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Question

Computer randomly shuts down and restarts during use

by Feb 24, 2020 11:51PM PST

My issue started a week or two after installing my current graphics card. I did check the power requirement before and calculators (like this one: https://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator) would recommend ~430W while I have a 550W PSU.

I looked around online and found that my problem is not completely unheard of. I followed some advice and took out the CMOS battery for 5+ minutes two weeks ago and it was fine until a few days ago.

The reboots started during gaming/full-screen video viewing with multiple windows opened. After a while it would reboot during seemingly light usage; last night I was working on a Google Sheet for 4-5 hours straight and nothing happened, while today the computer rebooted itself several minutes into each login. I also found that turning off the PSU power for a while after it shuts itself down sometimes allow for a longer period before the next reboot, but this is not guaranteed.

Any ideas what else I could try? Is it more likely a motherboard, PSU or GPU problem? Thanks

PSU: Rosewill AP-600F12V, 550W
(It is old, but it has been completely fine until weeks ago)
CPU: Intel i5-7500 @3.4GHz
MoBo: MSI B150M Bazooka
RAM: 8GB x1
GPU: AMD Radeon rx7500, fully updated
(Since Jan 2020)
SSD: Samsung 840Evo
HDD: 1x 3TB internal, 1x 3TB external
OS: Windows 10, full updated
(Since Dec 2019)

Discussion is locked

5 Posts
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Answer
The PSU may be junk.
by Forum moderator Feb 25, 2020 8:33AM PST

I had a hard time finding the specs and could be wrong but the output from the PSU looks to be "+3.3V@30A,+5V@50A,+12V1@18A,+12V2@18A,-12V@1A,+5VSB@2.5A"

This means the +12V rails are a measly 18 Amperes and could easily be overtaxed.

Yes, you did research on Watts but may not have known to get a single +12V rail. If those two +12V had been a single then you would have had a beefy +12V source and hopefully not run into this issue and lesson about Watts and PSU designs.

'AMD's RX 5700 XT has an official Typical Board Power (TBP) rating of 225W'

For a first fix I'd get a proper single rail +12V PSU of 600W or a little better which is what it seems AMD calls out for.
18A times 12V = 216 so again you are pushing the limits of this awful PSU.

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advice on a new PSU?
by Erestel Feb 29, 2020 7:39PM PST

Hi R. Proffitt,
Thanks for doing the research! Yes you are right re the amperage, and also yes that I know quite little about this.
In this case, would something like the following suffice? It has a single 12V at max 53A.
https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=778&area=en
Anything else I should look out for selecting a PSU in the future, other than the wattage and the number of outlets it provides? Thanks a lot!

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TBT.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Feb 29, 2020 9:09PM PST

Truth be told, if we want to do it right we use a lot of data to select power supplies. But for everyone the easy path is the calculator then the next size up in Watts and finally get a single rail since 99% of builders do not want to deal with mulit-rail PSUs.

https://www.gamingscan.com/psu-hierarchy/ puts a Silverstone in Tier 1, 3, 5 and 6. It's late here so I leave it to you to see where your specific model fell.

In short, the specs are quite a step up from the rather awful dual rail 18 Ampere unit you have now. Let's hope that's the only issue the PC has.

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Upgraded, but problem persists
by Erestel Mar 25, 2020 4:22AM PDT

Hi, thanks for your advice. I finally upgraded to this: Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 ARGB 650W. I also did a CMOS reset while I was at it.

Afterwards the computer booted up fine, and I used it for several hours of office work and full screen video. I also left it on overnight to carry on some work. I did not have a chance to play resource-demanding games though.

It was all fine until a few hours ago (the computer has been on for about over 12 hours) and it abruptly shut down while I was watching a video full-screen.

What else should I investigate next should this issue persist? Thanks agani!

Post was last edited on March 25, 2020 4:51 AM PDT

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There are other things that could lead to a shutdown.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Mar 25, 2020 7:51AM PDT

Thermal issues can be next. It appears you did correct one item and are now going to look into long term use issues.

1. At the very least, watch a few videos about how to use canned air to clean heatsinks, vents and fans.
2. Next time, after a 12 hour run, get us a SPECCY report. It usually gives us temperatures and more. Here's how:https://www.piriform.com/docs/speccy/using-speccy/publishing-a-speccy-profile-to-the-web

3. Since it shutdown on playing a web video try this:
(Insert name of browser such as Chrome" followed by "disable hardware acceleration" to find how to change that setting in your browser.

While it's annoying to have a shutdown after 12 hours, it does sound like progress has been made.

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