PC crashes whilst playing games only. No BSOD. Audio loops.

rastuhk · Aug 25, 2013

**UPDATE (20th July 2014)**

Finally fixed this by buying a new motherboard. I'd bought a new graphics card prior to changing motherboard but it was still crashing.

Hope this helps those that are having/have had similar problems

Rastuhk
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This has been ongoing for quite some time now, and I've tried all sorts to attempt to fix this, such as (in no particular order):

Clean install of Windows 7 64bit Home Premium (earlier this evening).
New CPU and Motherboard (this issue has followed me from my old pc - both my previous PC and current PC were home built).
New memory
New PSU.
New graphics card (ran driver sweeper to remove the old drivers - made no difference)
New HDD.
Updated Windows from Vista to Windows 7.
Checked for and updated all drivers.
Ran memtest - passed.
Ran Prime95 - passed.
Cleaned inside of PC, re-seated all components (except CPU), and tidied cables as much as I can.
Tried disabling on-board audio and disabled any other sound devices via Device Manager.
Flashed BIOS to latest version.
Installed Core Temp and monitored - temps don't go over 60 degrees celcius whilst playing games, and idles around 30 degrees
Tried using a different monitor. Also tried switching from a DVI cable to HDMI.
Tried EVGA Precision.

The PC crashes at random times, but only when I'm playing games. I've been monitoring how long my pc runs before crashing since last night while playing Battlefield 3, and it's anywhere from ten minutes to an hour into the game.

There are probably things that I've forgotten to add to the list above, and I'm about to download furmark to test my graphics card. Any other suggestions would be very much appreciated =]

memadmax · Aug 25, 2013

Sounds like all you needed was a new PSU.... as that was the only thing you haven't replaced yet =D
Edit: Ooops spotted the PSU, nevermind.

mauller07 · Aug 25, 2013

try using a differernt power stip/ surge protector if possible, it could be that its failing.

or plug your pc directly into the wall to test, also try a different socket in the house.

jossrik · Aug 25, 2013

I agree, sounds like a PSU problem. Is the PSU you have good quality/high enough wattage/amperage to run your system with some juice leftover?

http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/index.jsp

To calculate how much juice you're needing on a load, and you want some room to play.

swifty_morgan · Aug 25, 2013

list all hardware

rastuhk · Aug 25, 2013

Hi, yep, I've got my pc plugged in directly to the wall socket. The PSU was only upgraded last month to a Corsair GS700, and when I calculated how much I'd need before I bought it, it was around 500w (i ticked some extra boxes in case of future upgrades too).
The PSU seems to be ok, and the fan doesn't spin at all whilst it's idling. I opened up the case after I'd been using my pc all day a couple of days ago, and the temperature inside was cool.

I've just started driver verifier (verifier.exe), and my pc crashed shortly after it booted up. I've since restarted and haven't had any more problems (yet), so maybe it's driver related?

rastuhk · Aug 25, 2013

Hardware:
CPU - Intel i5 2500k
Mobo - Asus P8Z68-v Pro
Watercooling - Corsair(?) H70
Memory - Corsar Vengeance 8Gb (2x4Gb) @ 9 9 9 24
HDD's: 2x WD F3 1Tb. 1x WD F1 1Tb (I've tested with only the main HDD plugged in - same problem)
GFX: ATI Radeon HD7870
PSU: Corsair GS700

mauller07 · Aug 25, 2013

try using a different socket in the house if possible, you said your old pc had similar problems also, it could be your wall socket causing problems.

rastuhk · Aug 25, 2013

Yeah I'll give it a shot =]. It'll be tomorrow though as I'll be going to bed soon, but I'll keep you posted.

swifty_morgan · Aug 25, 2013

if you disabled windows auto updates and windows auto driver updates, and if you only installed the graphics driver and maybe the CCC if you wanted to, then it should work fine.

uninstall from device manager (card) and do a custom/advanced driver install after reboot. if you don't disable those 2 auto update features windows will install driver ( HD-HDMI ) whether you want it or not.

also, after checking the BIOS did you save your settings?

rastuhk · Aug 26, 2013

I've got my PC set up in another room, and have disabled windows update and device auto updates. Removed graphics installation via uninstall programs and have re-added the graphics driver only via custom installation. Gonna test it now…

rastuhk · Aug 26, 2013

Thirty minutes in and the PC has crashed again. Black screen, audio loops for about ten seconds then stops, whilst I've still got a black screen. Rebooting now :'(

