New gaming computer randomly freezes during play

[denominator]

8GB RAM with CPU 3.5GHz, I'm at a loss why your computer could ever freeze...

OMG pro trolling bro! Get out..

I don't know how to check CPU, if you let me know how I can check for you.

As for the hard drive it is a western digital 1 terrabyte HD, with around 800gb of space left.

I haven't done stress testing as I am a novice :/

I don't think the power supplying is failing because the computer doesn't shut down, the screen just freezes and I can't move my mouse.



Also for the posters above who mentioned using disk cleanup, I just did, but that doesn't seem like a permanent solution, as it only cleared up 1.38 gb of space, is there a way to "set a higher limit" (it mentioned that it was due to user-set limits) so this doesn't happen later?

Towards disc clean-up: it's referencing the check boxes you select before starting. 1.38Gb seems a normal amount of space to recover.
Now that it has been determined that you do have an HDD if you want to follow other posters and defrag you can: although it isn't likely to be a HDD issue.

I'm still banking on PSU problems or a fault somewhere (RAM?).

You said you updated your drivers in one of the posts: did you do an update before that or was the problem always present?

At this point, since the system hangs and there is no BSOD it "probably" isn't a GPU issue. CPU is possible, but would likely give a BSOD. Regardless, it's probably safe to stress test and see if we can reproduce the problem.

Download a temperature monitor (I like realtemp) but there is plenty of options, like speed fan (Which would probably be best here). Then download prime95 and run it for a while.
Make sure to note down the temperatures and voltages of everything that's available at the time of the crash/after a little while of running.

[Woltereck]

If you're running Windows 7 you don't have to defrag, since the OS on a fresh install automatically configures defrag on a daily basis. Unless of course you turned it off. My computer use to randomly just shut off during gaming, I found out I had my HD plugged into a bad sata port. Try switching sata ports on your motherboard.

[Mynta]

You said you updated your drivers in one of the posts: did you do an update before that or was the problem always present?

At this point, since the system hangs and there is no BSOD it "probably" isn't a GPU issue. CPU is possible, but would likely give a BSOD. Regardless, it's probably safe to stress test and see if we can reproduce the problem.

Download a temperature monitor (I like realtemp) but there is plenty of options, like speed fan (Which would probably be best here). Then download prime95 and run it for a while.
Make sure to note down the temperatures and voltages of everything that's available at the time of the crash/after a little while of running.

synthaxx, I did what you recommended, haven't played anything today yet, maybe that will solve it upright.

Problem was always present, first I thought it was just Rage but then I started noticing it after I downloaded other games.

Currently running prime95 and speed fan, how long should I wait to post temps?

[denominator]

synthaxx, I did what you recommended, haven't played anything today yet, maybe that will solve it upright.

Problem was always present, first I thought it was just Rage but then I started noticing it after I downloaded other games.

Currently running prime95 and speed fan, how long should I wait to post temps?

Temps.. maybe 5-10m but keep it running for an hour at least if you can.

[Mynta]

Temps.. maybe 5-10m but keep it running for an hour at least if you can.

I opened up prime, does it start on its own? not sure how io get it to test anything...


speedfan tells me the following:


gpu 31C
system 27C
cpu 45C
AUX 49C

but again, i might not be running prime correctly.

[Shakadam]

This sounds a lot like the problems I had with my computer earlier. In the end I found that my problems were caused by some kind of incompatibility between motherboard and RAM, specifically, I used 4 ram sticks that required higher than normal voltage to operate, and my motherboard simply did not want to supply enough voltage no matter what I tweaked. I changed my RAM to just 2 sticks at normal (1,5volt) voltage and I've never had a problem since.


It's of course no guarantee that your problem is the same. However, you could check how many sticks of RAM you're using and what voltage they're running at (or supposed to run at).

[Smerfnurblin]

yeah your specs look good I suspect a ram stick not sitting properly

[Derivatives]

Where in the event log can I find the error code?

I started defragmenting my hard drive, should be done soon.

