PC shuts down under heavy load

[CharlieNash]

Well but his problem is quite different, his GPU driver stops responding and PC freezes while my PC reboots without any warning. I'm also connected through DVI-D cable not HDMI. I tried to disable these two Nvidia audio entries with no effect. Looked into these "ghost" devices,

Little update:

1) In Nvidia Control Panel changed PhysX option from auto to GTX970 - no effects
2) Tried to "reinstall" DX like I did before - no effects
3) Reinstalled OCCT, ran 10 minutes GPU test - no errors or reboots
4) For a second thought that old HDD is causing reboots, after disconnecting it I was able to complete 2 extreme Heaven Benchmark's tests with extreme tessellation but third one caused reboot in the middle of the test
5) Tried to run Benchmarks with case open, no components seem to overheat or act strange, benchmarks also crashes no matter if case is open or closed
6) Downloaded MSI Afterburner, when I set power limit to 80% got reboot right after I opened HB (didn't even click "benchmark" button). With power limit set to 90% managed to complete benchmark, tried to alt-tab after the test from HB to MSI Afterburner which caused reboot

The only option in BIOS which can cause reboots is when MOBO is overheating and it's enabled. It's tempting to disable it but I think it's to dangerous to all components.

Maybe it's something with voltages... I don't know anymore.



#Edit

Investigating some suspicious (to me) entries from event log step by step after reboot:

1) EventLog (ID: 6008): unexpected shutdown
2) Kernel-Power (ID's: 41, 172)
3) User32 (ID: 1074): C:\Windows\System32\RuntimeBroker.exe or C:\Windows\system32\winlogon.exe initialized shutdown/reboot (code 0x0 or 0x500ff)

 

[Cycloid Torus]

It is a nasty puzzle...
- fresh download, install and full forced update to Win10
- fresh download and install of nVidia drivers (driver only install)
- fresh download of recently updated HB (which addresses stabilization issues)
and you still get freezes.

Nuts.

Any possibility that Windows update is installing drivers which are not cleared when you install nVidia drivers??

 

[CharlieNash]

Before formatting I tried to reinstal completely Nvidia and MSI related programs and drivers using Revo Uninstaller Pro, including register files and it didn't help. There's possibility that Windows Device Manager (Win7/8/10) instals some basic Nvidia driver automatically if there's none but I don't know if it's possible to turn such feature off.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

You can't actually 'turn it off', but you can do a 'clean install' of the nVidia driver by selecting 'Customize' - you might even limit installation to drivers and leave out '3D'.

How old is the video card? Wondering if careful removal of GPU heatsink and a slight use of thermal paste to be sure that any pads are in good contact with the HS might be appropriate. (check YouTube for your model) Some manufacturers allow this and other void their warranty..I realize you have no really high temps recorded but wondering if you still might have a high temp failure in some location that does not have a sensor.

 

[CharlieNash]

Yea, I tried that then and even today after format but "clean install" option do not remove anything except custom settings from for example Nvidia Control Panel or Geforce Experience.

I've bought this MSI GTX970 (and also new higher resolution monitor) two months ago, before had MSI GTX 750Ti which never caused any problems (completed Witcher 3 year ago with no crashes/reboots). Month before GPU replacement I've updated WIn7 to Win10 and during that period never played anything which would heavily load my PC so can't easily determine if problems started right after Win10 update or after GPU and monitor replacement. I am aware that GTX970 TDP is much more higher than my previous GPU but my power supply should be sufficient.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

So we seem stuck at not being able to tell where the problem really is.
Can you borrow another GPU or go back to the 750??

 

[CharlieNash]

I can try with 750Ti at friday/saturday but I'm not sure what to expect because of its low TDP. If it doesn't gonna cause reboot then it doesn't say too much because PSU wasn't really under heavy load. If reboot occurs then it's really bad. Maybe I will be able to borrow GTX960 from a friend.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

I think you can confidently do a TDP total - I think MSI has one on their website... I like a 100w buffer.
Does MSI forum have any results?

 

[CharlieNash]

Msi.com/power-supply-calculator

even if I choose 8xUSB, 8xfan and treat SSD as HDD then I get 451W

 

[Cycloid Torus]

Why not take a poke at it with MSI support - might be a 'defect'.

 

[CharlieNash]

Just tested voltages with multimeter, 3,3V and 5V lines under load do not exceed +2-3%, 12V line under load goes from 12,04 to 11,80 so I really doubt it's PSU fault (taking into account also OCCT power supply tests).
Gonna try to borrow that 960 from a friend, if it won't cause any reboots then I will claim warranty of 970.