My desktop shuts off without warning at random times. Replacing the power supply did not solve the problem, and the PC can sometimes turn back on only to shut down again a few seconds later. There does not appear to be an issue with the power in the house. The system has a Ryzen 9 7900X3D, GeForce RTX 4070, ASUS ROG STRIX B650-A GAMING WIFI motherboard, 64 GB of Team Group DDR5-4800 memory in two 32 GB modules, and a Cooler Master V750 SFX Gold power supply. What should I test next to identify the cause?
2 Answers
A sudden power-off usually points more toward hardware protection than a normal software crash. Check CPU temperatures in the BIOS, make sure the cooler is mounted correctly, and confirm that the 24-pin motherboard, CPU EPS, and GPU power cables are fully seated. Reset the BIOS to defaults, update the motherboard BIOS if it is stable enough to do so, and check Windows Event Viewer for critical Kernel-Power entries. If it still happens at default settings, test with the minimum hardware connected and consider a motherboard or CPU fault.
Since replacing the PSU made no difference, the memory is worth testing first. Turn off any EXPO or manual memory settings in the BIOS and run the system at default settings. Test with one RAM stick at a time, trying different motherboard slots. Also check whether the CPU or motherboard is overheating, and inspect the motherboard power connectors and case for dust or loose cables.
There is no apparent problem with the household power, and I replaced the entire PSU rather than just the cable. The computer does turn back on, although it sometimes shuts down again after a few seconds.