Computer Turns Itself Off

SmokeSmoke Santa Barabara, Ca
edited September 2006 in Hardware
Hey guys,
I just built a new computer and it has been having a problem where it will randomly shut off with no warning. Here are the specs on it:

Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6 Mainboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
2 Gig ddr2 ram
BFG Tech Geforce 7900 GT PCI-E
Sound Blaster X-fi Platinum

Anyone know of any issues with any of this hardware? My only guess as to what the problem is would be something to do with the power supply, but any help would be greatly appreciated.

**Edit**
Oops, didnt see the post below about the same topic. I'll try to run the stress test and see what happens **

Thanks.

Comments

  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    You failed to list probably the most important component in the computer - your power supply unit. The problem could be RAM, but most likely it's a power supply problem. Please tell us what PSU you're running and a voltage read. You can either read the voltages from the BIOS or from a program like Speedfan. (Perhaps your Gigabyte board also has a voltage monitor.)
  • SmokeSmoke Santa Barabara, Ca
    edited September 2006
    Ok, so I ran two cpu stress tests at once (one for each core), and this did cause the computer to turn off. I bought the chip OEM, and got a cooler master C15-9HDPA-0L fan for it. It's a fairly large fan with mounted on top of a large heat sink. The motherboard also has a heat sink behind the cpu socket. These seem like they should do a better job of cooling the cpu. Any ideas?
  • skankinredskankinred
    edited September 2006
    Smoke wrote:
    Ok, so I ran two cpu stress tests at once (one for each core), and this did cause the computer to turn off. I bought the chip OEM, and got a cooler master C15-9HDPA-0L fan for it. It's a fairly large fan with mounted on top of a large heat sink. The motherboard also has a heat sink behind the cpu socket. These seem like they should do a better job of cooling the cpu. Any ideas?


    Can you tell us what kind of Power Supply Unit you have? Like Leonardo said, this truely the most important piece of hardware in your system; and very few seem to realize it.
  • SmokeSmoke Santa Barabara, Ca
    edited September 2006
    The power supply is an Ultra V Series 500w that came with my case. When I checked the bios there were two voltages: +3.3 and +12 and it said OK next to both of them. It said the cpu temp was 60 c.

    <a href = http://www.ultraproducts.com/product_details.php?cPath=13&pPath=473&productID=473&gt; The specs for the power supply are at the bottom of this page</a>
  • skankinredskankinred
    edited September 2006
    Smoke wrote:
    The power supply is an Ultra V Series 500w that came with my case. When I checked the bios there were two voltages: +3.3 and +12 and it said OK next to both of them. It said the cpu temp was 60 c.

    <a href = http://www.ultraproducts.com/product_details.php?cPath=13&pPath=473&productID=473&gt; The specs for the power supply are at the bottom of this page</a>
    Well there you go. 60C is way too hot. Check out the contact of your cpu fan, and try reapplying thermalpaste is needed. It sounds like it's not making very good contact or the thermalpaste has withered away.
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    Download a program called Core temp. http://www.thecoolest.zerobrains.com/Hidden_Stuff/CoreTemp.zip

    Tell us what temperatures the 2 cores have when the computer is doing nothing and the temperatures just before the computer turns off. If it is over 60 when it is doing nothing, you need to reseat the heatsink. A properly mounted stock Intel heatsink have less temperatures than that without a fan.
  • SmokeSmoke Santa Barabara, Ca
    edited September 2006
    Well I re-seated the fan/heatsink and as far as i can tell its on securely. I also took off the old thermal paste and re-applied some arctic silver 5. Now the software that came with the mobo is saying that the cpu temp is 45-46 c idling but Core Temp is saying that Core #1 is still at 60 c and core #2 is at 56 c.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    Your CPU core monitor(s) may be correct. Factors to consider:

    1) Is the Arctic Silver applied correctly? It is not as simple as merely covering the chip. Improper application can prevent Arctic Silver (or any thermal paste, for that matter) from working to its optimum. Please take a look at Arctic Silver's excellent guide to applying their compound.

    2) Your case may be suffering from poor ventilation. There may be too little cool air entering the case; perhaps heated air is not being exhausted adequately; perhaps incoming air is bypassing the CPU cooler. Please tell us the details about your case cooling setup - location of fans, size of fans, number of fans, case size/brand/model. That all can make a huge difference. The best CPU cooler made can't make a big difference if the heat it transfers from the CPU lingers in the computer case.
  • SmokeSmoke Santa Barabara, Ca
    edited September 2006
    The specs for the case are in the link above (for the power supply). The case has 1 120mm fan on the front and another at the back.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    The case appears to be designed for decent ventilation. This leads to me to believe, if the temperature monitors are accurate, that the CPU heatsink is not resting flush on the CPU or that the layer of Arctic Silver is too thick. Too much AS will actually insulate the CPU core rather than effecting heat transfer. Also, ensure that the heatsink's fan is blowing in the proper direction. Don't roll your eyes - I've installed heatsink fans upside down many times.

    Looking at your first post I noticed that you did not specify the heatsink, so I assume it's the stock unit. In that case, there's probably one orientation for the sink's fan. So it's probably mounted correctly. Now assuming it's stock, that would mean it had or still has a thermal pad affixed to the bottom. Did you remove the pad? Those silly things transfer heat only slightly better than paper.
  • SmokeSmoke Santa Barabara, Ca
    edited September 2006
    I bought the cpu oem so i got a <a href= http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/Products.aspx?pid=1205>coolermaster fan</a> to go with it. Judging from the arctic silver site i think i may have put too much on. I'll re-apply it and report back.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited September 2006
    Smoke wrote:
    ...The case has 1 120mm fan on the front and another at the back.
    Which way are they blowing?
  • SmokeSmoke Santa Barabara, Ca
    edited September 2006
    profdlp wrote:
    Which way are they blowing?
    The front fan is sucking air from the outside and the rear fan is blowing it out.

    I re-applied the arctic silver according to the directions on the site and now Core Temp is showing 41 c for core #1 and 40 c for core #2. The software that came with my mobo is reporting a cpu temp of 25 c. I don't know why there is such a descrepancy, but the core temp reading is around 20 degrees cooler so I'm thinking that it will be ok...unless 40 is still too hot.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    now Core Temp is showing 41 c for core #1 and 40 c for core #2
    Good work!
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited September 2006
    Smoke wrote:
    The front fan is sucking air from the outside and the rear fan is blowing it out...
    That almost always the most effective way to do it. :thumbsup:

    If you hadn't reported that your temps had dropped dramatically after reapplying the AS, I might have suggested that you experiment with a different configuration. Looks like you've got it fixed, though. :)
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