Computer restarting itself, maybe overheating?

PixieGirl · Last edited by PixieGirl on Sun Nov 20, 2011 10:50 pm, edited 1 time in total

My computer used to get freezing problems where I would be playing a game (or even just on MSN or something) and the screen would freeze up and I wouldn't be able to do anything or hear anything, it would just stop working and I'd have to restart the PC. But it only happened rarely so I was never too fussed about the hassle of finding out the problem.

I recently got a new graphics card (a Geforce 560Ti) and the freezing seems to have stopped. I'm not sure if its related to me replacing my graphics card and to be honest I can't specifically remember if it has frozen since I got that installed. However, now my computer has began restarting itself while i'm playing games. Again it happens rarely, but last night it happened twice in quick succession.

Could it be an overheating problem? We are moving into summer now and Brisbane is sweltering. But my computer has good cooling I think, theres one huge fan on the side and the fans on my card, cpu etc work as far as I know.

Here are the rest of my specs

Intel Q8200
4GB DDR2
Hytec 550w PSU

^ I mention that because it seems that Hytec is a no-name brand, maybe my PSU is failing? Could it be the power of the new card causing it to fail?

http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f210/hytec-aito-power-supply-448415.html

Read the fourth and fifth posts there for the kind of thing thats worrying me.

I've had this PC for over 2 years and the only thing i've ever changed so far was switching the graphics card from a 9800GT.

Pagan's Mind · Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 5:01 pm�� Post subject:

It could be the power supply. I wouldn't be running a 560Ti off something like that. Do you have specs on it from the box or the PSU itself? Such as the amps on the 12V?

You could also download a temperature monitoring program like HWmonitor. Keep that running in the background while you play a game and post it up.

PixieGirl · Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 5:18 pm�� Post subject:

I don't have the box for the PSU because I got the PC custom built for me, I just have the reciept for everything.

I will check out that program, thanks!
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Shadow Wave · Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 5:38 pm�� Post subject:

i had something similar and it turned out to be the motherboard AND PSU.
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Jedi_Amara · Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 6:57 pm�� Post subject:

I had the same problem a couple of years ago and I thought it was overheating, but it was actually my PSU dying, so it's quite possibly that! I did also have overheating problems but it just crashed when it overheated.
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timmay33 · Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 7:00 pm�� Post subject:

My mate recently had alot of freezing... reinstalled the graphics drivers or perhaps downgraded to the previous driver version and that fixed it... might be one of the .dlls have become corrupt...

I would think the 550w would be enough. But it might not hurt to giver a 650 or 700 a try. I usually go for that anyway, better to have more than not enough.

I downloaded the CPU monitor and Nvidia graphics monitor from here. Its nice to see how everything is running, loads, temps, etc.

I had trouble with my 550ti's overheating while playing bf3, was running up near the 85c. On retrospect I should of got a 560ti or better. I had freezing, when my card would overheat. Putting a high flow 140mm fan on the side of the case helped, and on a warm day i have to put the a/c on.
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PixieGirl · Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 7:04 pm�� Post subject:

I'm going to download some apps to monitor my computer and see if I can pinpoint what it is.

If it does turn out to be my PSU are they difficult to switch? I know how to change a graphics card but the PSU is big and has a lot of different wires and things. Is it better for me not to mess around with it and just go into a shop and pay more for them to replace it for me?
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Pagan's Mind · Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 7:23 pm�� Post subject:

500W is enough for a system with a 560Ti however it's pretty much the lowest you should go. Some power supplies that are generic branded (Hytec for example) generally can't deliver even close to that amount on the 12V which is needed to run your video card among other things.

It's not that hard to replace a power supply. You just need to screw it in and connect the leads up. There's about 5 cables or so you need to hook up. If you buy a modular power supply then it's much easier to get the power supply into the case and then you can hook each cable up one at a time. It would likely cost $50-100 labor if you took it to a PC shop which could go to a really good quality power supply. I'd do it yourself, it's easy.

Jedi_Amara · Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 8:05 pm�� Post subject:

Just be careful you don't put the power supply in upside-down. It is actually possible to do that

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Frozencry · Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2011 1:42 am�� Post subject:

This is however assuming that the PSU is the issue.

There are several things that can cause a hard reset like this, and you do want to start from the software side first to make sure drivers are not failing, which can happen.

So your first bet is to uninstall your old NVIDIA drivers and reinstall the latest ones, and check your stability.

If it continues after this, start heading into checking temperatures and doing some stress tests. Use FurMark for GPU stress tests. It's an extremely good tool for putting your hardware under pressure and will reveal any instability when running it for a while. It'll also show temperatures and fan speeds while it runs so you'll know if something's wrong in those areas.

Use Prime95 to stress your CPU and RAM to see if any are causing instability or issues, however your GPU is the priority for the moment as it could be a case of the GPU having a heating problem considering you hard reset when playing games.

