Computer turns off under heavy use

[bops]

Hi there,

Earlier this year I had a problem with my computer. When I was using it to play games and perform other quite CPU intensive tasks it would become sluggish and laggy. Usually a restart would fix it for a while. The problem got worse and worse until it started to turn itself off when things got rough. It would do this more and more frequently and easily to the point where it wouldn't turn on. After some investigation I found that my PSU was fried so I bought another one and replaced it. Problem solved. Until now.

The same thing has started happening, and it's now at the point where it's turning off frequently under heavy use. Surely the issue cannot be the PSU again? There must be something else causing it to fail and in turn damage my PSU. I get no BSOD, no warning or anything, just an instant trip and the machine is off. Checking the logs doesn't seem to reveal anything either.

Don't suppose anyone has any suggestions of what to do to try and find out what the issue is or has any insight into what the problem might be?

Thanks in advance.

[rubberman]

Your system board is failing/overheating. Time to get it replaced... There is no non-mechanical fix for this. It may be simply some capacitors that are failing (a competent repair shop can deal with that), or it may be an integrated circuit (even the CPU) that is failing. Even if not under warranty, you might want to check with the manufacturer to see what their repair policies/prices are, and then decide if you want to fix it (under warranty? Get it fixed. Not? How much $$ will it cost?) or just replace it. Given the current prices of new systems, if it isn't still under warranty, it may be cheaper to replace it with a new unit.

[rubberman]

BTW, you don't say if this is a laptop, or desktop type of system. My home workstation was having similar problems a few years ago, tracked down to overheating memory sticks. By re-arranging them to get better airflow, I was able to fix the problem. Five years later, I have had no further problems. :-)

And by re-arranging them, I mean that I have 4x2GB sticks, but have 8 slots. They were originally in adjacent slots. By installing them in every-other slot (an empty slot between each), the overheating problem was resolved, even under heavy system load.

[caperjack]

Surely the issue cannot be the PSU again?

why not ,it happened once it can happen ,i think the likely cause would be that you are only using a stock CPU cooler fan,or the power supply is overheating or the video device is overheating , lots of things could be the cause ,maybe your try to do more intense computering that the computer was built for ,or its a laptop
why not list the full specs/details of the computer

[bops]

Thanks for your replies, I'll give them some consideration. Sorry, the system I am running is a desktop and conisists of:

AMD FX-4100 Quad Core ~3.6GHz
8GB RAM
AMD Radeon 6770
64-bit Windows 7

I bought it as an entry to mid-level gaming machine a couple of years ago. It's no longer under warranty unfortunately. I just thought that the chances of two power supplies in a row suffering from the same issue isn't very likely, which leads me to believe there is something else causing the issue and in turn damaging the power supply.

Thanks again

[caperjack]

So are you using a stock cpu cooling fan ,or a better 3rd party fan .
maybe a problem with your power source causing proplems with your psu's,just guessing at this point ,sorry

[Rik_]

What wattage power supply are you using?

[theheirs]

tks for your post