Hardware My cousin's computer has some weird problems

[Brav0]

So, when my cousin plays some heavy game ex.World of Tanks for a very long time or on max graphics his computer makes a loud noise and the monitor goes in power saving mode.(It even beeps a lot when it does this).
I just talked with him on Skype and it happened again but somehow we were still talking.
I think its the Power Supply but i don't know.
Anyone Solution?
EDIT: Forgot to mention, ALWAYS when he boots up his PC it makes a loud noise then stops then it boots normally. Also the propeller of the Power Supply sometimes stuck and he has to spin it manually

 

[migles]

i think the problem is on the graphic card. explains the monitor going off and skype still running...

 

[Zanoab]

If only his monitor loses connection, his graphics card might have overheated and shut down to prevent permanent damage. It could also be the power supply but I don't have much experience on that subject.

 

[tbb043]

Could be a power issue, could also be an issue with insufficient cooling, since you say it happens with "heavy" games with "max graphics" things which generate a lot of heat.

 

[Acidflare]

sounds like the cpu is overheating and shutting down may need to replace the heat sink compound between the cpu and it's heat sink.

I myself recently bought a new case fan, after installing it I noticed my EVGA Geforce 9500GT gpu running really hot at startup just idling at 57 - 61 Celsius so I took the pci-e card out took off the heatsink+built-in fan unit of my graphics card and noticed the compound was so old and over used it had cracked, luckily I had just ordered a AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.00GHz that came with 2 pouches of white heat sink compound.
It fixed my overheating and slow down issues.

 

[migles]

sounds like the cpu is overheating and shutting down may need to replace the heat sink compound between the cpu and it's heat sink.

please edit cpu to gpu, i know it's the gpu's cpu but some people think you are talking about the other one xD

 

[Brav0]

so the problem seems to be gpu or overheating at some hardware, maybe power supply or gpu

 

[Acidflare]

please edit cpu to gpu, i know it's the gpu's cpu but some people think you are talking about the other one xD

actually I was referring to an actual CPU but seeing as skype is still responding it's not the CPU but in fact the GPU
CPU=Central Processing Unit
GPU=Graphical Processing Unit
no CPU has an embedded GPU unless it's an APU or SoC

 

[Brav0]

Also where should i put the heat sink compound?
On the CPU or somewhere else?

 

[sarkwalvein]

It is very possible it is EITHER the GPU or the PSU.
What kind of noise do you hear?
Does it sound just like air coming from high speed fans or is it some very high-pitched annoying sound?

In case of high-pitched sound, it may be the PSU and it may result in a later very bad whole system damage.

 

[Acidflare]

Google is your best friend

 

[Brav0]

It is very possible it is EITHER the GPU or the PSU.
What kind of noise do you hear?
Does it sound just like air coming from high speed fans or is it some very high-pitched annoying sound?

In case of high-pitched sound, it may be the PSU and it may result in a later very bad whole system damage.

air coming from high speed fans

 

[Acidflare]

for a new psu go with anything 450Watts+

 

[sarkwalvein]

air coming from high speed fans

Then it's probably just overheating of the GPU.
Clean very well the air channels in between the aluminium (or copper) plates in the heatsink.
Make sure the air circulates well.
If that is not enough, change the thermal paste for something new or better.

In my experience, the thermal paste is generally not the problem, but dust blockage in the air channels of the heatsink and fan. (The thermal paste can also go bad anyway)

 

[Originality]

Whilst the problem definitely sounds like the GPU overheating... the part that worries me is when the PSU fan doesn't always spin up properly. That to me sounds like a PSU that should be replaced.
Also, regarding the "booting PC makes loud noise, stops, then starts normally"... that sounds like common practice for some motherboards - a quick power test cycle including forcing fans to full speed to shake dust off the fans, then the normal POST behaviour.

 

[guitarheroknight]

It sounds like PSU failure. The PSU might not be delivering enough power to the GPU and thus shutting it down.

 

[Acidflare]

also playing video games on "Max" settings which is usually known as ultra, extra high Maximum, etc. is not recommeded unless you have AMD CrossFire(X) or Nvidia (Hybrid) SLI set up and working properly see here for AMD and Nvidia MultiGPU setup information http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/245454-33-crossfire-faqs

Clean up the gpu heat sink compound you might want to do the same to the cpu as well replace the PSU I would suggest something from coolermaster or arctic cooling, clean up the fans and wipe away any and all existing dust.

I play games on my pc that should not run on it, why because I don't care for smooth graphics, i've played an NES and SNES on a 16:9 TV don't talk about graphics looking bad till you have done this yourself and see what graphic modeling has come too in 20 - 30 years.

All that dithering, sharpening, AA, MSAA, VSync, Triple buffering, don't you think that takes a toll on your machine most people think not but think again, go turn on all your gpu settings and tell me your games don't run like crap even if you have something like an i7 cpu with a EVGA 260 GTX graphics card with OCing it with EVGA PrecisionX16