Graphics Card Overheating and Causing Shutdowns?

Specs:
Motherboard: Asus M3N78 Pro
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 7850 Black Edition
RAM: 2x2GB Corsair DDR2
Graphics Card: eVGA GeForce 86000 GTS, 512mb
PSU: CoolerMaster 600W


Okay, so the only way I can describe this is simple: Every time I play any sort of game on my computer, especially graphics-intense ones, my computer will shut down. Not reboot, just shut down, completely off, then I have to push the power button to turn it on again; however, it does not require me to unplug the system from the wall first or anything like that.

I came to the conclusion that it could possibly be the graphics card overheating. I ran Everest and checked the sensors and this card is idling at around 68 Celsius, or 154 Fahrenheit. I understand video cards can run hot, but when the games are on full load, the card can go up to 80 Celsius and hotter. Sometimes around 100. I was just curious as to why there is no error message or log that tells me that the system had a critical error, ie: temperatures of a device going off the charts, that way I could at least address the issue without second-guessing. Anyways, the CPU runs cooll, at about 28 Celsius idle and 34-36 Celsius under massive loads, ie: 3dmark running full CPU tests and running a game, like Crysis 2 or something else intense.

I would also like to point out that when I unplug the PCI-E card and just run the onboard graphics, even though that card is a terribly old 8300, it runs just fine, no shutdowns, etc. The only complaint I have is that when this card was on my old motherboard, I didn't have any issues like this. The heatsink is clean, I've dusted the card AND took off the cooler and cleaned it, then applied more compound to the heatsink/core and memory modules.

Well, thanks in advance, guys. Any help is appreciated.

 

I'd also like to add that I downloaded and ran FurMark to see what it could tell me, and the MINUTE that it loaded up the benchmark, the entire system shut off, without even waiting for any overheating to occur. The card stayed at 68 Celsius, and in 1 second, the whole system went down. Help?

 

Ahh, can you clarify this: "then applied more compound to the heatsink/core and memory modules." Did you put the paste on your RAM?

I use RivaTuner to max out the GPU's fans speed. Some NVidia cards run the fans too slow. http://majorgeeks.com/Riva_Tuner_d737.html

You should also check your PSU voltages.

 

No, I did not put the paste on my RAM, I meant the memory modules on the video card. The heatsink unit is mounted over 1/2 the board, so I put paste where contact was being made to increase efficiency.

I used RivaTuner to max out the fan, but I haven't tested it like that yet. I will do so.

Yes, I've checked the voltages and I'm getting 11.99 volts on the 12V rail, ~50 amps. Going strong.

 

After reading your first post, it definitely appears to be an issue with the video card. The 8600GTS is an older model, so I'm wondering if the card ever ran normally? Is it new? Did you buy it used? If it is new, you might want to return it under warranty. Hopefully you didn't void the warranty by removing the cooler. If it's used, and never worked normally since you've had it, I'd try to return it to whoever you got it from. Anyway- I'm more curious about the card's history than anything.....

(yeah- I know- not a lot of help :-o rolleyes Sorry LOL )


EDIT- I just re-read your post.... I see that the card was in a different PC prior to this. So- why not pop it back in the other PC just to see if it runs OK there. If it does, it may be some compatibility issue with the different motherboard, or maybe there's a BIOS setting that is set to shut off at a certain GPU temp. I have dealt with some motherboards that had weird issues with certain NVidia cards. Flashing the BIOS to the latest release always fixed this issue, so maybe it will help in your scenario....

 

Well it looks like you have a good understanding of the issue and Fred_G has pointed you in the right direction.

You may want look very in-depthly at how to modify the Fan Profiles using Riva Tuner.

I have a ATI 4850 and when they came out they had appalling Fan Profiles so that the card would idle at 75-80C because Fan was at 5-10%, loading was hitting 100C+, I ended up modifying the BIOS because Riva Tuner was not working with the cards at that time. It now idles at 50-60C. Look in the Riva Tuner help files etc and you can make the Fan Profiles start as soon as you commence gaming.

Here is the latest RivaTuner v2.24c but more importantly are links to FAQ's, forums etc which may be off help.

It seems your problem is obvious but do you have the latest Drivers and DirectX?

 

I'd just like to say "thank you" for the prompt replies from both of you guys. Everything said was a great help. I have RivaTuner and I setup a profile to 'launch' the 50%-100% fan speeds when a threshold is reached. It seems like this has fixed the problem. I am leaning MORE towards the fact that the motherboard may be the culprit, here, as this card works PERFECT with my other board hooked up to my system (tested). The MB has been giving me issues since day one, ie: USB ports popping in and out, and the wireless network card getting read as a plugged in audio device (*sigh*). Anyways, thanks again!