BSOD & Crashing when gaming/streaming.

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  1. Posts : 21
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
       #1

    BSOD & Crashing when gaming/streaming.


    Hello, I have recently built a new computer and I have been getting BSOD's and most recently complete crashes, where the screen either freezes or goes black and plays a recurring noise through the speakers, requiring a restart. Which happens either when gaming or once when I was buffering a video in fullscreen. Happens across multiple games, even ones that do not load my ststem very much. Often after 5 - 10 minutes of playing, varies.

    System Specs:

    OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit (OEM version)
    Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3
    CPU: AMD Bulldozer FX-6200 3.8GHz Black Edition
    GPU: AMD/ATI 1GB Radeon 6850
    RAM: (8GB total) 2x4GB Corsair Vengeance PC3-12800C9 - Running at 1333MHz
    PSU: OCZ ZS Series 550W 80+ Bronze

    CASE: Xclio Propeller ATX
    Keyboard: Logitech G15 (Revised)
    Mouse: Microsoft Sidewinder
    HDD(s):750GB Western Digital, SATA, 7200RPM - 250GB SATA

    All internal hardware has been purchased by me over the last 6 months, the CPU is about a week old, as is the motherboard and RAM. The rest varies, I used some components in my old system such as the GPU and PSU.

    I do not overclock any of my hardware.

    I have recently done a fresh install of Windows 7 when I put together my new PC a week ago or so. I have been using the OS and key for maybe 2 years. No problems.

    Temperatures:

    My CPU sometimes overheats slightly when under high load, I have set the BIOS to give me a warning sound when the temperature hits 60°C (to which I then shut down the computer instantly) This has randomly happened, sometimes when not actually under load?, (it has been acting strangely, but seems ok now) I set the BIOS to keep the CPU fan at 100% now and it doesn't overheat on games, only when something really loads the CPU.

    Temperatures from CoreTemp 1.0 and PC Wizard 2012, AMD Vision where applicable:

    CPU:
    Idle (now): 11°C - 16°C
    Load (gaming): 29°C - 38°C
    Load (100%): 50°C - 60°C+

    GPU:
    Idle (now): 43°C - 46°C
    Load (gaming): 60°C - 80°C

    HDD(s):
    Idle (now): 31°C and 32°C
    Load: Not sure.

    BIOS: System and CPU temperatures after a crash are between 30°C and 40°C

    I have attached the files requested by the posting instructions, I'll tell you what I have tried so far.

    For about 3 days now I have had this issue, it started with Blue Screens, but over the last day or so has stopped blue screening and now simply outright crashes instead. (The BSOD/dumps have stopped happening now, but still might show the reason for my crashing instead)

    Memtest86+, no errors, completed.
    S.M.A.R.T HDD test, both are healthy.
    CHKDSK: No problems.

    CPU stress test, at 100% load for too long, it sets off my BIOS alarm, I always cut it off at that point to avoid damage. (Games never load my CPU to 100%, it often hovers between 20% and 40%)

    Updated BIOS: This motherboard only has 1 version available so far.

    Updated all of my drivers, some manually, others through a driver updater.

    Underclocked my CPU, still crashed. (software)
    Turned off 2 cores, still crashed. (BIOS)

    Reseated my RAM, just to be sure.

    Loaded BIOS fail-safe defaults and optimized defaults, neither helped.

    Windowed a game, lowered resolution and graphics, ran PC Wizard and CoreTemp at the side of my screen and played the game. Still crashed, but no temperatures looked worrying at the time of the crash.

    And probably another 20 or so random tests and checks, including testing with power options etc... nothing has worked, and I have been looking at a LOT of threads on similar issues others have had, and I have tried using their solutions which haven't worked either.

    This is my last resort, please help.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 1,314
    Windows 7 64-bit
       #2

    CPUs have become more resilient to heat lately (though not as much as GPUs), so 60C is very cool and is a good stable region to keep it in (even old CPUs handle 60C very well). It's only when you start getting close or above 80C is when you need to rethink your cooling.

    It's never good to keep the CPU fan running 100% constantly. It places extreme wear on the bearings and other internal parts of the fan and will greatly shorten its lifespan. As an example, a lot of laptops have had recalls or BIOS updates because a bug in the BIOS or hardware would cause their CPU fan to stay at 100% and would die in a couple months of use, resulting in overheating. Not good. There should be an automatic fan speed adjustment on your motherboard, which will work fine for you.

    I want to note that while 550W does reach the minimum req for your GPU, it also is very close to it (50W off). It is often good to leave at least a 100W gap from the minimum to consider other items such as the CPU, HDs, etc. You will want to keep the PSU away from 80% load as much as you possibly can. Any time it hits above that the parts start degrading rapidly (may already have).

