Random/odd freezes on new build

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Hi. I just finished my first build a couple of days ago and I've been having these
completely random freezes/lock-ups that literally has me on the brink of table
flipping everything and lighting the machine on fire.

Essentially what happens is I can be watching some random youtube videos/trailers on IMDB while browsing various forums and the system would freeze. Last night I was skyping with a buddy of mine casually downloading a game through Steam and it locked up. I resetted the system and first thing I did was boot skype and the machine froze in the process with pretty much nothing else open. Also like I said, the lock-ups are completely random. If I'm lucky, I can go for like 10 hours without any issues, other times it'll freeze the moment i reboot.

I've ruled out the ram being an issue, since I have run both memtest86 AND the memory diagnostic that comes with Windows, I have tried testing each stick individually and the problem persists. I have even tried putting some old ram from my previous system and I get the exact same issue. I have flashed my bios and I am running the latest drivers for everything and they're all up-to-date.

I've stress tested the system with OCCT without getting any freezes, and I've run chkdsk /r and /f and SFC /scannow and so forth, they all come out without any errors. I even tried formatting everything and yet the freezes still occur. The temps inside my case are fine so its not overheating either. I'm thinking its either the mobo/HDD or PSU acting up but I really have no clue when it comes to these things. The place I ordered all the parts from was no help either when I called them so yeah.

My specs (no overclocks):
p8z77-v LK
gigabyte gtx 670
3570k
g.skill ares 2x4gb running at 1600 @ cl9
samsung 840 pro SSD (main/boot drive), only HDD I'm running since I don't need more
space for storage.
PSU is a corsair tx650 and the dvd burner is some random cheapo drive from liteon.

I'm sorry for the ''wall of text'' but that's about the best I can do.
 
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ronintexas

ronintexas

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Dec 10, 2012
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Have you examined your windows logs? Often the diagnostics can be found there - or at least give a clue where to start looking. To pull up your logs, go to the control panel, and in the search box, type "view event logs" - then click the view event logs. Look for errors and/or warnings and note them.
 
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I forgot to mention, I'm running on Windows 8. I'm in the Event Viewer under Windows Logs and there's several critical/error events under both System and Application. Most of them seems to be related to the fact the system didn't shutdown properly due to forced restarts. (source: kernel-power).

Also I logged this from last friday: The driver detected a controller error on \Device\Harddisk1\DR1.
 
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I do not. I used the Samsung Magician software to ''optimize'' my SSD, and then I went straight into advanced power options and turned off hibernation/hdd sleep. Everything is set to max performance.
 
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No red X's, nor any exclamation marks anywhere in device manager even with hidden devices ticked. - I'm on Win8 x64
 
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Just ran the torture test for 30 minutes so far without any issues.
I can try leaving it on overnight, but I don't think it'll freeze because of the stresstesting when it happens on idle aswell. I'm not the expert here tho :p
 
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Poprin

Poprin

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Dec 13, 2012
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You have a good PSU in your machine but is it new? This sounds a lot like a PSU issue. When the event log only shows power loss critical events it generally points to PSU. Especially with the randomness of the crashes. This would be my first thought if someone handed me this to fix, I would swap this out first if you have a spare unit and see if you regain stability.
 
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Unfortunately I do not have any spare parts other than the ram I mentioned earlier.
All the parts are brand new and ordered from the same site, which is also why I have not RMA'd anything yet.
 
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TenPc

TenPc

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Jul 11, 2012
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Pauses, delays, minor freezing could infer a lack of communication between the ram and the cpu, also with the gpu. Sometimes the hdd can cause the problem if the free space is less than 25%.

How many internal fans, what type of cooling for the cpu, is the space inside the case cramped or allows circulaiton of air flow. Many cases nowadays are rather slim and also have the PSU based at the bottomn of the case. I saw one that had the PSU side panel fan pointing to the base where the case actually sits on and that could cause the PSU to become rather hot, no airflow under the casing.

In a diffeent case (no pun intended, or maybe there is), the psu side fan pointed directly at the video card and caused the video card fan to become slow, and excessivley hot, from the affect of the psu side fan.

If there are no internal fans then the inside of the PC case could be suffocating your hardware, even with the side off, the room temperature would have to be rather chilly for it not to affect the median (ambient) temp of the case insides.

Could you take a few pics of your case connections, there is not a lot of other alternatives, at least we can see whether you have proper air flow available.
 
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http://i.imgur.com/PR4jiEc.jpg
Let me just start by saying sorry for the image quality, the best camera I have available atm is the one on my phone.
The case is a Fractal Design Define R4 and the fan from the PSU is facing down on the dust filter. I know I haven't done any cable management but the temps both on idle (and while gaming/stress testing) are ''fine'' I'd say. While running prime95 the cpu did not go above 68 degrees. In Far Cry 3 on ultra (DX11) both the gpu and cpu stay at around 65ish. Idle temps is around 32 @ cpu and 35 on the gpu. SSD is running at 23º and mobo sits at 26º (all values in celsius). This is after the machine has been turned on for, almost 5 hours now without any issues.
 
