BSODs when gaming or watching videos

Zekiel_2014 · Jul 30, 2014

Hi

I hope some kind and knowledgable person can help me!

For several months now my PC has been getting BSODs (perhaps averaging one a fortnight). 90% of the time these happen while gaming or watching Youtbue. In the last few months these have been getting a little more regular. Now in the last week I have been getting a weird error where occasionally I’ll get audio glitches in-game (“bzzzzz”) which coincide with the game temporarily freezing.

I’ve run HWMonitor while gaming and it is recording very high temperature on my graphics card - up to 101C which I understand it not a good thing! This is presumably why my GPU fan has been making a lot of racket in the last few months when I run a game, because the fan is going crazy trying to cool it down.

So far I’ve have:
- run a full virus scan
- done a memory test (using Windows inbuilt memory checker)
- cleaned out my PC using compressed air (including removing the GPU from its slot to give it a thorough clean)
- checked device manager - everything is reporting its working properly
- checked all internal fans are working
- checked components are running the latest drivers

Any advice on what to try next? I am suspecting my GPU is dying for some reason but I don’t know why. It’s about 3.5 years old. But searching this forum I’ve found other people saying they had crashing problems which turned out to be a power supply at fault. I’m loathe to spend £80 on a new GPU unless I’m really sure its the cause of the problem.

Thanks in advance for any help!

System specs:
WIndows 7 64-bit
ATI Radeon 5770 1GB
ATX-500 (500 W) Power Supply Unit
AMD Athlon II X4 640 Quad-Core 3GHz 2MB L2 Cache AM3
Samsung 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz
500GB 7200RPM SATA II
22x DVD RW SATA

Edit: In spite of thread title BSODs don't just happen when gaming or watching videos - had one (first for a while) immediately after clicking "publish" on this message!

Ironsounds · Jul 30, 2014

Hello... All my experience with BSOD is due to a Hardware communication, interrupting between the MB and Windows.
1) Clean all card/stick edges with rubbing alcohol...
2) Inspect and clean all DATA and Power connections... to your Hardware and MB.
3) Verify all devices CPU/GPU/MB temperatures are with in Normal operating temperatures.
4) Verify your Power Supply 12Vdc has enough current , To operate your Video Card and CPU, at the Performance settings you are using.

5) Remove a cover off the side of your case, too determine if your GPU temp goes down to 80 or less.
6) Set Video Performance/detail options lower in the games you are using, too determine if your GPU temp goes down to 80 or less.

Zekiel_2014 · Jul 30, 2014

Hi Ironsounds

Thanks for the reply. Couple of questions -
a) Can you point me in the direction of how I find normal operating temperatures for my CPU, GPU and MB?
b) How do I know the PSU has enough current for the video card at this performance setting?

Thank you!

BlankInsanity · Jul 30, 2014

I have a AMD 5770 which is from '08 I've used it up until January this month then handed it down to my father for his workstation and it works great, but he upgraded that GPU to a Nvidia Quadro. What I'm saying is after 6 years the card still works, so I wouldn't be too concerned about your 3.5 yr old card.

However if you've had your card running at 101C several times you may have caused damage to it if the fail-safe wasn't working(The fail-safe is when a component gets above its working temp the computer force shuts-down to prevent damage).

My 5770 had dust in the heatsink array and to get rid of that I had to dismantle the GPU, it was impossible to clean it out without opening up the GPU. So you could try that and check if there's dust in there.

The BSODs could be caused by a dieng HDD, then again I've used the old 1TB HDD from my old computer from '08 and it still works fine( I use it as a backup).

I don't think it would be your PSU as if that were the problem the computer would simply shutdown without warning.

Also find a dedicated mem test software as-well.

Also what anti-virus are you using, have you tried combofix in safe-mode? That a vigorous virus scanner

BlankInsanity · Jul 30, 2014

Zekiel_2014 :

A) most CPUs have a max of around 75C, GPUs 95C-100C, motherboard, don't worry about that that'll never overheat. Watercooling freaks, watercool their mobo for reason I will never know why

B) by the looks of it your PC is OEM so your PSU should be marginally sufficient. I say marginally because OEM computers like to have PSUs that supply just the bare minimum to save $$

Ironsounds · Jul 30, 2014

Hello... there is a current rating and sticker on your Power supply... What does it say for the 12VDC current?
I go by the 80C/80C rule for GPU/CPU in my builds... anything running above will need extra efforts/equipment, to reduce those temperatures on the CPU/GPU in your computer.
I cannot locate the specs on your GPU wattage from ATI website or WIKI... Nvidia power specs and charts can be found on a WIKI search page.

Jay Lavistria · Jul 30, 2014

Is there enough power to the system?
I know AMD CPU's are somewhat power hungry.
If you're BSOD'ing from gaming, your GPU might not be receiving enough power from the PSU and choking other essential components

Zekiel_2014 · Jul 30, 2014

Thanks for the response

[/quotemsg]
A) most CPUs have a max of around 75C, GPUs 95C-100C, motherboard, don't worry about that that'll never overheat. Watercooling freaks, watercool their mobo for reason I will never know why[/quotemsg]

Hmmm. CPU temp is apparently 35C at the moment (doing nothing but internet). GPU is 64C which feels like a lot given that I'm not doing anything graphically intensive! But I've no experience with what it ought to be.