    You'll want to run a battery of hardware tests. Considering Memtest, how many passes did you run on it? It should be at least 7 consecutive passes (best to just let it run overnight). The rest are as followed:

    CPU: Prime95 - Torture Test; Blend; overnight (9+ hours)
    GPU: MemtestCL - Run twice (if any of the tests work on your GPU; ATI cards will need to install the ATI APP SDK as it requires OpenCL)
    Drives: Seatools - All basic tests aside from the Fix all or the advanced ones.

    All of these (excluding MemtestCL) are included in the UBCD if you prefer a Live CD environment (which is the best environment to test hardware on). Note that Prime95 currently does not work on the UBCD. Also, please provide us temps/voltages using HWInfo with Sensors only option checked. Log two 30-minute instances: one for idle, and one for high load.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 21
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Vir Gnarus said:
    CPUs have become more resilient to heat lately (though not as much as GPUs), so 60C is very cool and is a good stable region to keep it in (even old CPUs handle 60C very well). It's only when you start getting close or above 80C is when you need to rethink your cooling.

    It's never good to keep the CPU fan running 100% constantly. It places extreme wear on the bearings and other internal parts of the fan and will greatly shorten its lifespan. As an example, a lot of laptops have had recalls or BIOS updates because a bug in the BIOS or hardware would cause their CPU fan to stay at 100% and would die in a couple months of use, resulting in overheating. Not good. There should be an automatic fan speed adjustment on your motherboard, which will work fine for you.

    I want to note that while 550W does reach the minimum req for your GPU, it also is very close to it (50W off). It is often good to leave at least a 100W gap from the minimum to consider other items such as the CPU, HDs, etc. You will want to keep the PSU away from 80% load as much as you possibly can. Any time it hits above that the parts start degrading rapidly (may already have).

    You'll want to run a battery of hardware tests. Considering Memtest, how many passes did you run on it? It should be at least 7 consecutive passes (best to just let it run overnight). The rest are as followed:

    CPU: Prime95 - Torture Test; Blend; overnight (9+ hours)
    GPU: MemtestCL - Run twice (if any of the tests work on your GPU; ATI cards will need to install the ATI APP SDK as it requires OpenCL)
    Drives: Seatools - All basic tests aside from the Fix all or the advanced ones.

    All of these (excluding MemtestCL) are included in the UBCD if you prefer a Live CD environment (which is the best environment to test hardware on). Note that Prime95 currently does not work on the UBCD. Also, please provide us temps/voltages using HWInfo with Sensors only option checked. Log two 30-minute instances: one for idle, and one for high load.
    From research the AMD FX chips have a maximum safe temperature of 61°C, all AMD chips have max temperatures between 60°C and 75°C usually. Intel is similar but generally better. I know you can go beyond those, but I like to stay within the guide.

    I'll go into the BIOS and turn back on the smart CPU fan function, thank you for that information.

    I ran Memtest86+ for 8 passes.

    I did a Prime95 torture test a few days ago, but after a few minutes my PC started screaming that the temperature was over 60°C so I stopped it for safety.

    I'll try Seatools.


    I have actually just ran a manual test out of curiosity, I took the side of my case off and took a desk fan, turned it on full blast and pointed it at my pc. (probably not recommended...) Then went on a game, played for a good 1 hour and a half with no problems atall. CoreTemp has a G15 app so my keyboard LCD lets me watch my CPU temperature while gaming, and it valued the temperature between 30°C - 32°C at all times, the CPU load varied between 50% and 70% (I think I underestimated the gaming load in my initial post)

    So in a game that could hardly give me 10 - 15 minutes before crashing, I managed to play for 1 hour and a half with that fan blowing, so it must be an overheating issue :/ , my legs got really cold though.

    My case, an Xclio Propeller actually has a 36cm fan on that side of the case, which I used to have on when gaming, but this new system for some reason doesn't power the fan, it powers the LED's on the fan, but I can't actually turn the fan on...



    So... if I got that working, it would give a similar effect and stop my PC crashing.

    I'd still like to figure out what exactly was overheating though.


    I think it might be the northbridge, the heatsink gets really hot to touch, GIGABYTE have it attached with two spring loaded plastic... things. And the heatsink seems to move slightly, I might have knocked it during installation, what do you think?, it doesn't feel properly attached and locked down to the board.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 1,314
    Windows 7 64-bit
       #4

    Yer right, I forgot that AMDs are far more susceptible to heat than Intel CPUs. In that case, you'll want to consider doing something about that side case fan.

    For temps I often use HwInfo as previously instructed. Make sure to turn on Sensors only at startup.

