CasperTheLich Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 just last night while playing skyrim my computer started shutting itself down after about 30 minutes to an hour of gameplay. during the windhelm civilwar quest it was doing that about every 5 to 10 minutes. my computer wasn't overheating, the air coming out of the rear fan was still cold, as was the tower itself. if i tried to reboot right then it wouldn't make it through startup before turning itself off again. when i wait 3-5 minutes it starts normally. any idea what going on here? this started before the last patch... i think. unless they updated skyrim at 1 am here. system specs:Op system: win7 home prem 64bitCPU: intel 3g quadcoreGPU: Ati Radeon x1600Ram: 6g DDR3 DX: 11 the only things i can think of are either my GPU is getting fried, my motherboard, or my powersource is on the fritz. anyone have any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferodaktyl Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 stress test your systemPrime95 - for CPUMemtest86+ - for RAMFurmark - for GPUOCCT Perestroïka - for PSU and all others of course, at your own risk :whistling: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooker75 Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 A glitchy power supply will definitely cause that and it's a major pain. Try leaving it on overnight with nothing running and see if it's still on in the morning. If the power supply is the problem, it's only going to continue to get worse until you replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CasperTheLich Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 after some tinkering about, it seems skyrim is to blame for the sudden shoutdowns... unless my powersupply is only somewhat twitchy, and skyrim causes too much stress on the system and kaputs my powersupply as a result. guess i'll findout in a few days. *sigh* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalimni Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 How new is the system? I had my CPU go out on me a few years ago, and it was causing similar problems. Basically, anytime it was loaded over 30% it caused a shutdown. Had a similar issue with a bad GPU as well. Do the above test. Will probably tell you where the problem is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CasperTheLich Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 my system is about 4 years old... and it looks like my GPU is fried. i guess that talk about skyrim killing GPUs might not be simply talk, however i'm not willing to go that far yet. i suppose it could just as easily be normal wear & tear… and perhaps a little misuse on my part. haven’t been cleaning my system as regularly as I should.though i've never had a graphics card burnout on me before. i've had a few systems this long, longer even. i've had other stuff blowout on me though. *sigh* i have no free cash floating around atm either. haven't played anything today too... i feel like an addict who needs a fix right about now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooker75 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Open your case and take a close look at the capacitors on your motherboard. Are the top ends of any of them bulging outward? Capacitors should be perfectly flat on top. If any of them are deformed at all, your motherboard is shot. Four years is recent enough this shouldn't be the problem, but I've had no less than three older computers die of capacitor disease. This is one example of what it looks like: http://drunkenachura.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/dead-mobo-thx-to-bad-caps.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CasperTheLich Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 (edited) that pic is a tad fuzzy but i can see what you're talking about i think. my motherboard seems to be fine. my GPU is idling at about 80o C. it redlines about 15-30 seconds after i use anything that needs a graphics processor (after about 5 minutes playing skyrim or 30 minutes playing oblivion my system shuts itself down). and i've got a lot of vents, vent fans & interior fans. which is why the rest of my system stays cooler than the room temperature, while my GPU turns into chernobal. thanks to those benchmark programs I’m 99% sure my graphics card is fried. And less than 1% idle deflection, thinking it’s possible that the power supply is jerking me about. only because I can’t test the power supply without the GPU redlining. however voltage seems to be solid, at least when i tested other stuff (such as the CPU) the voltage was quite steady. i just wish i didn't have to shell out the cash for a new GPU. ----edit----does anyone have anything solid about those rumors that skyrim has killed GPUs? more than just gossip I mean, like hard facts? cause I find that a tad hard to swallow. However, given my current situation it seems slightly more credible, to me at least. (funny that, no?) Edited February 4, 2012 by Invisible Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferodaktyl Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 try remove your video card and detach the cooling system. Clean GPU and memory chips (with alcohol) , clean the cooling system, apply thermal paste and reattach. May work, may not. Worth a try. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CasperTheLich Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 i would try that, however... i don't have any of that stuff on hand; thermal paste or alcohol (unless wine or a bottle of rum will work lol). in about a week i might have just enough cash for a cleaning and a new GPU ( I might). i can't really do a cleaning myself, vent fans are clogged and i don't have access to them, and i don't like the idea of tearing up my tower & the mounting to get at it. taking things apart & reassembling them with a screwdriver isn't really a part of my repertoire. if it was simply a matter of removing and replacing hardware, that i can do quite well; not taking the mounting off and taking the case apart. twas never really good at that type of stuff. *shutters* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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