The game keeps shutting down my computer - Overheating.

[Trevelvis]

I am playing 4.0 English, I am running Windows 10 pro with a Nvidia GTX 1070 with 64 meg Ddr4.

I have been playing this game just over a week but in the last few days it has started to shutdown my Pc. I does it at random times and various situations but I think mainly when travelling in Super Highways. It’s very annoying as I updated my graphic card driver and made sure my windows was up to date also after the first time it happened. This is the first time I’ve posted here and read the rules so hope I’ve done this correctly as I have Aspergers and my mind sometimes confuses things. Thanks

[CBJ]

You've done fine.

To save time I'll quote what I wrote in a similar thread further down.

That's all fine, except that Windows doesn't allow individual applications to reset your PC. Only hardware and driver-level software can do that. So while the game may be the only thing that triggers it happening, the actual cause has to lie somewhere deeper down. Remember that every application will place different stresses on your PC, and may make different calls to to drivers and hardware features, so it's perfectly possible for only one to expose an underlying problem. Just one example of this is that X4 uses the Vulkan graphics API, whereas many other games use DirectX or OpenGL.

Now, in order to have any chance of being able to help you, we need you to provide the information requested at the top of the forum, most importantly your DXDiag and vulkaninfo information. While you're working on that, you could also do the one test you didn't mention, namely a thorough memory test, as memory faults have been known to cause system resets and X4 does use memory quite intensively.

In your case, since you've not mentioned it, you'll also need to consider system issues involving heat, power and so on.

[Alan Phipps]

Hello and welcome. If you are in the UK and the issue started in the last few days, then it might be worth pointing out that the last few days have been the hottest in the UK for this year, in most parts. Maybe a good clean of your system's fans, vents, heatsinks and internal airflow routes might help. Good luck.

[michi_oss]

Perhaps your power supply got broken. Or you CPU/GPU overheats.

Is your computer really shutting down (like windows shuts down the computer ) or do you mean shutting off immediately?
Do you have another game which causes high loads on CPU and GPU? Then you can check if it happens there also.

In addition you should log the temperatures of CPU and GPU. In your case you need a tool that writes the measurement to a file.

[Trevelvis]

Perhaps your power supply got broken. Or you CPU/GPU overheats.

Is your computer really shutting down (like windows shuts down the computer ) or do you mean shutting off immediately?
Do you have another game which causes high loads on CPU and GPU? Then you can check if it happens there also.

In addition you should log the temperatures of CPU and GPU. In your case you need a tool that writes the measurement to a file.

It shuts off immediately, I don’t really have another game that causes high loads because the only other game I play is Farming Simulator 19 and it never turns off with it. I will try to check everything but I am not very tech minded but hopefully something will work .

[kmunoz]

It shuts off immediately, I don’t really have another game that causes high loads because the only other game I play is Farming Simulator 19 and it never turns off with it. I will try to check everything but I am not very tech minded but hopefully something will work .

It's possible you've got the problem I had once, with a different game. The power draw on the graphics card or the CPU may be spiking, overloading the power supply and forcing it to do an emergency shut-off. Under normal conditions this wouldn't happen, but if a game is asking for a lot of processing all at once, the GPU or the CPU may get really greedy for a split second. If you've only been playing a week, it may be that your game has now progressed to the point where the CPU is getting taxed and drawing more power. And then when you hit the highway, the GPU spikes because it has to update a lot more rapidly, and the combination of the two could be overloading the power supply.

It could be an overheating issue - but that's relatively easy to check by getting a temperature logging tool (which may have come with your GPU and/or CPU software).

