Noob guy here..

I have a very old PC.. using q9500 cpu, gtx 550 ti GPU and 6gb ram. Win 10.

My problem is that my PC randomly shutdown. When it does, my GPU fan will spinning normally (not in turbo). Will need to off power entirely before it can boot again. Sometimes need to take out the GPU and re-insert back.
At first I thought it was due to overheating while playing games. Replaced the thermal paste and run the GPU stress test. No issue.
Recently it still happen again. Even just browsing the internet.
The GPU driver are latest. I even let the case to open entirely.
Need help narrowing the issue. Does my GPU is the culprit? If it is was it worth it to get refurbish GPU from shoppee?

Try the following first :-

1. Refresh the thermal compound on the CPU.

2. Remove the mainboard & check visually on any leaking capacitors or burn-out chips.

3. Check the PSU output and if can do some simple dust cleaning too.

4. Use the original manufacturer's drivers instead of generic from nVidia.

5. Update mainboard's UEFI (BIOS) to latest version, do not jump the version (eg. 1.3 -> 2.0, instead go 1.3 -> 1.4 -> 1.5 ... and so on).

6. Install the GPU on another PCIe slot & check whether problems persists.

Update back the results.


Hope this helps...

Could be failing motherboard or failing power supply.

Thanks for replying..

In the progress of refreshing cpu thermal paste
I found out that my heatsink casing is kinda reput. Got 1 pretty
huge crack and 1 screw can't be tightened due to another crack. I think there's gap between cpu and the heatsink. Currently I'm trying to fix it using 3 second glue. Not sure they sell the cover anymore.
I will update again the result.

I can't imagine the said "crack"... maybe you can share some pics of it then I can advise what is the best course of action.

Using those "3 secs" or "Elephant" glue may not help since its not heat resistant. I assume that the "crack" was the heatsink's screws causing it unable to be tighten.
So I think you might want to consider using "Epoxy Glue" instead or better get a replacement for it.

Do share some photos of the said cracks for further evaluation.


Cheers...