually sit in the menus, but crash when the game is playing or shortly into it. Is this a sign of a bad PSU or a bad graphics card? Or bad motherboard. I've had the computer for around 6 years, everything is dust free and heating shouldn't be the issue. If its the motherboard I'm going to cry because I would need a new CPU and RAM as well
Get CoreTemp: [url]http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/[/url] and run a game in windowed mode so you can see the temperature when it shuts off. (Just to go ahead and kill a bird)
I would say that the the PSU is the most likely culprit in this case, since a bad GPU usually just leads to driver crashes/BSODs instead of a total system shutdown.
You can pick up a PSU tester rather cheap ($20 USD) most places, so that would be the next move if your temperatures are normal range.
What is the wattage of your psu and what is your system specs, primarily gfx card?
It's 650 watts, and I have a 260GTX. I'll do the core thing, but my computer case is pretty dust free so I don't think it's the problem, as it runs everything fine like adobe premiere. But thanks for the help! Glad to know PSU's aren't so much any more
Yeah, that should definitely be enough power if the PSU is working correctly.
okay now it crashed on desktop. and won't power on for more than 5 seconds. seems to me to be a power problem?
[QUOTE=Trogdon;37396049]It's 650 watts .... Glad to know PSU's aren't so much any more[/QUOTE]
Yeah, anyone can claim their PSU is 650W. What is the brand?
And PSUs "aren't so much anymore" if you want a Chinese Wofat IED that will kill your computer. If you see a 400W+ PSU for less than $25, 99% chance it's a piece of shit.
The easiest way to check if your PSU is bad is visually. Remove mains power from the PSU and wait about a minute for the supercaps to discharge. Then you can remove the case on the PSU to examine the capacitors to see if any of them are bulging or leaking (sign of failure.) If any capacitors appear to be failed, then the PSU needs to be replaced.
Here's an example of failed capacitors (notice the brown goop leaking out the top of the caps):
[thumb]http://img807.imageshack.us/img807/4474/img0074j.jpg[/thumb]
The tops on the caps bulging is also another sign of them failing. Caps can leak from the bottom too.
Thanks guys! I'll check!
Sorry for the huge bump, but opened it up and it appears to be alright, does that mean that it's a motherboard problem? There is no leaking or bulging that I can see
You need to give us way more info on your computer. The model of your PSU for example is very important. Download Speccy and show us your computer specs.
Alright I have to reassemble everything, it's an old model though, the computer is from '06 and the only new part is the 260GTX I bought when that was new.
It's a silver stone 650w SST-ST65ZF
which I'm pretty sure is long discontinued. I guess I forgot to mention by crash I mean completely shutting off. It just turns off and sometimes won't turn back on at all for a while. That's why I thought it was a PSU problem, I can't see why it would be heat as I keep it dust free, and the Alienware case I have has really good cooling, I haven't had a problem before.
If you haven't do so did you see any burst or bulging capacitors on the motherboard itself?
Also while I'm posting I can't seem to find much reliable information regarding your power supply nor any indepth reviews. Though from my google search there are a few people that have this issue with this kind of Alienware PC and it seems to be related to the motherboard itself.
6 year? Is there any problem with cooling? check in there are too much dust in the CPU cooler
[QUOTE=GreenDolphin;38132558]If you haven't do so did you see any burst or bulging capacitors on the motherboard itself?
Also while I'm posting I can't seem to find much reliable information regarding your power supply nor any indepth reviews. Though from my google search there are a few people that have this issue with this kind of Alienware PC and it seems to be related to the motherboard itself.[/QUOTE]
I'll check next time I get a chance, wouldn't surprise me, just a pricey upgrade unfortunately as I'd need all new mobo, CPU, and RAM.
But thanks though!
And no it's not dust, I clean dust out every month or so
[QUOTE=GreenDolphin;38132558]If you haven't do so did you see any burst or bulging capacitors on the motherboard itself?
Also while I'm posting I can't seem to find much reliable information regarding your power supply nor any indepth reviews. Though from my google search there are a few people that have this issue with this kind of Alienware PC and it seems to be related to the motherboard itself.[/QUOTE]
Just opened it up, and there aren't any busting of bulging capacitors, so I'm stumped :/
This happened to me when my motherboard failed. I suspected the PSU, too. It could still be the PSU.
Guess I'll save up and replace them both.
Well, before you drop a wad of cash on a PSU and motherboard, stop by Best Buy or RadioShack or something and pick up a $20 PSU tester.
All you have to do is remove the big 20/24 pin connector from the motherboard and plug it into the tester. Most are very simple to read (red light bad, green light good), and it'll save you from having to buy two parts.
[QUOTE=Forumaster;38391457]Well, before you drop a wad of cash on a PSU and motherboard, stop by Best Buy or RadioShack or something and pick up a $20 PSU tester.
All you have to do is remove the big 20/24 pin connector from the motherboard and plug it into the tester. Most are very simple to read (red light bad, green light good), and it'll save you from having to buy two parts.[/QUOTE]
Those PSU testers are complete shit, they aren't any sort of reliable.
Properly testing PSUs requires placing specific loads on rails in succession and monitoring the voltage levels AND ripple levels, none of which those crap PSU testers can do.
For proper PSU testing, you basically need to build your own load tester and have an oscilloscope to monitor the ripple current. Getting either isn't cheap.
Well it's aged hardware anyways, so it's not like it would be a bum investment. I'll just have to sell some stuff on eBay to afford it. But an i5 quad core with like 8gb ram would be a nice improvement to what I have now. I think the 260gtx and 500gb hard drive are adequate for now, upgrading hard drives seems more difficult.
[QUOTE=Trogdon;38154804]I'll check next time I get a chance, wouldn't surprise me, just a pricey upgrade unfortunately as I'd need all new mobo, CPU, and RAM.
But thanks though!
And no it's not dust, I clean dust out every month or so[/QUOTE]
Did you ever remove the heatsinks?
There are allot of other reasons that your pc can overheat than just dust, so just post some load temps.
Get HW monitor, and leave it running while playing a heavy game for 10 minutes. Post a screenshot of hwmonitor.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.