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Windows crash when playing games

Tags:
  • Windows
  • Games
  • Crash
  • CPUs
  • Windows 7
Last response: in Windows 7
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June 26, 2014 12:26:04 PM

Last year I've bought a new system, Z77A-G43 motherboard, i5-3570K CPU, 8 GB memory, Crucial M4 CT256 250GB SSD harddisk, Radeon HD 7800, running Windows 7 Professional (64-bit). All in all a very decent system. However, whenever I play a game (Diablo 3, Path of Exile) it is just a matter of time before the system crashes. Sometimes (not often) I can play a whole evening without a crash, sometimes it crashes every 5 minutes. It does not seem to coincide with what happens in the game. As it crashes, screen goes black, it generates a nasty hum on the speakers, and all I can do is to push the power button until it shuts off the power.

The PC ONLY CRASHES during gameplay. Whatever else I do, like editing videos, music, playing movies, etc, it never crashes.

What makes it hard, is that there is NO dump file whatsoever. Minidump settings are all validated, but no dump gets created.

And no, it's not overclocked, BIOS is at standard settings. CPU, GPU, Power supply & cooling all seems to be in good order. CPU temperature hardly ever gets above 50 Celsius. Avg temperature of the MB is 38 Celsius.

There's no virus, no trojan. System is clean and well defended (Comodo Internet Security, HitmanPro), behind a physical firewall.

What have I tried:
- about a dozen different drivers for the video card
- reinstalled windows
- searched for crash dump files (used WhoCrashed, Debug), but there are no dump files to be found
- stress tested the video card to see if it either crashes or becomes too hot (nope)
- stress tested the power supply (left it on for a night)
- stress tested the memory, checked for invalid adresses
- stress tested the whole system

Used tools like WhoCrashed, Windows Performance Toolkit, Debug, FurMark, SystemStabilityTester, MemChecker.

I really don't know what to do next, other than buying a new PC. Any ideas?

More about : windows crash playing games

a c 76 à CPUs
June 26, 2014 12:32:26 PM

Try updating your BIOS to the latest that is out.
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June 26, 2014 12:35:28 PM

sounds like the standard "display driver has stopped responding" error. you could find it in the event viewer but it doesn't throw a standard dmp. what version of CCC are you on?
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June 26, 2014 12:35:46 PM

@TechyInAZ: Oh, forgot to mention that it is already.

@TCinator: it is not in the event viewer. There is nothing in the logs, nor in the dumps. At the moment i'm running 14.1, but as I mentioned, I have tried many different ones, all with the same results. I did have a look at the 'display driver has stopped responing error', but solutions to that problem did not work out.
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June 26, 2014 12:44:46 PM

do you ever get odd pixelated boxes or lines across the screen on days it does not crash?
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a c 79 à CPUs
a b $ Windows 7
June 26, 2014 12:45:42 PM

go to windows updates/ install updates/reboot - go back/reboot - go back/reboot - go back..................................

then turn off windows auto updates and auto driver updates... 2 things............................

uninstall the graphics driver/suite from add-remove programs. reboot................... windows will find card. then do an advance or custom install. only install the graphics driver and CCC ( if you want it ). play. what happens?

also, the new BIOS as suggested above. you may want to consider that.

what are you cooling the cpu with?

what are you gauging the temps with?

do you have adequate airflow though the case. /to the rear of the card? /across the cpu area?

what software do you have running or USE during your gaming sessions?.............. did you think of turning them completely OFF? ( stupid stuff like skype/anti virus/instant messaging/etc.

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June 26, 2014 12:56:30 PM

@Tcinator sometimes, when switching between desktop and game

@swifty_morgan: it is fully updated. Fresh install of the video driver has been done a gazillion times by now :D , in all different modes. Currently running without CCC. CPU is cooled with a Zalman cooler. Gauging temperatures with standard MSI tools (came with MB) and with CPUID HWMonitor. Airflow is fine, system is clean (no dust). Running bare didn't change anything, other than making me feel insecure :p .
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Best solution

June 26, 2014 1:07:03 PM

if you have an OC utility for your video card, cut the memory frequency by a few hundred mhz. leaving everything else the same. some of the 78xx and 79xx series cards have memory issues. especially if it is a particular brand.. try it out. it sucks if it works but it may mean you need to use your warranty.
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a c 79 à CPUs
a b $ Windows 7
June 26, 2014 1:25:05 PM

Tcinator said:
if you have an OC utility for your video card, cut the memory frequency by a few hundred mhz. leaving everything else the same. some of the 78xx and 79xx series cards have memory issues. especially if it is a particular brand.. try it out. it sucks if it works but it may mean you need to use your warranty.


( XFX )?

good idea on the under clock utility............ both the gpu's ram and the gpu's cpu .................

also.......... you can use the CCC to do this....... ( amd over drive section )
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June 26, 2014 2:00:33 PM

swifty_morgan said:

( XFX )?

good idea on the under clock utility............ both the gpu's ram and the gpu's cpu .................

also.......... you can use the CCC to do this....... ( amd over drive section )


nooo never xfx! they are actually the brand I would trust most hahah. I was referring to asus rog amd cards.
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June 27, 2014 10:48:16 AM

@TCinator Seems that solution fixed it. After bringing the GPU clock down from 1050 to 965 I haven't seen a crash yet. Thanks a lot!
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a c 79 à CPUs
a b $ Windows 7
June 27, 2014 11:40:52 AM

so if the cards are new/under warranty......... send them back.
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