A technician is servicing a video editing workstation that unexpectedly turns off completely whenever heavy rendering operations begin. The system can be turned back on immediately via the power button, but hardware monitoring logs reveal that CPU core temperatures reach 105°C right before the power cuts out. The installed power supply unit provides ample wattage capacity for all system hardware. Which of the following is the most likely cause of this issue?
- The CPU thermal protection circuit is triggering an automatic emergency shutdown to prevent permanent physical damage.Answer
- BThe motherboard is failing to process POST diagnostic codes issued by internal temperature sensors.
- CThe memory slots were populated using laptop SO-DIMM modules with non-matching voltage keying.
- DThe power supply wattage requirement was miscalculated by omitting peak graphics card draw.
Answer
The CPU thermal protection circuit is triggering an automatic emergency shutdown to prevent permanent physical damage.
When a processor exceeds safe operating limits (such as reaching 105°C), built-in thermal protection circuits force an immediate cutoff of main power to safeguard the CPU from physical burnout. The ability to restart immediately once power is toggled, combined with telemetry logging extreme temperatures right before failure and sufficient PSU wattage, confirms thermal protection cutoff as the root cause.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
CPU Thermal Limits and Hardware Emergency Shutdown Procedures
Estimated Time:1m 0s