PC restart after a few minutes ingame

[MithrasInvictus]

I'm pretty much out of ideas... Computers are just a hobby of mine, but I have some friends who work in IT. I'll consult them and get back to you.

[Jeserbiel]

Thank you so much. I hope your friends know what i can do.

[MithrasInvictus]

You're quite welcome.


First suggestion:
"Chipset Driver is not the right one or HDD is dying."
Since it's brand new, it is doubtfully the latter. Go to the website of the company who manufactured your motherboard and get the latest non-beta drivers for your chipset, and we'll go from there. That being said, the HDD could be faulty.

[ntall1]

It sounds like an overheating issue. Not all PC's are made for gaming and will suffer heat issues when playing games. Even with all new parts a stock heatsink will not cool down an i7 enough when playing games.

I recommend monitoring your CPU, and GPU temps with something like Speed Fan. Your computer will normaly shut itself down when CPU temps go above 85c.. But really anything above 70c should be treated as a problem that needs fixing.

[MithrasInvictus]

Next response:

"Yeah either that or RAM, tell him to grab a copy of UBCD and run memtest and sea tools, that will tell him for sure."
"Although he's going to have to change his disk from AHCI to IDE/Compatibility Mode."

[MithrasInvictus]

Third response:

"If he only bought it a day ago honestly I'd say just bring it back and exchange it. If the issues persist with a new one (if its the same config) then we could troubleshoot it further."

Not as helpful, but perhaps considerably less of a headache.

[Jeserbiel]

So... Next day, next try. The chipset driver is the latest, same as before, restart.

Now i had loaded Speed Fan and tested it. Alle the values, CPU etc, are low. Temp1 and Temp 2 are on 27-31c. HD3 is under 30c, too. CPU is constant on 14c. Sometimes it goes a little bit higher but not over 20c. All others are 0c.
The only value that goes higher and higher is the GPU. Test it three times and it allways restart the pc when GPU is on 102c oder 103c.
I do nothing ingame when i check the values. Only stand in Uldah and do nothing.
Then i try to run the FF-Benchmark and it was the same, shut down at 103c.

[Maelwys]

So... Next day, next try. The chipset driver is the latest, same as before, restart.

Now i had loaded Speed Fan and tested it. Alle the values, CPU etc, are low. Temp1 and Temp 2 are on 27-31c. HD3 is under 30c, too. CPU is constant on 14c. Sometimes it goes a little bit higher but not over 20c. All others are 0c.
The only value that goes higher and higher is the GPU. Test it three times and it allways restart the pc when GPU is on 102c oder 103c.
I do nothing ingame when i check the values. Only stand in Uldah and do nothing.
Then i try to run the FF-Benchmark and it was the same, shut down at 103c.

And therein lies the problem. The GPU is your video card.
This sounds exactly like a stuck/blocked fan (if the power for the Video Card's fan is even connected!), or possibly an incorrectly mounted heatsink.

Since this is a new PC I'd lean slightly more towards the power cable for the GPU fan not being connected properly. (Inside the case the Graphics Card will have a seperate lead running from it - on older cards this lead can be quite thin and plugs into a riser on the motherboard, on newer cards it's usually a thicker cable that runs directly from the computer's Power Supply Unit)

Step 1. Take the side of the PC off, look at the fan on the Graphics Card.
Step 2. Turn on the PC. Does the fan rotate? Is there air blowing out of it?
Step 3. If the fan doesn't rotate, look closely at the card and see if there's a loose cable or empty socket for a power cable on it. If so, turn OFF the PC, unplug it at the wall and then connect up the proper cable to the Graphics Card.
Step 4. If the fan DOES rotate, or there's a cable already properly connected and no free power lead sockets - return the PC. You either have a bad graphics card/power cable (if the fan doesn't work) or the GPU heatsink isn't mounted on the card correctly (if the fan DOES work but isn't transferring heat properly away from the GPU).

EDIT:
THIS is the top view of your Geforce 660 Card. Note the connection with 6 holes on the far right. This is where the extra power cable should plug in... although that Graphics Card is quite beefy and I'd be surprised if it ran at all without the extra power lead being plugged in. THIS is the underside view of the same card. Note the small white connector on the far right under the fan - this connection should also be checked (and possibly unplugged + reseated if the fan isn't working). Hope that helps

[Jeserbiel]

Thanks to all for the great help
I have just brought the PC back to the shop where i bought it and then they gave me a new pc of the same model.

I install all drivers etc and run the FF-Benchmark. The PC did not restart.

Then I tested again with SpeedFan. I logged in in Final Fantasy an went to MorDhona. Now I stand there for 15 minutes and the PC not restart.

SpeedFan now tell me that the GPU have 45C-53C since I'm in MorDhona. I think thats ok now? Not like the 103C at the other PC. Or is it still to high? But I don't think so.

Tomorrow I will test it in a Dungeon and tell you how it work. But i think with the new PC all is fine. It realy looks like that the fan of the videocard in the other PC was broken or something.

EDIT:
Test it at the DD-Fate in Thanalan and the GPU have 50-58C. Should be all good now^^

[ntall1]

Thanks to all for the great help
I have just brought the PC back to the shop where i bought it and then they gave me a new pc of the same model.

I install all drivers etc and run the FF-Benchmark. The PC did not restart.

Then I tested again with SpeedFan. I logged in in Final Fantasy an went to MorDhona. Now I stand there for 15 minutes and the PC not restart.

SpeedFan now tell me that the GPU have 45C-53C since I'm in MorDhona. I think thats ok now? Not like the 103C at the other PC. Or is it still to high? But I don't think so.

Tomorrow I will test it in a Dungeon and tell you how it work. But i think with the new PC all is fine. It realy looks like that the fan of the videocard in the other PC was broken or something.

Yes.. That is much much better. 102c will melt the inside of your computer.. :P Anything above 70c is above the danger zone.