Problem Description:

My computer randomly and abruptly loses power.
There is no error prompt or screen freeze, it just powers off immediately as if it were unplugged. This can happen while the computer is actively being used, or even when it is just idling with nothing running. Event Log records these incidents as "Critical Error, Kernel-Power, Event ID: 41"

Relevant Screenshots:


^ Somewhat typical Idle temps


^ List of Event ID: 41's. Sorry that I didn't SS this in order of date. At worst I've had this event occur ~5 times in one day, and at best I've had ~4 weeks without a single event.


^ List of general errors recently, to give context as to what surrounds Event 41's.

Other system specs:

PSU = EVGA Supernova 650 G2
Case = NZXT Phantom 530 2013 Edition
Fans = 2 random exhaust fans at the Back-Top corner of the case + the CPU fan. No clue what make these are, but I assume they are cheap.

Other potentially relevant information:

My room is the same temp as it is outside.
That means during summer, it can go up to 105f+ on the hottest days. On the night that I got the error 5 times in a row for example, it was a day that peaked 106f (even though I only turned the computer on later that night when it was 85f and lower.)

Things I have already tried:

I ran memtest86 for 5 passes (about 24 hours) and received 0 errors.
I made some admittedly novice attempts at improving cable management in my case.
I dusted the inside as well as I could.

I also googled event 41 and did a bunch of seemingly bullshit quick fix tweaks on "power options" haha, they didn't work.

Things I suspect may be the problem:

Obviously it seems like it's too hot. I should probably replace all fans with aftermarket fans, add an Intake fan, redo the thermal paste and see how that effects the temps overall.
I also suspect the Mobo, PSU, or even the Case could need replacing.
I've heard it suggested that I need to fix the north/southbridge thermal pads on the Mobo (Credit to KingAtrhur on that.)

Here is my previous thread:

https://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=76311457&f=199

Do you know what BIOS version you are running? MSI released a Windows 8 compatibility BIOS for this motherboard in version 2.2. https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/970A-G46
On that same note; have you updated all available drivers for the motherboard and graphics card to their latest versions? I highly doubt this is caused by driver malfunction, but it wouldn't hurt to get it out of the way.

In your previous topic there was mention of mixing RAM, what did you end up doing in this regard?
Motherboard is running pretty hot, especially considering those are idle temperatures. Adding an intake fan wouldn't hurt, and checking up on the NB / SB cooling pads, possibly replacing them.

I have no clue on the BIOS version, and my GPU driver is updated, but I doubt the Mobo driver is, so I'll definitely look into those updates.

As for RAM, I didn't end up messing with it at all, still just the same stick of 8 that is seen on Speccy.

As for the intake fan and cooling pads... I really have no excuse at this point. I should just do that stuff I guess and see if the problems persist after.



My only real hurdle here is money, I have like 130$ to my name and this time next year, I expect to have like 200$ more (with unexpected expenses eating away at that haha.) Yeah I'm a broke mofo, but I just figured I'd explain why I haven't done anything that costs $$ since my last thread. Fans should be cheap though so that's a shitty excuse in regards to that.

Windows 8 is shit. Change to 7 or 10

8 Was fine after 8.1, the only issue with the OS was kids like you unable to adapt to change.
(8 was fine once you added classic shell)

The motherboard is at the failure temperature. AMD motherboard chipset failure temp is 62C.
You need to add some serious cooling to the case...aka front intake fans, and you need to lower the room temperature as well. Try to get the room down to 70F maximum, or move the computer to a cooler spot.

This post was edited by Ghot on Sep 10 2017 09:13am

All righty.

Do you reckon the Mobo temps are high simply due to lack of airflow and my hot as Hades room, or do you think the Mobo could have other issues as well causing the heat?

I ask because it does seem to stand out in temp from some other parts etc.

I was also having a weird issue where if I put my PC to sleep and woke it up later, the temps would stay consistently high until I did a full Shutdown. Like the 62c resting mobo temp for example, thats resting after sleeping generally speaking, where as if I did a full shutdown it might go down to like 45c resting. Something about the transition into sleep mode and then back to awake was messing with it.

I might as well also mention that I get a seemingly unrelated issue where occasionally my screen will freeze and I'll hear a rapid repeating stutter sound from the speakers that is instantly "fixed" by just moving my mouse. If I dont touch the mouse, it stays frozen and stuttering, and if I move it even a little, it stops lol. I don't know how to reproduce it. (I assumed this was a video or audio driver type thing but I honestly have no idea...)

This post was edited by Shinigami on Sep 10 2017 10:26am

Don't use sleep or hibernate. In fact Google how to disable it.

The first thing I would do is lower room temp and/or move comp to much cooler room.
Then we can see what's really going on.

For example my room is about 62C and the motherboard is about 20C.

FX 8350 and ASUS 990FX R2.0 Sabertooth motherboard.

So I guess I'll list my current short term plans right now:

First I'll wait until about 2:00 AM (for my room temps to drop to about 70f) and open all windows etc then get a Speccy report, then I'll actively use the computer for a couple hours and do another Speccy report to show what the temps would realistically be in such environments. In theory this should show whether it's entirely the rooms fault, or if it still seems unusually hot.

After that I'll try to update my Bios and Mobo drivers etc as suggested above.

As for things I need to purchase, do you guys have any recommendations on actual quality aftermarket fans, thermal pads, and thermal paste etc? Is there anything else I should be looking at that I would need?

I'm committed to getting that stuff, but don't want to be mislead by potentially biased reviews and whatnot and I'm no expert on the subject. I'll have to order it off Amazon so it'll be a while before I can put them in, but I'll update once I do that as well.

This post was edited by Shinigami on Sep 11 2017 12:59am

your room is 62c? holy bazongas. how do you avoid the issue of... like, not dying?

This post was edited by DCSS on Sep 11 2017 01:58am