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[ggos]

Hey guys. Since you helped me fix my problem about a year back, I was hoping that you'd help me with another problem. My brother started to experience slowdowns whenever he played online games. These slowdowns were random, and they gradually got worse as time went on. Finally, my brother got the bright idea of moving his computer to a more ventilated area, hoping that this quick fix would solve his problem. Unfortunately, it didn't. A couple weeks ago, another problem added itself to the pile: random shutdowns. These also became worse over time; it started off as one shutdown during the first week to the current average of 5 daily.

My friend and I brainstormed and listed a few possible culprits:

• 1) Overheating
• 2) Defective power supply
• 3) Insufficient RAM

To make sure that this isn't an issue with malware/viruses, he did a scan and came out clean. I checked the temperature of his video card using a program called "GPU-Z" and it came out okay, with results at a constant 55-56 degrees Celsius. I'm also highly skeptical of my friend's "overheating" suggestion, since the inside of the computer feels quite cool; the fan wasn't going at high speeds, either. I can't check if it's a problem with his power supply because I don't have a spare with the appropriate wattage.

A second opinion from an expert or two would be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[Tanarus]

Hey again.

Intermittent issues suck. Just when you think you've got the problem fixed... it comes up again. Then, you change something, and you're spending all that time waiting for the problem to happen again. You start to think whatever change you made fixed it... and then it comes up again.

You mentioned you checked the GPU temperatures, but didn't mention anything about the CPU temperatures. As soon as you can after the computer powers down, power it back up and enter your BIOS -- most BIOSes have a Temperature Monitor or a Health Monitor that will show you the CPU temperatures and fan speeds. (Failing that, try SpeedFan, or any other CPU temp reporting programs.) If your CPU is reporting a temperature of 40 to 55 degrees Celcius, your computer very likely isn't overheating, and you can pretty well rule out temperature altogether. Overheating would also explain the slowdown issues -- many processors force themselves to slow down or 'throttle' when they're in trouble, so they'd work less and generate less heat.

Still, if it turns out his temperatures are fine, I'd start thinking the power supply is the culprit, myself.

Faulty RAM is unlikely to cause the entire computer to power right down -- RAM errors usually cause software issues, such as a computer completely freezing up or the dreaded Blue Screen of Death. While it's unlikely the RAM is the issue, it couldn't hurt to run a memory testing program on the system, such as Memtest, just for a little peace of mind. (Usually, three hours or three passes, whichever comes first, is sufficient to thoroughly test the memory.)

Just as an aside -- check the capacitors on his motherboard and his videocard, as well. If some of them have blown, they can cause some intermittent power issues, as well. Here's a picture of some blown caps (the ones being pointed at) and some fine caps (the three at the top-left look the best).

As always, it's difficult to diagnose a computer problem without actually having the computer to look at, and neither myself nor Future Shop take any responsibility for anything you might do as a result of this advice. Still, I hope I've given you some direction, something to work with. If you have any other questions, feel free to let me know. =)

[clicker22]

if it was my computer i would probably reinstall the operating system to rule out any bugs then i would probably open the case and put a fan on it to try and keep it as cool as possible if its working fine with the extra cooling then you take away the extra cooling and it starts to act up again then i would say its over heating.check and make sure the power cables are properly connected.run test on the hard drive and the ram.if its still not working properly after all that i would bring it in to have a technician look at it.

[ggos]

We opened up the BIOS and saw that the CPU temperature was above your recommended temperature; it's at 78 degrees Celsius after restarting. So it could possibly be an overheating problem, then? Also, if it helps, the system temperature is at 38 Celsius.

[Tanarus · Accepted solution]

Yeah, 80 degrees is very high, even for a computer under stress.

Is the main CPU fan and heatsink full of dust? Dust will retain heat, and enough of it will cause a processor to overheat. If it's dusty, take some compressed air to it to blast it out. (Avoid using vacuum cleaners -- there's a risk of sucking capacitors and other critical components off the laptop.)

If it's not that dusty, you could try removing the heatsink and fan and replacing the thermal paste that sits on the processor and transfers heat to the heatsink, or even consider replacing the heatsink and fan altogether, depending on how well it's performing.

[clicker22]

is it a laptop or a tower pc?Just to point out that the bios is not always correct on its readings if it is a correct reading the temperature is high and you can try what tanarus mentioned to fix the problem.Good luck i know what its like to have technology go bad

[ggos]

I think that did it. My brother asked me to lug his computer over to a friend's house in order to add a new coat of thermal paste to his CPU. When he came back, he reported that his heatsink was a colony of dust bunnies. Now, it's at a more appropriate temperature (below 40). Also, the slowdowns and the random shutdowns have seemed to stop. Hope it'll last.

Thanks for the advice!

[Tanarus]

Glad to hear it. Here's hoping that's what the issue was.