Computer randomly restarts itself when gaming!

[justanotherguy93]

Hi community,

Not sure if this is a right place to post this... if it isn't please direct me accordingly thanks!

I have this problem only when I play game, and the most recent game is TERA. Been playing it for quite a bit but only recently it has gone wonky. It just switches off randomly and auto re-boot itself. Sometimes I can get a whole arc line of quest in before it restarts, sometimes it restarts just after 10 mins of game play. Sometimes never. So every time I play it's like playing roulette, it's kinda frustrating.

I did a search on google and found out that it is either a PSU problem or a graphics card problem but I'm unsure of it and even if I wanted to change my graphic cards.. I'm not sure on how I should do it. Meaning I don't know if the card I'm getting will fit to my motherboard and if my PSU is enough to sustain it.

My rig is pretty old, dating back to 2012. Here are the specs!

1. i5 3470 gigabyte h77 d3h mvp
2. kingston 4gb ddr3 x 2 pcs
3. powercolor 7950 3gb v2 edition with 2 fans
4. fsp aurum gold 550w modular psu

I removed some specs such as casing, monitor, .. etc because it's irrelevant.

How should I go about solving this. and if it really needs a change of graphics card, which one should I gun for? Considering I am on a tight budget.

Thank you for all opinion and help/advice!

 

[Entry Level PC]

Based on my experience.
4x Possibility.
1) Your CPU OVERHEAT so restart itself
2) Your GPU OVERHEAT so restart itself
3) PSU degrade liao cannot give enough power
4) Your GPU spoil liao

Go download Unigine
https://unigine.com/d/Unigine_Valley-1.0.exe
and run benchmark to monitor temperature,
go test with another PSU and
go test GPU on another PC.

 

[niko_bellic]

Do you monitor the cpu temps? If it's overheating, it may shut down for safety once it reaches a specific temperature.

I use Core Temp to monitor.

 

[justanotherguy93]

Thank you both for the prompt replies.. did not expect such a fast reply!

Anyway I am kind of an idiot when it comes to computer parts and all these testing...

But I do know how to see the temp using core temp.. here it is.

P.S: this is idling speed. Just running spotify and chrome.

 

[Koenig168]

Idle temp is not useful. You need the CPU and GPU temp on load. Try running a benchmark utility like Unigine Heaven and see what kind of temps you got.

 

[bundy]

A lot of time it the graphic cards

Sent from Old Nexus 5 using GAGT

 

[moodless]

Could be CPU overheat due thermal paste dried up too.. better to monitor the temp of both CPU and GPU during high load (etc while playing Tera) and see the temp. Normally temp between 60-70 degrees are still okay.