My PC is killing itself. Help?
 

I was playing Gmod last night. My PC was on all day and night before downloading a PlanetSide 2 patch. So, anyway, I was playing Gmod when, all of the sudden, my screen goes black and then the monitor shuts down, I can still hear the sound but it's glitchy, the glitchiness gets worse until it stops completely. Nothing is happening, but the strange thing is my fans were still going, the PC lights were on.

I have a feeling my COU overheated, cuz I use the stock fan for the AMD FX-8320. People said it wasn't very good.

If it was your CPU it wouldn't get past POST would it? Could be the PSU, motherboard, gfx card...FP4 WHAT DO YOU THINK?

A computer shutting down from overheating does not mean there is an issue with the CPU, it actually is a sign that everything is running well. It creates an automated shutdown to prevent any damage from happening, and overheating usually occurs well after the POST runs so the CPU wouldn't have any reason to prevent it from running.

Sounds like a case of over heating, let it sit for a bit then try using it again problem should go away, if it comes back you should bring it in to the shop to get the parts checked but I don't think that's the case.

I do believe it is overheating. I just need to get a better cooler to keep things on the down low. Not sure what POST is. Mind explaining? It sounds familiar, but I don't remember EVERYTHING from CIT classes lol

POST stands for power-on self test, it runs right when you turn on your computer as part of the pre-boot sequence, it verifies everything is working well and if it is it allows the computer to power on.

If it detects an error it usually communicates it through a set of beeps or codes depending on what BIOS version you have.

I see. WLel I booted it up to post the previous post. After posting the screen went black with a light gray line on the side. I'm not sure what's wrong. It could be the gpu but why would the sound mess up?

Is this frequently recurring or just a one-time thing?

Planetside2 and Gmod aren't super CPU intensive games so I don't really see how they could cause this.

However, leaving your computer on for hours on end is never a good idea without an adequate cooling system.

If it was overheating wouldn't it be very easy to detect? Either running programs and keeping an eye on the temperatures before it crashes or leaving your case open and running a fan at it to see if that resolves the issues.

It happens every now and then. I'm going to keep an eye on my temps more.