PC Power cuts out

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Oreo

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Within the past 3 days my PC has started to suddenly lose power with no warning. It has happened so far during playing games for extended time, or shortly after exiting. When i reboot my PC, i have to reboot in safemode because if i don't it won't log it (just hangs on 'Welcome'). Once i've logged in with safe mode, i can restart and log in normally.

I'm not sure what is causing it. My prime suspect is my PSU, because it's pretty cheep (£28 for 620w). However, could it also be caused by an overheating GPU or CPU ?

There is no warning it's about to happen, games run fine, no BSOD, nothing. The PC just instantly turns off and restarts.

Any ideas ?
 
Thats what i first thought, but that doesn't explain the whole Windows login situation, and why it's never done it before.


The situation is worsened by the fact that in about 2months i'll be getting a £100 Corsair 720 PSU and a GTX295. But ofcourse, if my PSU has gone wrong now i'll need a new one right away which will set me back £50.

I can't afford to spend £100 right now on the corsair, but i don't want to spend £50 replacing it if i'm only going to be using it for 2 months.
 
check cpu and gpu temps.

Also check your power cord connections all the way from the wall into your psu as it is possible that there is a loose connection that you hit with your foot.
 
A weak or faultly power supply can cause all kinds of weird problems :D

And your video is drawing alot of power so that's one of the 1st things that can start acting funny when under a high load or cooling off after a stressful workout.
 
I would almost definitely say the PSU. Although there are other culprits that may be the problem, the PSU is the most likely contender, therefore that is what I would look to first. As for your login problem, that could be attributed to the power supply overloading enough to shut itself down. In overloading, it is probably heating up the other components, which will then suffer until cooling down. This is my my educated guess as to what is happening in your system. As a test, during operation, reach back and touch the top of your case just over where the power supply mounts. If it feels warm, then your power supply is under stress. The thing about a stressed PSU is that he is not very honorable. He will take any and all down with him. Although I can see you not wanting to purchase something at this point, as you will be upgrading soon, if your power supply is overloading, you run the risk of upgrading a whole computer when you finally do. Good luck.
 
The back of my PC warm where my PSU is ? hahahaha...
It BURNS :eek: Well, not literally.. but definitely in the region of 'Very Hot'
Only when playing games, it's cool to the touch during non gaming use.

@ Hefe.


It's done it multiple times, so it's not accidental. I have checked the wires, and it's cant be my houses wireing thats failing because the house is like 3years old. It's electrics are in as new condition ;)

I'll check my CPU and GPU temps now.
 
It should never be warm, much less hot. There is definitely a problem with your PSU. I would look to getting a more reliable one ASAP or you risk frying or causing heat damage to other components, not to ention electrical fire.

EDIT: As for advice in getting a new power supply, be sure to check two things. Some PSU manufacturers like to 'hype up' their power supply units to a certain wattage. The thing you need to look for is CONSISTENT power. Most list their peak power which cannot run consistently. Another thing to look for is amperage on the 12 volt rail. Although a power supply may meet your GPU's wattage needs, it may not necessarily meet the amperage needs on the 12 volt rail. Good luck.
 
Hmm. Okay, i will. Just been running the last game i played which caused my PC to cut out.

After 10mins CatalystControlCenter said the GPU was at 98c :eek: :eek: under 75percent load.
CPU Temps where around 60c.

I can solve the GPU temps easily, just put my GPU fan at a higher speed (it's only on 30percent at the moment)

@MundoDragon

Are you sure they can't be warm ? powerbricks for laptops get very hot, as does the external power supply for the 360.

edit:

Just tried F@H gpu client. As soon as it started folding the gpu hit 99percent usage (as it should) but the screen flashed black f@h stopped and the ATI driver said it had crashed. Which means either the GPU failed or the PSU failed to deliver the power. Although, trying for a 2nd time resulted in no problems.
 
While they could get warm, to get warm enough to actually feel through the case is a definite fault in the PSU, either in cooling or wattage/amperage to meet your needs. The fact that yours is getting HOT is a no brainer.

The thing to realize is that different PSU's have different efficiencies. The higher the efficiency, the less power that is getting dispersed as heat to your system. A lower efficient PSU will disperse more heat to your system than a higher efficient PSU. Not to mention power costs. Your GPU overheating could be attributed to the heat coming off the insufficient PSU. Not a guarantee, but a definite possibility.
 
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