But yeah, once you've looked into software, then go hardware and start looking at that. You don't want to purchase a new piece of hardware only to find the hard reset returns

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Jedi_Amara · Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2011 4:25 am�� Post subject:

But if you suspect it's the hardware, ask around your friends and see if anyone has a spare (good) PSU (maybe in a spare/server machine) you can borrow for a week or so! That should give you enough time to see if it was the problem, and saves you buying one only to find out it wasn't. I forgot to mention that's how I diagnosed my problem when I had it.
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thebigm · Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2011 10:47 pm�� Post subject:

Pagan's Mind · Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2011 11:36 pm�� Post subject:

I wouldn't stress my $350 video card with it. My card got up to 87C with it running for 5 minutes and that's more than 20C above any gaming load. I had a quick read up and many people advice against using it, it's not a real world situation and you're basically frying your card.

PixieGirl · Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 6:04 pm�� Post subject:

PixieGirl · Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 6:21 pm�� Post subject:

Okay so I installed that and i also installed RealTemp for CPU temperatures.. Here's what i have:

bear in mind these are just idle temperatures and its 26C outside. I did a little googling and 50C seems perfectly acceptable for an idle graphics card, but my CPU temperatures might be pushing it. What do you guys think?

I'm going to do some gaming and ill post the differences here.
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PixieGirl · Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 7:28 pm�� Post subject:

Okay sorry for the triple post, but looks like I might have found my problem.

While gaming my CPU gets up to 90C.. This is much too hot right?

How on earth can I cool it down?

My GPU just gets to about 70C btw.

timmay33 · Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 7:54 pm�� Post subject:

Could be that the thermal paste isnt conducting the heat well so you could buy some new paste.

Also could look into a better heatsink and fan.

Otherwise better cooling for the case.

90c is extreme I think.
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thebigm · Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 7:56 pm�� Post subject:

If you have someone that can assist, it would be worth re-applying thermal paste + reseating the heatsink on the CPU, but it's one of the more... frustrating things with a Intel CPU and stock cooler.

PixieGirl · Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 8:01 pm�� Post subject:

I just opened up my PC and turned it on. My CPU fan doesn't spin anymore. Hello, problem!

How can I fix it and get it spinning again?

As for other cooling, well I don't know if theres any thermal paste, I don't really know what it looks like and I can't see anything....pasty... But theres a huge fan on the left side of my case that is always going at 100%. and theres a smaller one on the front about the size of my hand. So I guess I just need to get this CPU fan spinning again :/
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timmay33 · Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 8:17 pm�� Post subject:

PixieGirl · Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 8:21 pm�� Post subject:

Forget that, when I opened a game it started spinning... I guess it turns on and off depending on temperatures.

Back to the drawing board

I'll try buying some thermal paste. Where do I apply it?
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timmay33 · Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 9:15 pm�� Post subject:

Its is applied between the heatsink and the cpu.

The paste comes with an applicator, so use that to scrape off the old paste and then to apply the new paste over the cpu where it joins with the heatsink. Spread it out to a thin layer. You can let some run over, just as long as it doesnt run over the cpu and down to the board, i can imagine being conductive it can cause a short.

It might be best to get a friend who has done it before if are not comforatble. Gettin it off is easy enough, generally getting intel heatsinks to clip into the board you need to be forceful and may break the mboard.
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PixieGirl · Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 10:09 pm�� Post subject:

Yes I'll get my computer savvy friend to help when I do that. lol

I have opened the case and left it open (my AC is on too) which is really helping cool it down as a temporary fix. But it still gets up to 90 after a while, it just takes longer. If I touch the heat sink on my motherboard its really hot, too hot to keep my finger on for more than a second. Should it be that hot? and if not could that be the cause of my problem, because my CPU is right above it, so could that motherboard heatsink thats what causing my CPU to heat up so much?

Frozencry · Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 11:07 pm�� Post subject:

CPU's will shut down your computer if they reach their threshold. 90c is way too hot so it's likely the reason your system is shutting off.

Best way to go about this is getting your friend to help you re-apply the heatsink and/or thermal paste (you might need to buy some of that, it's cheap), or getting a new CPU fan as it seems that one isn't doing the job too well anymore.

You can always look into lowering the voltage on the CPU as well for cooling. I did that with my old systems CPU and got it down a good 20 degrees which was nice, and it still remained stable as I wasn't planning on any overclocks. You'd have to do research on your CPU though and see if it's safe to do that.
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PixieGirl · Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 11:41 pm�� Post subject:

Thanks Denny

I worded my last post wrongly btw, I meant to say the heatsink on my motherboard is really hot, which is right next to my cpu, what are your thoughts on that? x

also is this a good thermal paste?

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=15954

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