“I’m playing CS, 20 minutes go by, and the computer shuts off like I pulled the plug.” The most common complaint during the summer season. Three main causes — and it’s easy to identify which one is yours.
1. Overheating (60% of cases)
The most typical behavior — everything runs fine until you launch a demanding game, then it shuts down after 10–20 minutes. The computer is protecting itself from overheating.
How to check:
- Download HWMonitor (free) or HWiNFO
- Launch a game and watch the CPU and GPU temperatures
- Normal: CPU 60-75°C under load, GPU 65-80°C
- Problem: CPU exceeds 90°C or GPU exceeds 85°C
What to do:
- Open the case and look at the fans — if they’re black with dust, there’s your problem
- Try compressed air (a 10-minute job)
- If it still overheats — the thermal paste on the CPU is worn out (should be redone every 2–3 years)
At our shop: cleaning + thermal paste = 3.500 RSD. If it’s under warranty, don’t touch it yourself.
2. Power Supply (25% of cases)
Older computers often have a cheap 400-500W power supply. When you add a more powerful graphics card or an extra SSD, the power supply can’t keep up under load and the circuits cut out.
Power supply symptoms:
- Shuts off abruptly, with no warning (as if the cable were unplugged)
- Temperatures are fine (check as above)
- There’s often a burnt smell coming from the case
- It clicks and won’t come back on right away — you have to wait a couple of minutes
What to do: Check how many watts your configuration draws (use an online “PSU calculator”). If you have an RTX 4060 graphics card and a 450W power supply, there’s the problem. A new, quality 650-750W unit: 12.000-18.000 RSD.
3. Graphics Driver (10% of cases)
After a Windows update, the graphics driver can become unstable. This is specific to older NVIDIA cards (GTX 900 series) and AMD R7/R9.
How to check: Open Event Viewer (Win+R → eventvwr) → Windows Logs → System. If you see “Display driver nvlddmkm stopped responding” — the driver is to blame.
Solution: Download DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller), run it in Safe Mode, then install a clean version of the driver from nvidia.com / amd.com.
4. Memory (RAM) — 5% of cases
A RAM failure is rare, but it happens. Test: run MemTest86 from a USB drive and leave it running overnight. If it shows errors — the RAM module needs to be replaced.
When to Bring It In for Service
If you’ve been through the first 4 steps and still don’t know what it is, bring it in. Diagnostics are free, and we’ll send a courier. Diagnosis usually takes 1–2 days, and we return it with a precise repair quote.
- Cleaning + thermal paste: 3.500 RSD
- Power supply replacement: 2.000 RSD labor + cost of the new unit
- Driver reinstallation: 2.000 RSD
- RAM replacement: 500 RSD labor + cost of the module
Related: if the shutdowns happen specifically under load, start with cleaning the computer and checking the power supply, and if the graphics card is also producing artifacts on top of that — that’s where graphics card repair comes in.