    As for the heatsink, I don't believe the heatsink should jostle in any way. Any sort of leeway says that the heatsink is not firmly flush and seated properly on the northbridge. This could certainly be a problem in high load situations.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 21
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Vir Gnarus said:
    Yer right, I forgot that AMDs are far more susceptible to heat than Intel CPUs. In that case, you'll want to consider doing something about that side case fan.

    For temps I often use HwInfo as previously instructed. Make sure to turn on Sensors only at startup.

    As for the heatsink, I don't believe the heatsink should jostle in any way. Any sort of leeway says that the heatsink is not firmly flush and seated properly on the northbridge. This could certainly be a problem in high load situations.
    I have completed a 30 minute idle log on HwInfo, how would you suggest doing one under high load?, I have never used the program before so I'm not sure if it is an option, or if not how would you suggest I create that environment to run the test?

    I appreciate your help.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 1,314
    Windows 7 64-bit
       #6

    You simply log a session of, say, gaming with heavy graphics, or run a benchmark like Furmark or Unigine.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 21
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Vir Gnarus said:
    You simply log a session of, say, gaming with heavy graphics, or run a benchmark like Furmark or Unigine.
    I'll do that then, hopefully my PC won't crash, I have doubts I could last 30 minutes on a game though without that desk fan :/. Not sure how my computer will handle a benchmark, only one way to find out.


    EDIT: Just ran HWiNFO64 and logged while playing one of the games that makes me crash, I ran the test for 30 - 40 minutes or so while gaming flawlessly, I then stopped the logging and closed HWiNFO64 while still in game, about 5 minutes of playing later, if that, my computer crashed. Very odd, it seems to me that running it actually let me play the game. Unless it was just a coincidence.

    The game doesn't load my PC fully (I think), but my pc always crashes when playing it so surely something will appear abnormal. Anyways, I zipped the files and attached them to this post.
    Last edited by FreaK367; 14 Mar 2012 at 21:18.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 1,314
    Windows 7 64-bit
       #8

    Something dreadfully concerns me.

    In your voltage readouts, your 3.3v and your 12v rails are both reporting extreme skews (~2.0v for 3.3v, and ~8v for 12v). If these can be trusted, then it means your PSU must be replaced ASAP. If they can't be trusted, then I presume you may have issues with your motherboard.

    To confirm if this is true, you'll want to see if your BIOS tells you voltage readouts anywhere in it and verify what it's telling you. Most often the motherboards will only show memory and vcore, but you may have one that will display rail voltages as well. BIOS readouts are usually more reliable than software, but be advised that neither are 100% guarantee, and your best bet to determine the output with trustworthy accuracy is with a multimeter. Instructions are available here. It's an old article but it still applies.

    If the BIOS says nothing and you aren't willing to grab a multimeter, try some other software like CPU Fan and perhaps any software that comes with your motherboard that shows readings (you'll want the latest from the motherboard manufacturer's website, and even then after you're done using it I'd recommend uninstalling it as they're prone to have bugs). Of course, as mentioned before, these are not guaranteed, but if all of them show up the same average voltages as I mentioned, then we're looking at a bad PSU.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 21
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Hmmm, sounds worrying.

    I really hope it isn't the PSU, I only bought it on the 7th of last month, used it with my old system without any problems for some weeks then changed the motherboard, CPU and RAM with a fresh install of Windows 7.

    I went into the BIOS and monitored the voltages, they were as follows:

    +12v = 12.168
    +3.3v = 3.340 - 3.360

    EasyTune6 which is software that came with the motherboard, show the voltages as:

    +12v = 12.160
    +3.3v = 3.340 - 3.360

    So, the same as the BIOS.

    I don't have a multimeter at the moment, there might be one around the house somewhere, but I'd need to ask my brother when he gets in from work tonight.

    Hope this helps.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 1,314
    Windows 7 64-bit
       #10

    Are those voltage settings are actual readings? If they're readings, than those are a lot more of a relief. It just means that HWInfo has trouble reading the voltage sensor output on your motherboard.

    As for the temps, I did not see anything worrying. Again, it may be the temp sensors being read incorrectly from the motherboard as well, I'm not sure. But nothing looks troubling.

    Anyways, so far from tests and all, nothing is apparent. You'll want to check on that 32mm fan, as well as reconnect and re-seat everything just to be sure. Also, please send any more crashdumps you may have, as analyzing from just one doesn't exactly do the job (especially if it's just a minidump). You'll also might want to turn on Driver Verifier. If for some reason this does happen to be a software bug (doubtful), Driver Verifier should catch it and BSOD your system. Provide us any resulting crashdumps. Note that aside from keeping Low Resource Simulation unchecked in Driver Verifier as instructed, also do the same for Force Pending I/O Request and IRP Logging. All three are no-nos.
      My Computer


 
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