My computer randomly “shuts down” for no reason

[GodHatesDabbing]

Let me preface this post by saying I’m not too well versed in the inner workings of computers, so if this is something obvious, I’m sorry! Thanks for your help!

So I built my first pc last October with a LOT of help from a friend. He put together the parts list and helped me put it together. Since then, I’ve been having trouble with it randomly “shutting down”. It’s in quotes because the computer still seems to be running when it happens. This is what happens when it does this:
First, the screen will freeze for a few seconds and then go black. It won’t respond to anything and if I leave it for a while, the screen doesn’t come back on. The lights inside stay on and the fans keep running, but nothing happens. From there, I manually turn it off. The power button doesn’t respond either so I have to hit the switch on the power supply unit. I let it sit for a few seconds and then turn it back on and it will work fine (until the next time it does this). It does it in fairly random intervals, sometimes happening multiple hours into use, other times only 15-30 minutes in.
Also, I’m not sure if this is related, but sometimes I’ll turn it on and there will be nothing on screen. The lights and the fans come on, but there’s no video source coming to the monitor. I don’t think it’s a problem with the video output because if I don’t touch the cord and just turn it off and back on again, the screen will come on just fine. The power button also doesn’t respond when this happens as well.

I asked the pchelp Reddit what might be going wrong, but since I’m here, you can probably guess how much I got from that. The only thing I was able to try before people stopped responding was to try disabling reboot on system error, but that didn’t do anything.
I’m coming here now because recently I’ve needed to update windows, but the last 2 times I’ve tried, it’s frozen up and I’ve had to reset it in the middle of updating. Luckily I haven’t lost anything and nothing has gotten corrupted yet, but I don’t really want to keep risking it.

SPECS:
CPU: Ryzen 5 2600 6 Core 3.4 GHz
Motherboard: gigabyte ab350m-ds3h
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance RGB Pro 16GB
PSU: EVGA 110-BQ-0500-K1 BQ 80
GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 1650 4GB 128-bit
SSD: Western Digital SN750 500 GB
Hard Drive: SeaGate BarraCuda 2TB

If you need any pictures or any more information, let me know and I’ll be happy to provide it. Thank you for helping!

[Bruce]

while your PSU by EVGA is a very good brand and the 3 year warranty backs that up, it is still only 500watts and only Bronze rated, in other words, bought for a price point rather than build requirements.

the minimum recommended PSU for that card is 300watts, with the card itself drawing 85watts.
factor in the rest of the build and there is not a lot of wiggle room.

so first up, I think your PSU on under-powering the rig.

with the other issues, power button, lose cables, and potential heat/dust problems, i would be dismantling the whole setup outside of the case and reassembling it all on a piece of cardboard on a table or floor.
you’ll then have good access to troubleshoot and swap out parts as needed.
plus it’ll give you the chance to reapply the thermal paste to the process and clean off the components and fans.

[GodHatesDabbing]

Thanks for the reply! As you said, the psu was picked because of the price. I figured I’d worry about upgrading/switching stuff out after I got the whole thing.

What power supply would you recommend for my build?

Also, I probably should have been more clear about the power button. I normally works. It only stops working when my computer does the thing I was describing where the screen shows nothing and the fans and lights are still going. I’ll check the connection and clean for any dust anyway! Thanks again!

[Bruce]

any brand offering at least 5 year warranty is a great place to start, some offer 10.
get at least 80+ Gold and start at the 750watt range - anything above those and you simple get a better unit, which is what you want, but then price starts becoming a deciding factor.

[GodHatesDabbing]

any brand offering at least 5 year warranty is a great place to start, some offer 10.
get at least 80+ Gold and start at the 750watt range - anything above those and you simple get a better unit, which is what you want, but then price starts becoming a deciding factor.

Got it. Thank you so much! I’ll post here again after I get it bought and installed if I’m still having problems!

[veeg]

Any updates?

[Rustys]

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