PC turning off unexpectedly with unusual signs
PC turning off unexpectedly with unusual signs
Over the past weeks, my computer has been experiencing frequent shutdowns with unusual signs. Occasionally, it powers off abruptly, while fans and lights remain active, and the CPU diagnostic indicator lights up on the motherboard. From there, I can only restart it by unplugging it from the power supply. It seems these shutdowns occur without a clear pattern, though I’ve managed to reproduce them by following a tutorial for the game Killer Frequency—there’s a specific moment that always triggers it, even though the game is relatively easy and I usually play more demanding titles. CPU temperatures are consistently around 60 degrees.
Recently, I upgraded my CPU from a Ryzen 5 3600 to a Ryzen 9 5900X about a month ago. I don’t recall any previous shutdowns before this upgrade, but they’ve been becoming more frequent lately. All other components were bought in February 2020 (except for the RAM upgrade last winter).
From a logical standpoint, it could be a failing power supply unit or motherboard, but that doesn’t seem likely since both were purchased around four and a half years ago. The Newegg power consumption calculator indicates I need roughly 600-699 watts for this setup, and my system is drawing about 650 watts—so I’m pretty close to the expected usage. Every USB port is connected to a device, and there’s a WiFi card installed, which means the system might be consuming more power than usual.
Please let me know if anyone has encountered similar issues or can provide insights. I haven’t tried reseating the CPU or cooler yet, as my temperatures are only slightly higher than before the upgrade, and this is the sole problem I’m facing. I’d appreciate any advice or suggestions you might have. My goal is to resolve this without disrupting other aspects of the system.
Specs:
- Ryzen 9 5900X
- 2070 Super
- B450 Tomahawk Max
- 32GB DDR4-3600
- Seasonic 650W Gold
- 1x 4TB HDD, 1x 1TB HDD, 1m² 1TB SSD, 1x 512GB SSD
Have you looked in Event Viewer or Reliability History for any error codes linked to the shutdown? It’s not unusual to see 41 appearing, especially with power switching off. Are there any other clues? Did you install the new chipset driver yourself? I’d expect a BIOS update was necessary for it to function properly initially. The B350 and B450 are both solid mid-range motherboards offering good value, but I wouldn’t jump straight into them given their chipset history. There might still be an issue with one of the newer revisions concerning the PCB. Are you monitoring actual power draw from the wall? Or using any monitoring tools to check wattage? Lack of sufficient power can lead to problems. And are you overclocking at all? You say temperatures stay around 60*, but is that the peak temperature or just steady operation? Which cooler are you employing?
Thank you for your detailed feedback. The situation doesn't appear to involve any shutdown-related codes. In the past hour, during three test replications, only event 41 was reported as a Critical Error. I can share all the relevant error IDs, but it seems none are linked to physical shutdown triggers.
I manually downloaded the new chipset driver before swapping CPUs, and I’m not overclocking at all. My system is idling between 60-70% with a Noctua NH-U12s, and I haven’t experienced any temperature issues before, so this might not be the cause.
I’m not monitoring actual wall power draw. What monitoring tools are best for tracking system wattage?
Important update: I can consistently reproduce the issue in Killer Frequency at that location. However, when all peripherals except keyboard and mouse are unplugged, my computer didn’t crash there. I have two webcams, an XLR interface with preamp and microphone, and headphones—all removed. This suggests that with all my peripherals off, my system is drawing just a bit too much power. Does this match your observation?
When running at 60-70 RPM, start by removing the side panel to check if temperatures decrease. Examine the installation for proper tightness and adequate paste coverage; I believe a slightly larger two-fan air cooler or an AIO would be suitable for this setup. I’m confident the problem is related to temperature. Are you using MSI Afterburner? It can help monitor CPU and GPU voltages, and I usually add around 100W on top of that for stability. Based on this build, a more robust power supply—likely above 750W—might be necessary, though it’s not the only factor to consider. What case are you using and how many fans are installed? What is the ambient temperature in your area?
I'm using the Phanteks P400 with 2 in-flow fans, one exhaust fan behind the CPU cooler, and one exhaust fan on top of the CPU cooler. The ambient temperature in the room is about 70 degrees F. Taking the side pane off took temps from 57 -> 54 at idle.
When the game that it's crashing on is running, temps don't rise at all, and there's no spike in the moments before it crashes.
I'm about to check to make sure, but the only correlation I can find with the crashing is the peripherals that are plugged in. Do you know if there's any solid way to get a log of my CPU temperatures that would be saved even through a crash?
Note - without the peripherals plugged in, I'm able to pass through the spot that I normally crash at in that game. Monitoring my temperatures through this, they're still hovering around 55.
I don't know anything at first. Restarting the PC makes it idle, can you check Task Manager to see CPU usage and core speeds? In theory, after a short wait the system should be running smoothly. I understand the R9 gets hot when in use but feels your temps are too high even with the cooler. Is the P400 the "A" model or the solid front panel?
I have the standard P400 with the solid front panel.
Thank you for the recommendation. After starting, I accessed Task Manager around 45 seconds and saw the CPU usage at 60%, gradually dropping to around 3% when idle. This seems to point toward a heat lock issue.
Core speed remains about 4.3 GHz after booting.
Another unexpected update... while working on a college assignment, I discovered that the gradient tool in Photoshop also causes crashes. Disconnecting all devices didn't stop it from failing. I'm not sure what this means yet. Previously I believed that high CPU usage leads to crashes, but that's not true. It doesn't occur during demanding games like Rust, while rendering videos, or during stress tests. However, it does happen with the gradient tool in Photoshop and the tutorial level of Killer Frequency...
I have the setting configured for High Performance. I wanted to mention that during my troubleshooting of the Oculus Rift S not working last week, I tried a few random actions. I disabled "Game Mode" (which was enabled by default) and turned off XMP (just forgot to reactivate it). I’m not sure these changes would matter, but...
Thanks for your assistance. I could also try removing the front of my case to see if that helps prevent crashes. I should probably reinstall my CPU cooler and verify the temperatures again.
With all this information, would ordering a new PSU be a wise decision?
Review #4 looks good, I hope you find success with stability. It's quite a powerful challenge.