Crashing issue at loading screens?

[Valsako]

Wasn't too sure whether to put this in gaming or hardware, but hardware seemed more relevant.

Anyway, I seem to be encountering an issue where my computer will literally shut itself down while I am playing a game. However, this does not happen while I am actually playing the game, I could spend hours in a level if I felt like it and would not experience any issues, but when I go to a loading screen, my computer stops mid-loading and just shuts itself down. No BSOD, no warnings, nothing, it just shuts down. Now, I'm not sure if this is heat-related, or PSU related, or some other issue. The temperature of the graphics card seems to go no higher than 70C, however, and I've read you don't hit a 'danger zone' until you hit 90C or higher. So, perhaps it is PSU related. If you want to know what my PSU's wattage is, just look at my system specs, I've listed just about everything.

These are the games I've encountered crashes with so far:

(listed in the order I've had crashes in)

Bioshock Infinite
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Crysis 2

However, I've also played these games and have NOT yet encountered this issue:

*only listing high-demanding games, these are not the only games I have tested with this PC*

Assassin's Creed
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit

I will also note that I run ALL of these in absolutely maxed out settings. I average framerates in all of them except Crysis 2 of 60-70 FPS, Crysis 2 is the only one that seems to have framerate drops, it runs at 15-60 FPS (15 being when it drops).

So do I need to get a different PSU, add another fan, or should I try adjusting settings? Because I have the "AMD Vision Engine Control Center", which allows me to set performance settings, and I was wondering if maybe I could set something where it would stop the crashing if it is the PSU (which I think it is)?

These are the settings:

Graphics OverDrive: On

GPU Clock: 925 MHz

Memory Clock: 1375 MHz

Enable Manual Fan Control: ON

Fan Speed: 60%

Power: 0% (can be increased to 20% or lowered to -20%)




CPU Power: "Manage CPU speed ranges to balanced system performance with power consumption"

It's set to 5% - 100%



CPU Overdrive: Off


AMD Overdrive: On

 

[TVeblen]

The first thing I would suspect is the power supply. However, the supply you list in your specs is a well respected brand and plenty big enough.
Do you have a multimeter you can test with?

The second thing would be poor connections. I suggest re-seating all your cards and double checking the electrical connections to all the devices.
Also make sure the case is clear of heavy dust and hair.

The third thing that comes to mind is the CPU. What I might experiment with is this:

• Turn off all energy saving settings (CPU Power) and run the processor in a High Performance mode.
• Leave the overdrive stuff OFF on all.
• Remove any and all graphics card overclocking and run it at stock settings.
• Remove any and all overclocking settings for the CPU and run it at default settings.

The idea is to test the new settings for clues to what may be causing the spontaneous power-off.

 

[Valsako]

I don't have a mutlimeter, unfortunately...

Alright, I'll do that.

Alright, I'll do what you suggested and then post back letting you know what happens.

 

[Valsako]

Okay, I did everything you recommended, but still encountered a crash...

 

[TVeblen]

Can you borrow a (larger) power supply to test with? So you can avoid buying one just to see if it is the problem.

 

[Valsako]

Sorry for the very late reply, anyway, I have no other larger PSUs to test it with, which is unfortunate. Though, by using HWmonitor I've been able to see that my CPU gets quite hot, apparently. So I'm starting to wonder if this is a heat-related issue, and not a power-related issue. Currently, my PC is under my desk, as my desk has an arching shelf above it which the computer cannot fit under (It's too big), though I could swap this desk with another one I used to use. Could having it under my desk be increasing the heat at all?

 

[TVeblen]

Possible.
Here is an easy test for heat related problems: Remove one or both sides of the case and run it like that for a while. If you have a room fan then set that up to blow directly at the (open) case.

If the problems disappear when you run it like that then you know it is an air-flow problem.