Sorry I had to laugh. DON'T USE THE WINDOWS DEFRAG. It's not as good of quality as Defraggler. Use this:
http://www.filehippo.com/download_defraggler
It is far superior, i've used it for years, it's efficient, and FREE! =) I've had new random weird lag with my laptop. I just restored it to factory settings. It seems to be working better, but i'll have to test it when I finish up with the WoW install lol. 4.3 gigs in patches left

[Mynta]

yeah your specs look good I suspect a ram stick not sitting properly

Well i'll check today, hope that's it cause it's really frustrating waiting in SWTOR queues for an hour, only to freeze after 10 minutes of playing, then get another 30 minute queue.


also downloaded cc cleaner and defraggler

speed fan tells me my cpu is running at 68*c, seems a bit hot honestly

[Loaf Lord]

Your computer wouldn't happen to be the HP pavilion elite e9180f would it?

[Mynta]

yeah your specs look good I suspect a ram stick not sitting properly

Thing is, the noctua fan is quite huge, My case is the obsidian corsair full tower, nonetheless, I had to remove one of the RAMs heatsinks in order to fit it under the massive fan, it barely fits in there, think this might be why?

---------- Post added 2011-12-18 at 12:07 AM ----------

Your computer wouldn't happen to be the HP pavilion elite e9180f would it?

no its custom built with parts mainly suggested by Chaud

---------- Post added 2011-12-18 at 12:34 AM ----------

yeah the mean temp of my CPu is 77*C, thats bad, whats wierd is I have all my fans running and what not.

[denominator]

Is this your first build? A common mistake is to put an absurd amount of Thermal paste on (you only need a dot/dab). This would cause higher than average CPU temp.

Is the cpu overclocked?
What is the ambient temperature in the case?
What was the cpu load when you took these readings?

[Distorter]

I know you have had a lot of suggestions already but when we get a pc in for repair, the first thing we do is run memtest on the pc. Even if the problem doesnt seem like it could be related to ram, generally it is.

If your Ram passes then try the Seagate or Western Digital HD tools to check out your hard drive.

Try loading factory defaults in the bios as well, if able borrow a mates graphics card to test out in your PC.

[Mynta]

I know you have had a lot of suggestions already but when we get a pc in for repair, the first thing we do is run memtest on the pc. Even if the problem doesnt seem like it could be related to ram, generally it is.

If your Ram passes then try the Seagate or Western Digital HD tools to check out your hard drive.

Try loading factory defaults in the bios as well, if able borrow a mates graphics card to test out in your PC.

How much Ram memory should I test? it says my version of windows limits the amount of RAM any one program can use.

---------- Post added 2011-12-18 at 05:31 AM ----------

Is this your first build? A common mistake is to put an absurd amount of Thermal paste on (you only need a dot/dab). This would cause higher than average CPU temp.

Is the cpu overclocked?
What is the ambient temperature in the case?
What was the cpu load when you took these readings?

I made sure not put put too much paste, so that shouldn't be the reason. I don't know if I have it overclocking at the moment and I don't know how o check the load. Sorry I am not very useful, i am not much of a computer person

---------- Post added 2011-12-18 at 06:48 AM ----------

RAM is not the issue, just did a windows memory diagnostic scan, no problems found.

At this point i'm thinking it may be a power supply issue: not equally distributing, or something else like CPu overheat.

[Shakadam]

I can still be a RAM issue even though memtest or windows diagnostic doesn't report any errors. Believe me I had memtest running for hours with no faults on my machine but in the end it was still the RAM that was the problem

Honestly an issue like what you're describing can to my knowledge only depend on:
A: Faulty or other RAM related problem
B: CPU, RAM or chipset (motherboard) overheating

If it was a power supply problem it would be easy to replicate, as it would always happen during high load. It your problem is happening randomly while gaming it's unlikely it's a PSU issue.

A very easy way to rule out 99% of all RAM issues is to remove all RAM sticks and then install and check them one by one.

[Cilraaz]

speed fan tells me my cpu is running at 68*c, seems a bit hot honestly

What conditions are showing this temp? 68°C idle is worrysome. 68°C during gaming is okay, but not great. 68°C under a stress test is awesome.

Note: Temp levels stated above are specific to the OP's CPU. Anyone with an AMD should ignore them.

[Mynta]

What conditions are showing this temp? 68°C idle is worrysome. 68°C during gaming is okay, but not great. 68°C under a stress test is awesome.

Note: Temp levels stated above are specific to the OP's CPU. Anyone with an AMD should ignore them.

