At around 10 am on a weekday morning, a customer from Camden, near Kentish Town around Marylebone. called Geeks Callout to report a serious issue with his gaming desktop. The PC was shutting down within 5 minutes of usage, making gaming or even normal browsing impossible. He had already cleaned the machine himself, but saw no improvement.
He also mentioned his son was facing low FPS, lag and freezing issues for several weeks before the sudden shutdown problem began.
After a quick discussion, the customer agreed to use our free pickup service. Within the hour, our engineer collected the PC from Camden and brought it into our lab for full diagnosis.
Initial Lab Inspection
The moment the system arrived, it was clear the PC was not in a healthy condition:
This told us the shutdown issue was almost certainly thermal-related.
Hardware Specification (Customer’s Build)
Within minutes of stress testing the system, we identified the critical fault:
NZXT Kraken 240mm Cooler – Faulty Pump / Hot Tubes
The cooling tubes were extremely hot, the pump showed irregular flow, and a radiator fan was completely jammed.
Resolution:
We immediately removed the NZXT unit and installed a conventional air-cooling heatsink temporarily to stabilise the machine.
Result: The PC stayed on without shutting down.
This confirmed the cooler was the main cause of the 5-minute shutdowns.
Once stable, we ran a complete assessment:
A: CPU Test (OCCT)
B: GPU Test
Under FurMark & OCCT GPU burn:
C: NVMe Test
The Western Digital 1TB drive reported:
We don’t recommend running modern titles on NVMe drives below 100% health, as they affect load times and system responsiveness.
Step 3: Consultation with the Customer
We called the client to explain all findings.
This PC was primarily used by his teenage son for gaming, so stability and performance were important.
The customer wanted the system fully sorted and approved our recommended upgrades:
Recommended Replacement Parts + Prices (Late UK Market):
Parts
GPU Upgrade
Liquid Cooler Upgrade
NVMe Replacement
Recommendation
MSI RTX 5070 12G
MSI Liquid Cooler (240mm)
Crucial 1TB Gen4 NVMe
Approx. Price (GBP)
£520 – £580
£95 – £140
£55 – £70
Step 4: Repair, Replacement & Cable Management
Installed New MSI Liquid Cooler
Stable temps, quiet operation.
Replaced RTX 3070 > MSI RTX 5070
Massive performance uplift + cooler operation.
Replaced WD NVMe > Crucial 1TB
We also successfully cloned & transferred all data from the old NVMe to the new drive.
Cleaned and serviced all fans and components
Removed residue dust, reapplied thermal paste, checked PSU cables, and reorganised wiring for better airflow.
Final Stress Tests
Re-ran OCCT, FurMark & CPU Burner:
We tested the system for over 6 hours, including gaming-level stress.
Final Outcome
The gaming PC was returned to Camden the next evening at 8pm, only 1 day after pickup.
The customer and especially his son were:
He even mentioned he would recommend Geeks Callout to anyone who needs PC repairs or gaming system upgrades.
Conclusion
This Camden/Kentish Town case is a perfect example of why gaming PCs need:
Thanks to a careful diagnostic process and high-quality replacement parts, we were able to deliver a like-new gaming system with safer temperatures and significantly improved performance.
Aamir Mehmood is a Senior IT Consultant & Technology Writer with over 15+ years of experience and one of the founders of Geeks Callout, an award-winning London-based IT support company specialising in PC, MacBook, and gaming repairs. He is recognised for delivering reliable, customer-focused IT solutions. Under his leadership, Geeks Callout has won multiple honours, including the 2023 Business Excellence Award and the 2025 SME UK Enterprise Award. Aamir also writes insightful articles to simplify complex technology, making him a trusted voice in London’s IT community.
