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Computer Randomly Shutting Off

B

Bluehosebone311

n00b
Joined
Jul 21, 2013
Messages
5
Finished my new PC build a few days ago, test boot went well. Everything is currently at stock settings - no XMP, CPU overclock, etc. Was able to run Intel's CPU stability test in the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility for two hours and pass, also passed Cinebench 11.5R, and PCMark7...

HOWEVER,

the last two days, I have been experiencing random shutdowns with no logical explanation. Computer may run fine at idle for 8 hours and then BOOM - it shuts off. No freezing, BSOD, it just loses power. This happens from the BIOS as well so not likely to be an OS issue. I ran Memtest 86 and the RAM passed three times with no errors. Note that I have the ram running at the recommended 1.5V and at 1333mHz (not the rated 1866mHZ). Aida64 stability test causes the computer to shut down if I run it for more than about 10 minutes, but it is NOT caused by CPU overheating - the temps are well below 70 degrees when it happens. Also the board temp is staying at 32 degrees (as reported by AIDA64). I have also disconnected and reconnected the power supply cables to make sure it is not a loose cable. I'm thinking it can only be three things - CPU, MB, or PSU. What should I do next?

Components installed:
Seasonic Platinum 660W PSU
MSI Z87 GD65 running the latest BIOS (1.3)
8gb Crucial Tactical Tracer 1866mhz (running at 1333mHz at 1.5V)
MSI GTX 770 Lightning 2GB
Samsung 840 pro 128GB
LG WH14NS40 Blu Ray Reader/Writer
 
With memtest being able to do three passes, I'm not inclined to suspect the CPU or the motherboard, with the exception of the possibility that the CPU cooler is not completely tightly locked on the CPU; it's sometimes seen here that one of the locking pins has not completely engaged, leaving one corner of the CPU with insufficient contact to the cooler. What CPU cooler do you have?

Other than that, I would suspect the PSU first, and swap in either a known good one or an inexpensive one (the Corsair CX430 is $20 after a $20 mail-in rebate on newegg at the moment and won't blow up your rig) and attempt to reproduce your issue.
 
You were right - I think it was the power supply but not the unit itself. We're talking about a Seasonic Platinum 660 here = low probability of defect. I checked the cable connections and I think one came loose that was not perceptible to the eye but fixed itself when I reconnected everything and verified they were not partially unplugged. Magically, the temps on the CPU dropped (even though they weren't that high to begin with), and Aida64 ran for 2 hrs without problems. Used the MSI/Intel Tuning Utility and ran a 5 hr test this morning and rock solid...

Worst part is, that I RMA'd my water cooler which was powered off of the MB CPU fan header. My theory is that the power draw from the water cooler kept shutting down the computer and when I replaced the waterpump with the stock Intel heatsink it seemed to fix the problem temporarily...
 
Use a Molex fan header adapter; don't run it off the motherboard. You may already have some if you've bought enough fans in your lifetime.
 
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