F5F Stay Refreshed Hardware Desktop The PC kept shutting down repeatedly, but I don't know the cause.

The PC kept shutting down repeatedly, but I don't know the cause.

The PC kept shutting down repeatedly, but I don't know the cause.

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Bendino12
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08-12-2016, 06:24 PM
#1
Hey there! Let's talk about this PC situation. About two months back, a friend experienced some issues with his computer. It would restart on its own and had extremely low frame rates. I looked up an OCCT test online, but the results were disappointing. At first, I thought it was just overheating from the CPU—maybe a quick clean, repaste, and it would be fine. But the temperature readings stayed normal at 70°C. The real problem was that the frequency, amperage, and voltage kept fluctuating wildly, causing crashes.

He had an old Intel i7 3770 on a low-end motherboard. I owned a better model, an i7 4770 with a solid MSI Z87-G43 board. This setup had been working well for about a year before the issue started. Recently, he switched to a cheap ham radio (a basic Baofeng) and then to a new power supply. For two days it ran smoothly, improving performance significantly. But after that, everything stopped working again.

I disconnected his power supply and tested it separately—it was completely dead. He was from Argentina, so I couldn’t afford another purchase. Around the same time, news about economic changes in Argentina made prices for imported goods rise sharply. I ended up spending half of what he earned as a minimum wage on a new power supply (around $80 now, about $110).

He tried a BeQuiet! 600W U9 80Plus bronze PSU. It worked well for a while, the PC revived and ran smoothly for three weeks. But then it failed again. I suspect the components are old, and his home voltage is around 180-200V instead of the standard 220V AC—this causes some flickering lights. The PSU had protection features, but even with a cheap PSU, the TV, fridge, and AC still worked fine.

My main concern is whether I should buy another PSU that might fail soon. I’m worried about getting something that breaks again, especially since he’s already on a tight budget. I’m thinking about switching to an AC voltage stabilizer (like a bulky power strip) and wondering if components like SSDs or CPUs can damage the PSU. I hope it doesn’t happen.

If you want, I can help figure out what might be going wrong or suggest alternatives. Just let me know how you’d like to proceed!
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B
Bendino12
08-12-2016, 06:24 PM #1

Hey there! Let's talk about this PC situation. About two months back, a friend experienced some issues with his computer. It would restart on its own and had extremely low frame rates. I looked up an OCCT test online, but the results were disappointing. At first, I thought it was just overheating from the CPU—maybe a quick clean, repaste, and it would be fine. But the temperature readings stayed normal at 70°C. The real problem was that the frequency, amperage, and voltage kept fluctuating wildly, causing crashes.

He had an old Intel i7 3770 on a low-end motherboard. I owned a better model, an i7 4770 with a solid MSI Z87-G43 board. This setup had been working well for about a year before the issue started. Recently, he switched to a cheap ham radio (a basic Baofeng) and then to a new power supply. For two days it ran smoothly, improving performance significantly. But after that, everything stopped working again.

I disconnected his power supply and tested it separately—it was completely dead. He was from Argentina, so I couldn’t afford another purchase. Around the same time, news about economic changes in Argentina made prices for imported goods rise sharply. I ended up spending half of what he earned as a minimum wage on a new power supply (around $80 now, about $110).

He tried a BeQuiet! 600W U9 80Plus bronze PSU. It worked well for a while, the PC revived and ran smoothly for three weeks. But then it failed again. I suspect the components are old, and his home voltage is around 180-200V instead of the standard 220V AC—this causes some flickering lights. The PSU had protection features, but even with a cheap PSU, the TV, fridge, and AC still worked fine.

My main concern is whether I should buy another PSU that might fail soon. I’m worried about getting something that breaks again, especially since he’s already on a tight budget. I’m thinking about switching to an AC voltage stabilizer (like a bulky power strip) and wondering if components like SSDs or CPUs can damage the PSU. I hope it doesn’t happen.

If you want, I can help figure out what might be going wrong or suggest alternatives. Just let me know how you’d like to proceed!

Reply
Reply