Computer randomly shuts down when playing games

Hi, my computer randomly shuts down when playing games. The inside of the computer is clean and I really don't know what could be wrong. Maybe a power issue or my crappy case? I've checked through similar threads and I can't find any solutions that helped. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Here are my specs

OS: Windows 7 Professional
MB: Gigabyte
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Dual Core 3.2GHz
GPU: nVidia Geforce GTX 285 BFG OCX
RAM: 4GB
PSU: Alpha Power 450w Power Supply Unit ATX
Case: EZ Cool

 

I would agree with the power supply diagnosis mentioned above. IMO, even a high quality 450w power supply is much too weak for a GTX285 and A64X2 6400+, and "AlphaPower" is not even close to a high quality unit, and is probably not capable of delivering a steady 450w of power, it probably has a peak output of closer to 375w on all rails combined (the 5v, the 3.3v, and the 12v), which likely means you have less than 250w of power available on the 12v rail which is BY FAR the most important voltage. A quality 550w or 650w would most likely fix the problem (it's better to have more wattage than you need for many reasons: you don't EVER want to run your PSU at 100% max for any amount of time, PSUs are most efficient at a 40%-65% load level, etc). With power supplies (and PC components in general, but especially with power supplies) you get what you pay for. A 550w unit from Antec or Enermax or ThermalTake will completely destroy a 650w unit from AthenaTech or RaidMax or iMicro or DiabloTek or CoolMax or EchoStar or Deer or BesTec or.... the number of makers of :crap power supplies is huge, but the list of quality PSU makers is much shorter: the 3 I mentioned plus most CoolerMaster units, all Seasonic, all Corsair. These are great brands. A 1000w low end unit will cost less than a quality 600w unit, and there's a reason: the cheepo 1000w unit is likely a 450w unit with a 1000w sticker. No joke. There is no real "standard" when it comes to labeling power supplies, especially in Taiwan and China. If you'd like some actual makes and models recommended, let us know. A great source for all things power supply, check out www.jonnyguru.com. IMO, they are the last word when it comes to power supplies.

(no offense is intended with my above comments about the "AlphaPower" unit - it's surprising how many people have no problems spending $150 or more on a motherboard, $300 on a video card, $250 on a CPU, but scoff at paying $100 or more for a power supply; IMO, the power is the MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENT in a computer; without it, you have an expensive neat-looking box that sits there and does nothing, and a low quality unit will -at best- shut off when stressed slightly, or because of its lack of ripple control, it sends 'dirty' current thru all your expensive components, slowly burning them up from the inside-out, or -at worst- will burst into flame and destroy your precious graphics card, motherboard, and CPU in the process; I've seen it happen)

 

. . . . I almost forgot . . . .

:wave Welcome to Major Geeks! :major

 

Hi i have an issue with me pc shutting down when playing some game to, here are some specs.

Field Value
Sensor Properties
Sensor Type ITE IT8712F (ISA 290h)

Temperatures
Motherboard 36 °C (97 °F)
CPU 50 °C (122 °F)
Aux 54 °C (129 °F)
Hitachi HDS721032CLA362 32 °C (90 °F)

Cooling Fans
CPU 5625 RPM
Chassis 5273 RPM

Voltage Values
CPU Core 1.39 V
+3.3 V 3.25 V
+5 V 4.89 V
+12 V 11.84 V
+5 V Standby 4.68 V
VBAT Battery 3.04 V
Debug Info F 78 80 FF
Debug Info T 54 36 50
Debug Info V 57 00 CB B6 B9 E4 00 (F7)

Field Value
Motherboard ID 03/18/2010-C51XEMCP55PXE-M2N32SLI-00

Field Value
Video Adapter Properties
Device Description NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT
Adapter String GeForce 9800 GT
BIOS String Version 62.92.24.00.70
Chip Type GeForce 9800 GT
DAC Type Integrated RAMDAC
Installed Drivers nv4_disp (6.14.12.5896 - nVIDIA ForceWare 58.96)
Memory Size 512 MB

Video Adapter Manufacturer
Company Name NVIDIA Corporation
Product Information http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?PAGE=products
Driver Download http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp

Field Value
Computer
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS Service Pack Service Pack 3
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name VERTIK
User Name matthew

Motherboard
CPU Type Unknown, 3000 MHz
Motherboard Name Unknown
Motherboard Chipset Unknown
System Memory 3072 MB
BIOS Type Award (03/18/10)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port ZTE Diagnostics Interface (COM15)
Communication Port ZTE NMEA Device (COM16)
Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)

Display
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT (512 MB)
Monitor Plug and Play Monitor [NoDB] (S2B06511026)

Multimedia
Audio Adapter SoundMAX HD Audio

Storage
IDE Controller NVIDIA nForce 590/570/550 Serial ATA Controller
IDE Controller NVIDIA nForce 590/570/550 Serial ATA Controller
IDE Controller NVIDIA nForce 590/570/550 Serial ATA Controller
IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive Hitachi HDS721032CLA362 (298 GB, IDE)
Disk Drive ZTE MMC Storage USB Device
Optical Drive BDV316B (16x/48x DVD-ROM)
Optical Drive HSPA USB SCSI CD-ROM USB Device
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions
C: (NTFS) 305234 MB (235418 MB free)

Input
Keyboard HID Keyboard Device
Keyboard HID Keyboard Device
Mouse HID-compliant mouse

Network
Network Adapter WAN (PPP/SLIP) Interface (188.29.62.130)
Modem ZTE Proprietary USB Modem

Peripherals
Printer Microsoft XPS Document Writer
USB1 Controller Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller [NoDB]
USB2 Controller Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller [NoDB]
USB Device Unknown Device
USB Device USB Composite Device
USB Device USB Composite Device
USB Device USB Composite Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Mass Storage Device
USB Device ZTE Diagnostics Interface (COM15)
USB Device ZTE NMEA Device (COM16)
USB Device ZTE Proprietary USB Modem

 

Right click 'My Computer' and give us the CPU info at least and try a different program like Speccy as your list is inadequate, gives almost no info and what it does give is mostly useless. Your PSU volts are a bit low.

EDIT: Whoa spaceoid, you really should start a new thread and not piggyback on top of someone else's. One problem is hardly the same as someone else's.

 

sorry, i posted here because it said look at other related postes, i will start my own thread.