should you exhaust all diagnostic options before you buy a PSU that you may not need

if 77% operate failure-free over 3 years then 23% are expected to fail within 3 years & 33% last 10 years

operation paperclip = look for the a Green or green & Black wire , BOOM!, Most desktop personal computer power supplies are a square metal box, and have a large bundle of wires emerging from one end. cthulhu ?!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_supply_unit_(computer)#Wiring_diagrams

http://playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html
http://support.antec.com/support/solutions/articles/1000015319-is-my-power-supply-dead-the-paperclip-test
http://ccm.net/faq/3312-identify-the-connectors-of-the-power-supply#identifying-the-power-supply-connectors-in-a-pc

you mention of "adapters" I think I understand: You're thinking the random shutdown issue might be power supply--and adapter is a work-around. Am I even close? Sounds like a dying PSU ? , Unplug your computer from the wall, Unplug your PSU from your motherboard and gpu, Look at the 24pin connector, there is a green wire surrounded by black ground wires on both sides. Bridge the green pin with any one of the black pins using a paper clip. Plug the powersupply back in. The power supply should fire up and your hard drives and optical drives should power up too. Let it run like that for a while, if it shuts off again then it's a dead PSU, if it does not then it could be a mother board issue, or it could be that the PSU isn't being stressed enough to duplicate the symptoms.

suggestion = get a laptop, wiping it clean, put a dual-boot XP/7 on that, get it on eBay.?