Forgot to mention, but yes, I'd saved the settings in the BIOS too.

rastuhk · Aug 26, 2013

I've just read in another thread that under clocking gpu and graphics memory by 40mhz has worked for a couple of people, so I'm gonna try that once I've reinstalled catalyst cc.

rastuhk · Aug 26, 2013

Just over forty minutes in and it's crashed again
=[

swifty_morgan · Aug 26, 2013

heat from graphics card or heat from cpu. clean heatsinks and fans and try new thermal paste on cpu and maybe on gpu. ??

have you looked for updated motherboard drivers or for a new BIOS to update the board?

rastuhk · Aug 27, 2013

Hi all,
I've still being trying to fix this since yesterday, which I'll detail below, but unfortunately without success, as Battefield 3 just crashed after just over thirty minutes in. Looking for solutions to this earlier today, I've found that this is affecting a lot of Battlefield 3 users, so I've come to the conclusion that this isn't anything at fault at my end, so time to uninstall it and move on.

Thanks for your input everyone, I appeciate the help you've all given me =]

- Updated BIOS
- Downloaded and ran the latest version of Memtest x86 overnight - Five or six passes completed with no errors/crashes.
- Downloaded and ran Burn In Test via Furmark for over twenty minutes. Card was stable at 76 degrees celcius throughout. Again, no errors or crashes.
- Downloaded and installed the latest Beta drivers from AMD for the graphics card.
- Downloaded and installed the latest Origin patch.
- Downloaded and installed all driver updates (again).
- Opened up Sound Control>Playback Devices and disabled all except Speakers. Also unticked 'Allow applications exclusive control...'.
- Changed Battlefield3.exe and Punkbuster.exe to 'Run as administrator'.

Here's a link to a few screenshots I took yesterday, which show CPU-Z and HWMonitor-Z running before starting BF3, another two minutes into the game, and finally, eleven minutes in (the PC crashed just over thirteen minutes into that game) -

BF3

mauller07 · Aug 27, 2013

go to evenbalance.com and download the punkbuster updater tool and update punkbuster manually for bf3.

is it still randomly crashing in other games etc?

rastuhk · Aug 27, 2013

I haven't tried any others yet, as I still need to copy Steam files back to C: and reinstall since I formatted the HDD the other day. It's usually only once or twice a day at most with other games though, so not too much of a hassle.
I've just downloaded IE10 and changed default browser to that instead of Chrome. Gonna give it a whirl now...

mauller07 · Aug 27, 2013

avoid avast if you used it at all, it can cause random problems, the bf3 problem could just be punkbuster, happens to me every now and then and i have to manually update it.

rastuhk · Aug 27, 2013

Yer, I can try uninstalling Avast I guess. Any suggestions for a replacement anti-virus program?
Also, it's just crashed again after almost an hour. I'd disabled pretty much everything in Origin settings too, except for Cloud synch.

mauller07 · Aug 27, 2013

commodo internet security or just commodo antivirus is a good alternative

rastuhk · Aug 27, 2013

Uninstalled avast, rebooted, ran CCleaner and then installed Comodo, but I cashed again after about five minutes. I'll try updating punkbuster tomorrow if I get the chance.

swifty_morgan · Aug 27, 2013

what kind of thermal paste did you use on the corsair water cooler?

did you plug the fan connector on the cpu header or a fan header or did you hook it directly to the PS with a molex adapter? if you hook it to a fan header or to PS with molex connector the pump will run at a faster steadier rate than it would connecting it to the cpu header. ................. don't worry if there's a 3pin/4pin differentiation. the connector will fit and still run right on a 3pin.

rastuhk · Aug 28, 2013

I'd used the thermal paste that came already on the watercooler.
Anyways, I've just cleaned the watercooler and cpu, and sprinkled some arctic silver 5 thermal paste onto 'em.
Temp's are now showing between 27-30 degrees idle.

So, gonna give it a blast. Hopefully I won't be back for a few hours...

rastuhk · Aug 28, 2013

Crashed again 15-20mins in. :fou:

PC crashes whilst playing games only. No BSOD. Audio loops.

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