Games crash unexpectedly

vebdt · May 2, 2014

I have this problem since I updated my win7 32-bit OS to win7 64-bit, added 4 gigabytes of RAM (now 8GB) and purchased a new graphics card (Nvidia GTX 760 detailed below). Before that it functioned well but now I have a problem. If I play newer games that have high system requirements (e.g. Crysis 3, NFS Rivals, Cod:Ghosts), and I put the graphics on the highest available settings, the games run smoothly, without any graphical bugs. They don't "struggle", the controls also work perfectly. However, after 10-30 minutes, all of a sudden the games crash (without any sign). Only the games crash, it means with Ctrl-Alt-Delete i can close them (a message appears that the game stopped working), the computer remains functional and I can even restart the game the next second and it will run some more minutes before crashing again. This problem only occurs with these kind of games. Older or graphically less "advanced" games such as Diablo 3 or CS:GO work perfectly for hours on max settings.

My computer's details:
Motherboard: ASUS P8H67 Intel H67 LGA1155 ATX
CPU: Intel Core i5 3,10GHz LGA1155 6MB (i5-2400)
VGA: Gigabyte PCIe 3.0 GV-N760OC-2GD - GTX760 2GB
Case: Codegen 3343-A11 450W
PSU: Cooler Master RS-600-ACAB-M2

Could the motherboard cause these problems or is it more likely that something else is wrong with my computer? I can't figure out why these strange problems occur.

HiTechObsessed · May 2, 2014

What kind of temperatures are you getting on the GPU during gaming? Also, uninstall the NVIDIA drivers, and do a clean install by downloading the new one directly from NVIDIA.

cin19 · May 2, 2014

The problem comes from the CM PSU, here is what I found, http://i44.tinypic.com/2sa1191.jpg " the max output should not exceed 483.9W"
CMaster PSUs were never known to be quality products (except the silent pro series), here is other good brand PSU seasonic psu http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/589/m620specs.jpg you can see what difference between them.

So I recommend to buy other good PSU like seasonic, xfx, some of like CM silent pro, antec, Corsair, etc. Here is the list for the PSU tier list, you need get one from at least tier two class. http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html

The gtx760 need 30A on +12V rails and a 500W PSU minimum PSU http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004RJ8EKI/?tag=pcpapi-20

HiTechObsessed · May 2, 2014

If the power supply was getting overloaded, the system would shut down. Though it is interesting to see a 600w PSU that cannot deliver even 500w lol The freezing games is most likely a display driver issue, or overheating, or even an unstable video card frequency. vebdt, you can also try to underclock your graphics card.

vebdt · May 2, 2014

I already reinstalled the drivers (used a driver uninstaller and downloaded the driver from NVIDIA's website) but it didn't help so far. I also checked the temperatures with HWMonitor. Right after a crash it was around 43 degrees Celsius.

HiTechObsessed · May 2, 2014

Have you tried underclocking the graphics card?

vebdt · May 2, 2014

And what is the best way to underclock the graphics card?

HiTechObsessed · May 2, 2014

Download MSI Afterburner, and in the Core Clock box, make it like -150 or something along those lines. You'll get a little less performance, but it will be easier on the graphics chip if the chip is bad.

vebdt · May 2, 2014

Thank you, I'll give it a try to see if it works.

cin19 · May 2, 2014

I can use the afterburner for ocing, not the underclock. Try set the game play setting to lower until you get the new PSU.

For like Crysis 3 is GPU/CPu intensive games, you did overload the PSU.

HiTechObsessed · May 2, 2014

cin19 :

You most certainly can use Afterburner to underclock. It's as simple as dragging it to the left instead of to the right.

vebdt · May 2, 2014

I underclocked the graphics card (-105) and it seems that the problem is solved. The game (I tried COD because thats what freezes the most) run smoothly on the exact same (very high) graphical settings but this time it didn't crash. What does this mean or what should I do now?

cin19 · May 2, 2014

That means your system does not over draw the power from the PSU when you underclock the gtx760, because either GPU or cpu is the component to draw most power from PSU. So you can use this way if you want, but the best way is to get the better PSU. You can post what is your budget and where you want to shop the PSU, we can find one for you. Or you can get one from:
http://pcpartpicker.com/
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/

vebdt · May 2, 2014

Than I'll buy a new PSU. Thank you so much!

HiTechObsessed · May 2, 2014

This doesn't mean it's the PSU. This system will pull around 300-325w at full draw, so even on a poor power supply that probably isn't the issue. And like I said, if it's the power supply, the game wouldn't freeze and be able to be force shut down, it would power down the entire system, or completely freeze up to where you need to do a hard-reset. If the system was over-drawing on one of the +12v rails, it shuts down.

The symptoms being described sound most like an unstable GPU that isn't able to handle the clock rate it has.

While a better quality power supply is always a good idea, I don't think that will solve the problem.

cin19 · May 2, 2014

Yes, it could be the GPU is not stable. But I found one reivew, the GA N760OC will use more power than the regular gtx760. So the whole system will use more than 400W at least, GPU 220W ( or 240W) + CPU 95W, MB =40W, or DVD/CD about 30W, HDD, RAM, fans, etc. If the psu is not strong enough, who knows what it will cause.
http://www.reviewstudio.net/355-gigabyte-gtx-760-windforce-gv-n760oc-2gd-review-force-of-the-wind-cool-of-the-mind

Or the OP can try to update the drivers for chipset, GPU, or the patch for the games.

HiTechObsessed · May 2, 2014

That test is using an overclocked i7 and an overclocked 760, and is pulling a MAX of 350, not your number of at least 400w. Using a locked i5 and stock 760, he's going to be closer to 325w at MAX load.

And yes, if the power supply is not strong enough, it won't just freeze a game. The freezing of the game is exactly what happens when you are testing stability of an overclock (or in this case, an unstable base clock)

cin19 · May 2, 2014

I unselect the best answer, and let OP to see what is the final result.

The system = 343W ( 1085/1502) or 359W (1188/1737)
GPU alone = 220.5W ( 1085/1502) or 244.3W (1188/1737)

i5-2400 TDP 95W http://ark.intel.com/products/52207/Intel-Core-i5-2400-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_40-GHz

power consumption of PC components in Watts http://www.pcpower.com/technology/power_usage/

HiTechObsessed · May 2, 2014

Yes. And the i7 overclocked will run around 100w at full load, and the graphics card will add another 25w or so overclocked. Removing the overclocked 25w, you get to around 325w at MAX load for the ENTIRE system.

Your link you posted reflects what you said above. The ENTIRE system uses 350w at full load.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7103/nvidia-geforce-gtx-760-review/16

Anandtech's numbers back that number up as well. Again, they use an overclocked i7 Extreme. Simply adding up the numbers and multiplying what a single part is maximally capable of possibly drawing after assuming every different part draws the same power makes no sense when you have real world tests done on standardized test systems.

vebdt · May 2, 2014

I think I'll still get a better PSU but in this case I'll also try to fix the graphics card (still have warranty). Until then, I'll stick with underclocking.

vebdt · Jun 25, 2014

It took me a while to change the GPU but I managed to get a brand new ASUS GTX760-DC2OC-2GD5. It's more or less the same as the old one. However, the exact same problems occur with this GPU. The games crash after some time and again underclocking the GPU seems to solve the problem. I suppose I didn't get a faulty GPU again so is there anything else that could solve this problem?

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