[user1679]

Along with the good advice already given, here are some other things you can try:


First step is to rule out driver issues:

1. In the Windows search bar (either on the toolbar near the START button or click the START button) type: event and click Event Viewer
2. In the event viewer, expand the Windows Logs folder
3. Select the System option and then right-click and choose filter current log
4. Uncheck everything except CRITICAL and ERROR
5. For the logged option, select whatever time is appropriate. If you haven't had a recent crash, just use any time
6. Leave event sources blank
7. Leave the rest of the options at their default (make sure Includes/Excludes is set to All Event IDs)
8. Click OK

When the log finishes filtering, scroll through looking for the time around when your last crash was. Here are some possible errors (but not all):

source = kernel - This is a Windows component. Check for a windows update and antivirus updates. Most programs are user mode so it's unlikely that x4 is crashing the kernel but something else might
source = anything with NVIDIA or nvlddmkm - These are related to your GPU and while you updated the drivers, sometimes older drivers work better. Google search your nvidia card and X4 issues to check


The next step is to check your RAM:

Normally RAM issues don't make the computer shut off, but usually gives a "blue screen of death" error instead. But just in case there's some wierd protection on your sytem, you should check your RAM

Part 1: Make sure your RAM is seated properly:

This can be a bit tricky if you're not comfortable opening your computer. But in some instances, a loose ram stick can cause a sudden crash if a program attempts to write to an address that is no longer there.

1. Make sure your machine is POWERED OFF
2. Disconnect the power cable from the back
3. Open the side of the case
4. Find your ram (not to be patronizing but they should be located near the CPU / fan and look similar to this: https://www.newegg.com/Desktop-Memory/S ... 7?Tid=7611)
5. Place your thumb in the center of each stick and gently press down.
6. Make sure the clips at the end of each stick are not unfastened or loose


Part 2: Perform a RAM test:

Even if your ram is seated properly, it is possible for a stick to be "bad" which can also cause a sudden crash if a program attempts to write to the bad block

1. In Windows 10, use the Memory Diagnostic Tool: Click "start" and search for Windows Memory Diagnostic
2. Select "Restart Now and Check for Problems"
3. Wait...

Alternatively, you can download free tools like memtest86 but that is a bit complicated to use and interpret so it's outside the scope of this article.



Good luck, I hope you resolve your issue!

[Trevelvis]

I found that the CPU was overheating but I’ve taken the front glass off and it gets better airflow and hasn’t done it again. Thanks for all the help

[Imperial Good]

CPUs generally should not be able to overheat to the point they shut themselves off. They normally should thermal throttle to remain cool and can do so to such a point that you might as well be playing on a system from the early 2000s that only consumes a few watts of power. The shutoff could be caused by motherboard VRM (voltage regulator modules) supplying the CPU overheating and causing CPU power to fall out of operating range. This would also be solved by removing the side panel as the VRM is close to the CPU and would explain why the CPU thermal throttling was not enough to remain stable.

[user1679]

I found that the CPU was overheating but I’ve taken the front glass off and it gets better airflow and hasn’t done it again. Thanks for all the help

If this solved your problem then you need to look at your CPU fan / heatsink. Depending how old your computer is, the thermal paste that is between the heatsink and CPU
may have dried out enough that it is not as conductive anymore. This reduces heat transfer from the CPU to the heatsink.

Also, it's possible the fan is not functioning properly. If it is the "stock" fan (came with the cpu and heatsink) they're usually cheap and inefficient. There are also several
types of fan bearings: sleeve, rifle (similar to sleeve), fluid, ball and magnetic, and each of them has their own lifespan before they begin to function poorly. Sometimes
you will actually hear noises such as clicking or buzzing as they wear out. This also reduces heat transfer from the heatsink to the "outside".

X4 is a very CPU intensive game so you really don't want to rely on leaving the case open. If your CPU is not transferring heat efficiently, it will reduce the lifetime of the CPU.

A while back I swapped out the stock intel fan/heatsink with this cooler: Ventroo V5 CPU Cooler With Heat Pipes because I was having issues with heat while playing x4.
I was peaking at around 67c on all cores of an i5-7600 but with this new cooler I usually peak at 35c. This is in a temperature controlled room of 21c but the airflow in my case isn't
good, I don't have enoug fans overall.


It's not the best solution but it's good if you're on a budget.