Which is it?

[zhenlong]

hey i have this really weird problem. everytime i start up my computer, it seems to be able to boot but after like a minute or so it shuts down. and i cant turn it back on until i reset the power plug. but after a few time it stops shutting down by itself and i can use it again. i can do everything but when i try to play games like call of duty 4, the problem occurs again after 5 minutes into a game. plus the graphic seems to be worse. but when i play counter strike 1.6, it seems ok.but the testure of things seems worse. i started suspecting my graphic card was broken and after taking it out.the problem disappears. but i read online that the shutting down seems to be because of the psu. not only that, i was also suspecting the extension cord that the computer was plugged into for power as it was having some problems before. so which is the culprit? the graphic card? the psu? or the extension cord?

help would be much appreciated

 

[AlbertLionheart]

I suspect the PSU and you will need a tester to check this. A simple check is to smell the air coming out of the PSU - if smells hot electrics it is probably on the way out and might damage your PC if not dealt with.
Can you find a spare power lead? - These are not usually a problem but it is a cheap way to check.
Until you have checked these it is difficult to prove anything about other components.

 

[zhenlong]

well now i've taken the graphic card out of the computer and it works perfectly fine no more shutting down and the psu is new and i didnt smell anything of such.

 

[AlbertLionheart]

so presumably you are running on the on-board graphics? If so the only other thing at fault might be the graphics card slot, and to test that you need another card.

 

[zhenlong]

ok thx i will try to test another card. but one more thing. a few days before the problem appeared i had overclocked my graphic card abit so could overheating or not having enough power output be the culprit?

 

[AlbertLionheart]

possibly PSU; it should be at least 500 watts - more likely is that you have taken the card too far and damaged it. Can you reset it to ex factory status?

 

[zhenlong]

well i used the ati overclocking tool to do the overclocking and i reseted it to default but the problem seems to still be there.

 

[AlbertLionheart]

Unless there is a jumper on the card to reset it, I would try another card

 

[zhenlong]

ok thx very much for the help. i hope it works