Frequent crashes while gaming, need help!

David Henderson · Jun 6, 2013

My computer crashes while playing games. The screen either goes black or more commonly some shade of gray with many white vertical lines. The current sound continues for about four seconds then starts skipping. Eventually the computer just turns off (usually I just turn it off).

The crashing is really variable. Sometimes it can happen five times in a day or not for a week. It seems to crash more using higher graphics (not at all on older games unless modded), but I have not kept a record. I will say the probability of a crash definitely goes up while gaming and streaming a video.

I recently bought two new sticks of RAM but it kept happening (tried all permutations of RAM, now I just have all 4 in there). I have all the temperature tracking stuff and that all seems fine, no spiking or overheating. I'm a total noob at this stuff and any help would be appreciated.

I built this computer from a techreport.com custom build guideline

Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 520 Bronze 520W
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LK
CPU: Intel Core i5-3450
GPU: Radeon HD 7850
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 16GB (4x4GB)
Harddrives: OCZ Agility 3 SSD (runs operating system)
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB
Case: NZXT H2
Monitor: ViewSonic VA2248m-LED

Gamoholic · Jun 6, 2013

I would bet it is a faulty GPU. Try running Furmark.

David Henderson · Jun 6, 2013

I used Furmark for like an hour. My GPU temp went up to 81 C and my CPU's wavered around 60 C. My "burn-in" in score was about 2700 which seemed about right for my card.

Gamoholic · Jun 7, 2013

Huh, I was wrong (I'm glad I was). Well, it wouldn't hurt to test the CPU and RAM next. Prime95 or IntelBurnTest for the CPU, MemTest86+ for the RAM. Also, update all your drivers. It's not likely, but it could be a driver wigging out. Anyone else have an idea of what this could be?

David Henderson · Jun 7, 2013

Testing prime95 now. The test said it was testing both RAM and CPU, should i still do Memtest after this? I read online after starting that this will take ~24 hours! You think I could game? The CPU's are hovering around the lower 80's about an hour into the test.

David Henderson · Jun 7, 2013

Got a blue screen about ten minutes after posting the last comment. Just to clarify, I've only gotten one blue screen on this computer, it's usually only either black or gray.

Under additional problems

BCCode: 124
BCP1: 0000000000000000
BCP2: FFFFFA800D886028
BCP3: 00000000BE200000
BCP4: 000000000005110A
OS Version: 6_1_7601
Service Pack: 1_0
Product: 768_1

David Henderson · Jun 7, 2013

Here is the Bugcheck Analysis from the MiniDump:

WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR (124)
A fatal hardware error has occurred. Parameter 1 identifies the type of error
source that reported the error. Parameter 2 holds the address of the
WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure that describes the error conditon.
Arguments:
Arg1: 0000000000000000, Machine Check Exception
Arg2: fffffa800d886028, Address of the WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure.
Arg3: 00000000be200000, High order 32-bits of the MCi_STATUS value.
Arg4: 000000000005110a, Low order 32-bits of the MCi_STATUS value.

ihog · Jun 7, 2013

That code generally means the CPU is not getting enough voltage, which is odd, since I am assuming you aren't overclocking. Are you using any auto-OC settings in the bios?

David Henderson · Jun 7, 2013

Possibly, I set my ASUS EZ mode to Optimal. I restored defaults then reset.

David Henderson · Jun 7, 2013

That question also reminded me that when I reduce the Core Clock on msi afterburner the freezes SEEM to happen less often. Again it's highly variable and I haven't recorded anything.

ihog · Jun 7, 2013

Keep it at the defaults, and run Prime95 again. Auto-OC options such as that are not reliable.

David Henderson · Jun 7, 2013

Ran Prime95 for about 3 hours with no problems. I got antsy and tried to play Deus X Human Revolution, a recently downloaded game that is especially bad about freezing the computer (cannot play for longer than twenty minutes). The computer froze after about 15 minutes. About to run Prime95 test overnight.

David Henderson · Jun 7, 2013

I was going to check the minidump after the Deus X crash to compare the two, but there wasn't one

Gamoholic · Jun 8, 2013

Um, your CPU got to 80C? That isn't good. According to Intel's website the maximum temp is 67. Also, that is not a overclock friendly CPU, so you need to make sure your motherboard isn't trying to change anything. It needs to be stock. If the heatsink is dusty, blow it out. If it isn't, you should look into another cooler. I have a 3570k overclocked to 4.2 that runs folding@home on all 4 cores and it usually stays in the 60's. A 3450 should not be getting that hot.

David Henderson · Jun 8, 2013

It only gets up to ~75 C during the Prime95 test run. During gameplay it usually stays around 60 C. I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

Gamoholic · Jun 8, 2013

Oh. Never mind then. Huh. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help. I hope you figure out what's wrong.

David Henderson · Jun 8, 2013

Found a forum talking about the CPU temperatures and my temps seem about right

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2280267

David Henderson · Jun 8, 2013

Ran Prime95 overnight with no problems

ihog · Jun 8, 2013

The temps are fine. Also, the TJ Max of Ivy Bridge is 105C, although you don't really want to push past 80C.

Try other games to see if they crash as well. My next troubleshooting option is to uninstall the graphics card drivers and install them again.

Frequent crashes while gaming, need help!

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