XPS One 2710, mystery reboots

Error 41 "could be" power.  Sadly the only real way to test a power supply is to replace it with a known good supply.

If you are only seeing reboots while playing games but not during other normal computer activities you may want to individually stress test the other hardware like CPU with Prime95, the RAM with Memtest 64+, and some sort of video stress test to see what happens and perhaps to eliminate them as the cause.

Thanks, I 'm afraid you may be right about the PSU.

I did a HW Monitor scan.  Dos the circled voltage mean anything?

HMM, 5V?

The voltage you circled is odd but so is the +12V below it. If your +5V was actually close to zero, I don't see how your computer could actually be running. Also strange is that your version of CPUID HWMonitor shows PSU voltages but my version does not and I have the latest version (1.39). I think that the only accurate way to measure PSU voltages is with a multimeter. 

Also odd is your CPU temperatures, they seem high even though your CPU utilization is very low.

I see your point.  Got the same result with HWINFO.

I have a hard time believing these readings. If you compare closely, the readings are not just the same they are exactly the same right down to the millivolt for both the +5V and the +12V. VBAT,  3VSB, and +3.3V(VCC3V) are also exactly the same. Voltage regulators are pretty good but they are not that good. I just don't believe those sensors.

I would focus on the temperatures. The temperatures listed are very close to the maximum limit. Check your temperatures at startup after the system has been off for awhile. Check your CPU %utilization in Task Manager. If it is low check your CPU fan and heat sink. Overheating could possibly be the cause of your reboots.

All that error says is Windows shut down unexpectedly. It gives no indication of the cause for that shutdown.

Since it seems to happen when playing games, it could mean the PC is overheating and shutting down to avoid getting fried.  Read this thread and the solution posted by the OP, wyzzet, who was having the exact same problem you're having now.

If you're lucky, it's the same easy solution to this problem....

I'm leaning toward overheating rather than the PSU. CPU utilization seems low ( not that I know or sure).  If so then I need to replace the CPU fan.  I use to hear the CPU fan speed up during more intensive graphics.  Now it seem stuck at one speed.  I do thing the voltage sensors are lying as they always have the same value.

The first snapshot is the most recent report, the 2nd is several days ago.

CPU utilization, CPU Package power, and CPU IA cores are all low which does not match with the CPU temperatures which are very high. If you scroll further down HWMonitor you will see graphic card temperatures and utilization. I wonder what your numbers are if you were not using intensive graphics. I think you need to focus on what the numbers are when the system is not under the stress of intensive graphics at least to get a baseline of what the numbers should be.

You said everything passed the diagnostics so why do you think the CPU fan is the problem now? Did the fan run at both its low and high speeds during the fan diags?

I guess it's possible the fan is running at constant speed now because the CPU is heating up. So the fan may have to run at full speed constantly trying to keep things cool, until it loses the battle.

So that makes me think it's either the thermal paste (or thermal pad?) between CPU and heat sink that has dried out and failed, or blocked power supply vents which were reported in that other XPS 2710 thread I linked above...

Diagnostic as I recall did not run up the fan, I don't think it really stressed the CPU.  It likely is a thermal problem along the line of what you mentioned.

Thanks

Hi

These numbers are at rest, no gaming, just cruising. I suspect it would get worse under high graphics load.  The fans never spin up, they probably don't get a chance before the CPU shuts itself down.

Don't know about this specific PC model, but the fan diags on other Dell PC models test CPU fan at low and high speed. There's a sensor in Dell OEM fans that BIOS reads to control fan speed. In that case, the diags should test the sensor by changing the fan speed directly, not by stressing the CPU or GPU.

Start by checking/cleaning the PSU vents like in that other thread because that's probably easier than replacing the thermal paste or thermal pad. 

You'd have to remove the heat sink from top of CPU, clean both surfaces carefully/gently and apply fresh thermal paste (eg Arctic Silver) or new thermal pad and then reinstall the heat sink. (Note: You do not want to remove CPU from its socket.)

If any/all of this is beyond your tech experience, find a geeky friend or take it to a reputable PC shop because working inside an AIO isn't easy like working inside a desktop...