PC shuting off on it's own when doing certain things

[TheMatt1984]

ok so i've been using the same custom build for the last... oh i don't know... few years i guess? lol i don't remember to be honest lol.
but recently...i've run into a couple worrisome issues
first: when i try to make something in vegas pro, about 5% or so into building the project my PC shuts off by itself.
like wise when i play certain games (just one so far) it will also shut off
the game in question is called Perfect World (it's an MMO) but it's like 5 years old lol and runs off of DX8
i'm wondering... what could be causing this?
could it be the PSU perhaps being too weak? (it's a OCZ Single rail 750w)
maybe heat issues?
thing is... i'm NOT getting a bsod or any sort of error message that might give me a clue as to the problem
anyway here's my specs

Operating System
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
CPU
AMD FX-6300 37 °C
Vishera 32nm Technology
RAM
16.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 669MHz (9-9-9-24)
Motherboard
AMD Corporation 990FXA-UD3 (CPU 1) 31 °C
Graphics
VX238 (1920x1080@60Hz)
4096MB ATI AMD Radeon R9 200 Series (Gigabyte) 41 °C
Storage
238GB Samsung SSD 840 PRO Series (SSD) 29 °C
931GB Seagate ST1000DM003-9YN162 (SATA) 31 °C
2794GB Western Digital WDC WD30EZRX-00DC0B0 (SATA) 32 °C
2794GB Seagate ST3000DM001-1CH166 ATA Device (SATA) 32 °C
2794GB Seagate ST3000DM001-1CH166 ATA Device (SATA) 29 °C
29GB Mass Storage Device USB Device (USB)
Optical Drives
No optical disk drives detected
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

something tells me i may need to upgrade my psu (just a hunch lol)
any other ideas guys? thanks

 

[Mr.Scott]

Power or temps. One or the other.

 

[Caring1]

Unless your PSU is old and voltages aren't right, a 750W unit should be ample.
How recently has this been happening, since the "upgrade" to Windows 10?

 

[micropage7]

Power or temps. One or the other.

agree check the temp first, check the heatsink
have you tried burn in test, like furmark or other just to test how your rig under heavy process

 

[TheMatt1984]

Unless your PSU is old and voltages aren't right, a 750W unit should be ample.
How recently has this been happening, since the "upgrade" to Windows 10?

no. since 8.1 and it's strange. i've had this problem before and i can't remember if it just fixed itself or if i fixed it

agree check the temp first, check the heatsink
have you tried burn in test, like furmark or other just to test how your rig under heavy process

i'll try that and let you know thanks

 

[Bill_Bright]

Your listed temps are fine - great even. But I would still make sure the interior is clean of heat trapping dust and your fans spin freely. And while all PSUs do become weaker over time, not with any significance - especially when starting with 750W. But they do go bad so if me the first thing I would do (after cleaning the interior) is swap in a known good spare PSU and see if the problem persists.

You certainly don't need "more" power but you do need to ensure you are providing good, clean power.

You might also pull 8Gb of RAM and run with that for awhile. If all okay, swap in the other 8Gb and run with that .

 

[thebluebumblebee]

Is it clean?
Have any fans quit working, including the PSU?
What temps are you seeing under load? If your CPU temps are getting too high and you've addressed my other concerns, it might be time to replace the TIM on the CPU cooler.
I suggest using HWMonitor for AMD

 

[TheMatt1984]

Is it clean?
Have any fans quit working, including the PSU?
What temps are you seeing under load? If your CPU temps are getting too high and you've addressed my other concerns, it might be time to replace the TIM on the CPU cooler.
I suggest using HWMonitor for AMD

no i don't believe so. they all are working last i checked. but i'lll try that program you mentioned out
just in case

Your listed temps are fine - great even. But I would still make sure the interior is clean of heat trapping dust and your fans spin freely. And while all PSUs do become weaker over time, not with any significance - especially when starting with 750W. But they do go bad so if me the first thing I would do (after cleaning the interior) is swap in a known good spare PSU and see if the problem persists.

You certainly don't need "more" power but you do need to ensure you are providing good, clean power.

You might also pull 8Gb of RAM and run with that for awhile. If all okay, swap in the other 8Gb and run with that .

hmm unfortunately i don't have a spare psu anywhere. the ram thing i could do easy but why would that make a difference? (legit curious here lol)
as for cleaning the interior i'll do that tomorrow as it's late here and i don't feel like going to the store to get some compressed air lol
i don't THINK it's that dusty... but we'll see

 

[Bill_Bright]

the ram thing i could do easy but why would that make a difference?

You can, through the process of elimination, determine if one of your sticks is failing.

You don't need to change your TIM unless the cured bond has been broken. TIM will easily last 10 or 15 years or long if the bond remains intact. If you "need" the extra few degrees a fresh layer of TIM provides to maintain stability, then you have other issues to address. Your CPU temp of 37°C is outstanding. If your TIM application was bad or the cured bond broken, you would not be seeing temps that low.

 

[Hawkstream]

Like everyone else said its probably a bad PSU and yes you are right that is one of the hardest things to test/ do via process of elimination.

Good luck.

 

[TheMatt1984]

ok i thought of something that could possibly help...
what i'm getting is technically a crash right? albeit a temp one but anyway, is there a way to enable error messages so it DOES bsod? (so i at least get SOME info to work with)
and is there a ram tester program i can install? cause if i can avoid swapping out parts i will...if not.. then i guess i'll have no choice >.<

 

[Jborg]

Sounds like an issue with the PSU I had back when I was upgrading....

I went from an FX 4100 quad core to an FX 8350 and I also got this same thing at first, I realize its not the same circumstance here, but I figured I would let you know my situation.

Turns out the computer was able to boot and perform basic functions, but once the CPU ramped up it was drawing to much power and just shut the computer down.

Edit: Btw, I ended up upgrading to the PSU in my specs, Cannot remember what I had before

 

[TheMatt1984]

Sounds like an issue with the PSU I had back when I was upgrading....

I went from an FX 4100 quad core to an FX 8350 and I also got this same thing at first, I realize its not the same circumstance here, but I figured I would let you know my situation.

Turns out the computer was able to boot and perform basic functions, but once the CPU ramped up it was drawing to much power and just shut the computer down.

hmmmmm...thanks for that bit of info. i wonder if that's what's happening to me?
well in any event... i dusted out the inside of it thoroughly so we'll see what that does if anything.

 

[TheMatt1984]

OK! so i airdusted my tower and even wiped all the dust off the giant sidepanel fan (mind you is a good 6 or so inches big lol) and everything SO FAR seems to be working just fine i'll repost if i have more shut down issues
thanks for the advice guys appreciate it!

 

[Bill_Bright]

Great! Hope it holds. Note I generally recommend inspecting case interiors monthly for dust build up and spinning fans and then cleaning when necessary. The frequency can be adjusted once you determine how often cleaning is needed and that will vary depending on your environment, to include kids and pets running around stirring up dust and pet hair.

I recommend you use a real-time hardware monitor that sits in your system tray to monitor your CPU temps. I use and recommend CoreTemp to monitor my CPU temps. I also like Speccy (from the makers of CCleaner) which provides much more "System Information" and it now has a system tray applet too. With it sitting in the System Tray, it is easy to keep note of your temps. When my CPU temps starts sitting above 60°C for more than a couple seconds, I know it is time to clean my air filters.