[/quotemsg]
B) by the looks of it your PC is OEM so your PSU should be marginally sufficient. I say marginally because OEM computers like to have PSUs that supply just the bare minimum to save $$
[/quotemsg]

Yeah, http://support.asus.com/PowerSupply.aspx?SLanguage=en suggests my PSU is exactly at the minimum for my set up.

[/quotemsg]
The BSODs could be caused by a dieng HDD, then again I've used the old 1TB HDD from my old computer from '08 and it still works fine( I use it as a backup). [/quotemsg]

Any advice on how to test HDD?

Zekiel_2014 · Jul 30, 2014

Ironsounds :

Thanks. I'll open it up and take a look now.

Jay Lavistria · Jul 30, 2014

You'd have to run a complete scan of it with a program.
I have Samsung Magician doing those scan calculations, so I dont know what program.

Zekiel_2014 · Jul 30, 2014

Ironsounds :

For +12VDC it says 22A.

Ironsounds · Jul 30, 2014

Hello... a Tom's article measured 207 watts... 207/12= 17.25 amps is needed from your power supply just for your Video Card ( when hard gaming )... and there are other parts in your computer that will also need/share the 12VDC from your PS.

Zekiel_2014 · Jul 30, 2014

Ironsounds :

Hmmm. So does that suggest I need a better PSU?

Jay Lavistria · Jul 30, 2014

Ironsounds · Jul 30, 2014

Hello... your CPU is 95 watts 95/12= 7.9 amps... so yes, JUST between your CPU and Video Card, you could be needing a MAX of 25 amps of 12VDC rail on it.

Zekiel_2014 · Jul 30, 2014

Ironsounds :

Hi Ironsounds, hi Jay

Thanks for the advice - but I don't understand. Surely if my PSU was insufficient it would have been a problem 3.5 years ago when the PC was new? But I've only started having problems a year and a half ago?

Jay Lavistria · Jul 30, 2014

It sounds like one or more of your parts are dying.
Now you say that it crashes when gaming or youtube.
That could mean your GPU is dying, possibly from a defect.
Your drivers and windows could be a tad corrupt and need to be reset.
Your HDD could be dying, if you happen to notice low speed, scratching sounds, etc.

Zekiel_2014 · Jul 30, 2014

Jay Lavistria :

Yeah that's what I guessed - I'm just trying to work out how to narrow it down before I have to start spending money! I'll see if I can find a HDD checker like you suggested, though I haven't noticed any problems with accessing data.

When you say drivers needing to be reset- is that a case of just uninstalling drivers and then reinstalling?

Jay Lavistria · Jul 30, 2014

Basically uninstall anything related to making your GPU work, then reinstall the latest (not beta) drivers.
If it still happens, then that narrows it down to your GPU being defective, or your windows being derpy.

Ironsounds · Jul 30, 2014

Hello... gotta spare HD? A simple test for your Hardware would be... ( I'm full of simple tests )... A fresh install of Windows on a clean hard drive will not BSOD if your Hardware is all good...
1) Do not get any Windows updates.
2) only use the drivers from the Mkr's site for your Hardware.
3) Test software programs you use ONE at a Time.

BSOD are Hard to narrow down... but you have to run many tests like this to narrow down and verify IF it IS or Isn't your Hardware.

But like i said at the Start... " All my experience with BSOD is due to a Hardware communication, interrupting between the MB and Windows."

Zekiel_2014 · Jul 30, 2014

Jay Lavistria :

Thanks... dumb question but how do I uninstall drivers? Is that going to Device Manager, r-click on graphics card, select Uninstall?

Jay Lavistria · Jul 30, 2014

You'd want to go to Control Panel and Programs.
You should find something like XXX Display Driver.
Or simply go to the Catalyst manager and uninstall from there.

Zekiel_2014 · Jul 30, 2014

Ironsounds :

Thanks for the advice. That makes me a bit of a sad bunny since I don't really fancy installing Windows again (took hours last time and I'm not sure where I put the disc!) But I guess that would be a good way to eliminate (or identify) a hardware issue. I'll try some other things first before I resort to that!

Jay Lavistria · Jul 30, 2014

You can also download a Windows OS, burn it to a CD, and do stuff from there.

Ironsounds · Jul 30, 2014

Hello... Windows takes only about 15 minutes to Load !!! The hours your talking about is going out and installing fixes/upgrades/security... stuff from Microsoft Site!!! DON"T DO THAT!!! CLICK NO!!! when asked.

1) Do not get any Windows updates.
2) only use the drivers from the Mkr's site for your Hardware.
3) Test software programs you use ONE at a Time.

Down load your drivers before you start the Windows install on a USB stick,
This is a FAST easy TEST to determine if its your HARDWARE!!!

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