Once it was under stress testing and now i just have a game up in the background and it says it is at 83*C which is quite frankly impossible, as I have it hooked up to the Noctua N-14 and have all the sides fans runnng, I think SpeedFan isn't reading the temperature correctly.

Yes I just downloaded RealTemp and it has my temperatures between 20 and 30*C

[Yohassakura]

Once it was under stress testing and now i just have a game up in the background and it says it is at 83*C which is quite frankly impossible, as I have it hooked up to the Noctua N-14 and have all the sides fans runnng, I think SpeedFan isn't reading the temperature correctly.

Yes I just downloaded RealTemp and it has my temperatures between 20 and 30*C

Well - assuming that speedfan isn't broke:

It's very possible that you haven't connected it properly (the heat sink isn't close enough to the CPU), or applied your thermal paste incorrectly. - You want a pea-sized bit of paste, and squish the paste down with the heat sink, so it spreads out in between any of the gaps, which it's supposed to cover.

>The thermal paste is only supposed to cover parts where there would be air between the heat sink and the CPU<

This is image is roughly what a close up picture of thermal paste does for a heatsink and CPU:



Unfortunately, I couldn't find the picture I wanted to show.

The red line is the ideal straight, the green and blue is the paste, and the jaggedy black lines is the actual surfaces of the CPU and the heatsink. As it's quite hard to get a perfectly straight CPU and Heatsink plate, you use thermal paste.

You can ofc lap the heat sink, (and even make it reflect light like a mirror) - This one is fairly well done: image. Although you shouldn't lap the CPU, for obvious reasons

Anyways, the TIM is just to cover any gaps (the paste is more conductive than air), not to smother the CPU (less conductive than bare CPU/heatsink).

When your specs far outweigh the game and it's still locking up, it tends to be:
Heat (possibly not, if it is actually 30*~C)
Hard drive - Assuming it's not nearing its maximum capacity; (You can check it with Crystal Disk Info)
Software/Drivers - They are generally to do with the GPU in games, although other drivers can affect a games performance.
Hardware failure - Possibly the PSU not being able to deal with the stress that the GPU and CPU are causing, when they both need to work hard to render games. (Although the make and model seem fair, you may be unlucky, or a cable is loose).

Although other people have said some of these points, I thought I'd reaffirm them, and possibly add some things which haven't been mentioned before.

[Mynta]

Well - assuming that speedfan isn't broke:

It's very possible that you haven't connected it properly (the heat sink isn't close enough to the CPU), or applied your thermal paste incorrectly. - You want a pea-sized bit of paste, and squish the paste down with the heat sink, so it spreads out in between any of the gaps, which it's supposed to cover.

>The thermal paste is only supposed to cover parts where there would be air between the heat sink and the CPU<

This is image is roughly what a close up picture of thermal paste does for a heatsink and CPU:



Unfortunately, I couldn't find the picture I wanted to show.

The red line is the ideal straight, the green and blue is the paste, and the jaggedy black lines is the actual surfaces of the CPU and the heatsink. As it's quite hard to get a perfectly straight CPU and Heatsink plate, you use thermal paste.

You can ofc lap the heat sink, (and even make it reflect light like a mirror) - This one is fairly well done: image. Although you shouldn't lap the CPU, for obvious reasons

Anyways, the TIM is just to cover any gaps (the paste is more conductive than air), not to smother the CPU (less conductive than bare CPU/heatsink).

When your specs far outweigh the game and it's still locking up, it tends to be:
Heat (possibly not, if it is actually 30*~C)
Hard drive - Assuming it's not nearing its maximum capacity; (You can check it with Crystal Disk Info)
Software/Drivers - They are generally to do with the GPU in games, although other drivers can affect a games performance.
Hardware failure - Possibly the PSU not being able to deal with the stress that the GPU and CPU are causing, when they both need to work hard to render games. (Although the make and model seem fair, you may be unlucky, or a cable is loose).

Although other people have said some of these points, I thought I'd reaffirm them, and possibly add some things which haven't been mentioned before.

Ok, well I've exhausted other alternatives, is it safe to remove the heatsink and try to reapply the paste? I will also try and take the ram out and put them back in,

[Zulandia]

If you go to reapply the paste make sure you carefully remove all the old stuff first, Pure acetone or pure Iso-propyl alcohol (or as close as you can find) and then apply with a q-tip is the easiest/safest way.