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TenPc

TenPc

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Jul 11, 2012
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From what I've read at the first details, "I was skyping with a buddy of mine casually downloading a game through Steam and it locked up. I resetted the system and first thing I did was boot skype and the machine froze in the process with pretty much nothing else open." in both instances, the system froze when you initiated "Skype". Although it's most likely not the problem of Skype (are there any updates for it?), it's more likely a power issue stemming from the reasons as stated below.

There is a download for "Skype for Windows 8"
https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA12145/what-is-skype-for-windows-8

From the picture, you are using molex cables for the second set of connectors of the video card? That's a big problem in itself. If your PSU does not support a second set of connectors, using molex with a connector cable is drawing double rate power from the PSU, you could be exceeding its limits. Molex powr connectors deliver a slightly different voltage/amp (miniscule) than the other types of connectors however, anything different than what is expected could be problematical. You need a PSU that actually has the correct cables provided, possibly the Corsair cx650 would suit better.

The underside of the PSU, possibly has a side panel fan, the PC case is sitting on it, causing a blockage of sorts for air flow, that could be overheating the PSU. Use some books at each end of the case to raise the PC case so there is airflow underneath. I'm not sure that a dust filter is such a good idea for the PSU side panel fan, it coud be impeding airflow, depending on how close it is situated to the fan itself.

Overall, when you initate Skype, there is a mean (median?) draw of power for it to become activated, this could be that the PSU is being overused, the power requirement is in excess or the cabling is wrong and causing some sort of mixed power resource. Basically, you need a proper PSU that has the proper cabling. It should "hopefully" solve your issues (as well as rainsing the PC case off the desktop). :)
 
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They are. I've tried running them in X.M.P and even underclocking them, they are running at the correct voltage too (1.5v)
 
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I just noticed I'm actually running the older version of Skype (not the one for W8) but could it be the reason why my system locks up? I didn't really look too much into the different options in PSU's when I build this, I was however considering getting a modular model (such as the CX you mentioned). Should I try RMA'ing it and see if I can get my hands on a CX600M? When I made this the PSUfinder on Corsairs site suggested me to get one at 500-550W, I just decided to go with the TX650 since it was listed there aswell for the build I made, and figured in case I was gonna upgrade my GPU or something in the future I wouldn't have to worry about needing more power. I have no intention to ever OC the gpu, nor run sli/crossfire
 
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TenPc

TenPc

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The psu does not have the proper cablling for the PSU, that is a big issue. RMA it if possible and get a PSU that has the extra six pin connector (you need two sets) for the video card. The underside of the case is facing down on the desk, that could be impeding airflow for the PSU.

The cx650M could be the answer as long as it has the porper cabling. The 500 to 550 watt PSU would be suited if the 12v rail was 450 watts or higher (most of them are not as much) and is 80% efficiency. I've never seen a 500 or 550 watt PSU that is less than 4 years old and they are not rated 80% nor are they high in 12v rail voltage.

You need to ensure that your Skype is the correct one for the OS otherwise it might cause some freezing issues.
 
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This is rather embarrassing :( I just noticed there was an additional one of these: http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/pcie6plus2.jpg
coming out from the PSU, I took the molex connector off (the one that came with my GPU) and plugged that thingy in there. Seems to be working now (can't say for the lock-ups) since it has been running for 6+ hours today with the molex connector attached to it.

EDIT: Well, my machine had been running for ~9 hours after I switched away from the molex connectors and like 10 seconds after I started downloading a game on steam (again) my system froze. Skype has been running for the full 9 hours (in conversation) without any complaints. I rebooted again and managed to finish downloading black ops 2 from start till finish without any freezing.
 
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TenPc

TenPc

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A long time since replying, how are things working out?

I think your Steam download froze because of the Skype interaction, best to do your downloading from Steam ( a hog for resources) without other apps open, and from a restart or cold boot.

I dislike Steam, if youhappenchance to update your system or browser, Steam also needs to be updated and not kust a few kb, more like 30 to 300 mb of data.

Always better to use the connectors from the PSU rather than molex adpters, at least then you are assured of the correct power cable.
 
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I decided to RMA the psu, ssd and mobo - should be back here on monday I'll do a fresh windows install and see what will happen from there.
 
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TenPc

TenPc

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Thanks for replying, you might want to consider the Skype for Windows 8, they say that if you have a previous version to uninstall it before install the Windows 8 version.

Try to avoid having so many apps running al at the same time, many people do it and then wonder why their system freezes.
Windows 8 is basically a bare bones OS, you might not be able to run too many apps anyhow.
 
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