Sudden restart of PC

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Dalebvr
Posts: 44
Joined: Wed May 22, 2019 9:52 pm

Re: Sudden restart of PC

Post by Dalebvr »

Yeah, a decade old power supply is likely getting a bit cranky.

You might want to look at the 1st gen Threadrippers if you want power to spare for the future (and don't want to pay Intel prices), since they have fallen in price big time since the 2nd gen are out. I've been building a beast for gaming over the summer (one part at a time. Talk about frustrating). You can get the 12 core 24 thread chip that started at $795 for $265. The 3600 hex core you're looking at is $249 boxed (that's Newegg prices; oem may be cheaper still). If you need that kind of multi threading, I would steer clear of the 2nd gen chips. The 1st gen effectively are 2 Ryzen 7 cores, with direct access to both memory and PCIE bus; the 2nd gen have 4 processor dyes, but #3 and 4 don't have access to the buses, save through cores 1 & 2, so you have latency issues with about half your CPU. Of course all the 1st gen Threadrippers are power hogs at 180w peak, so that has to be factored in (2nd gen is 250 w. Sizzle!). There does exist an air cooler for it, though; the Noctua 120mm fan cooling stack. Its one of two air coolers that has the proper transfer surface for a threadripper, and it comes with good quality paste and a second clip to allow you to attach a second fan onto the radiator in a push pull set up. In power up tests with no load at all, the air cooler keeps that processor at 25c per the BIOS temp sensor.

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ByteMixer
Posts: 153
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2018 4:43 am
Location: Philadelphia, PA, USA
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Re: Sudden restart of PC

Post by ByteMixer »

My thoughts are likely PSU, I really don't think what you experienced is bad ram, but it doesn't hurt to test. Could be the overclock was drawing more power from the PSU, and didn't like that after 10 years, haha.

10 years is a pretty damn long time for a computer PSU. At least not all of your components are too old, but the PSU is certainly suspect. I wouldn't completely rule out the Mobo either in case the PSU started sending incorrect voltages due to age. Look for swollen or bulging and/or leaky capacitors, or any spots that look like they might have overheated.

At least a PSU swap is relatively cheap and easy to replace and test. A decent 650W PSU is around what, $60 to $70 USD? Be glad your power supply didn't develop the problem I had back when I lived in Iowa. Somehow, for some reason, the PSU developed a short, and when I plugged it in and switched it on (outside the computer to test) it tripped the breaker in the apartment. I was a bit miffed since it was a decent rated Thermaltake 600W at the time, but it was already a little over a year old, so I just bought a slight upgraded 650W PSU at the time.

FWIW, I used to work as an IT consultant. Music doesn't pay as much (or at all, really), but it's waaaaayyyyyy better! :D
"Whatever you do, make good art." - Neil Gaiman

ifkopifko
Posts: 195
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2015 9:03 am

Re: Sudden restart of PC

Post by ifkopifko »

From what you write about your sound card, it might indeed be your motherboard. If you will open your PC for cleaning, also try to check if the MB is not bending (for example under heavy CPU cooler or due to high pressure of the cooler's mounting mechanism.

As far as backup goes, I would suggest having also off-line backup (not always connected and not in the PC case). I prefer external dock for bare 3.5" SATA HDDs, not the complete solutions with HDD in a box. That way you can use also some old HDDs you might have lying about. :-)
Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/iDsonix-Drive-Do ... cs&sr=1-17

If you will consider a new PC, just start a new thread here or on some more specific forum. I'd say that if gaming performance is what you are also after, the new Ryzen 3000 is a better choice than Threadripper (which wields considerably more computing power for other purposes ofc).

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