PC freezes randomly, no BSOD

[theRealKarlos]

Hello, Thanks for taking the time to read.

I have recently begun getting random 'PC freezes', there seems to be no particular thing I am doing at the time examples are:

While idle, pc will freeze, no response and only way to recover is a 4s power button.
I can play games for hours at a time and then get 2 freezes as above in a short space of time.
Watching youtube or other Flash content seems to cause this issue more than anything, but that's just my perception.

Sometimes the freeze is accompanied by sound, either a buzzing sound or a 'loop' of the last sound played.

I have tried 2 graphics cards, both AMD. I have removed and reinstalled the drivers, tried the beta drivers as well. Problem persists.

I have run memtest for 16 hours that shows no errors.

I have monitored my temps with HWmonitor while playing games. My PC is overclocked custom build from overclockers.co.uk, the CPU never seems to get above 70C under load, 60C playing games.

I have cleaned out the case and fans, am currently running with the case open to see if it runs cooler, but problem persists.

Initial thoughts were the VIA audio driver causing an issue but I've tried using MS drivers and still still the issue. I am leaning towards a hardware fault as the cause of the problem, but am unsure how to proceed.

I have tried updating all the chipset drivers, SSD firmware that I can find, still having the issue.

Any help reading the dumps much appreciated.

Regards

Karl

 

[HarriePateman]

Can i suggest Clocking back to stock and see if the problem persists.

 

[theRealKarlos]

I went to the BIOS and loaded the default optimized settings, the PC failed to boot and BSOD'd. Went back to the BIOS and loaded the overclocked profile and then removed the OC from the CPU, leaving the memory timings as per the OC profile. PC boots and am testing now.

FYI, I swapped out the PSU with my other PC and the problem persists. So that should rule out a duff PSU.

 

[theRealKarlos]

Well it would appear the simplest solution was the way to go. Had an evening of gaming, left PC on over night and no problems. It would seem that an OC that has been stable for over a year is no longer stable.

CPU temps were slightly down, but not a massive reduction.

Would this mean that a component is failing, or is it just bad luck?

 

[Golden]

Stress test the CPU. Run the VERY HIGH test 10 times, and report findings and maximum temperatures:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/220743-cpu-stress-test-using-intelburntest.html

How many passes of MemTest86+ did you run?

 

[theRealKarlos]

MemTest86+ did 9 passes.

Stress test results:
Idle temp of CPU is 37C.

CPU maxed at 94C, but 90C was roughly where it was for most of the test. Core 0 seemed to be 15-20C lower than the other 3 at around 70C.

Voltage was 1.276V max

To my untrained eye this looks like my heatsink/thermal paste is not seated correctly on the CPU.

 

[Golden]

ARK | Intel® Core? i5-3570K Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.80 GHz)

It may be worth re-applying new the TPM. What CPU cooling arrangement is being used?

 

[theRealKarlos]

I don't know the exact cooler, but it looks like this. Big split heatsink with 2 fans. There are also 2 intake fans on the front of the case with rear and top exhaust fans.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[HarriePateman]

Glad i could help.