So my computer has started restarting randomly, and I need some help narrowing down why. The first time it happened I was playing Path of Exile last night and it just rebooted. When it restarted, Windows installed updates, and then the computer rebooted again (on purpose for updates). After fully booting and logging in, it immediately restarted again (not on purpose). I let it boot up once again and logged in, opened Event Viewer, and started up CPU-Z, HWMontior, and GPU-Z. Event viewer did have a critical error, but all the error codes are listed as 0. The event ID is 41 and task category is 63. Here is a screenshot of the details I started playing Path of Exile and left all those tools open on my other monitor to keep track of temps and stuff. Everything was fine, CPU was in the upper 40s to low 50s, GPU was in the mid 30s, and after about 45 minutes it just rebooted again, error log having the same thing: nothing. I’m now going to list all my hardware, what I did to test it, and whether or not I think it could be the culprit. Hopefully you guys can give me a second opinion or help me further diagnose.
This is my diagnosis, but I could be wrong, which is why I’m seeking second opinions. If you guys have any idea or ways I could further diagnose please let me know. I figure I could probably throw the PSU into my HTPC to test it, but I’m not sure it’s the suspect anyway and would prefer to know how to test the motherboard some more. Unfortunately I don’t think I have an extra PSU powerful enough to run this system and test with, but I may be able to borrow one. I also don’t have a spare 1150 motherboard and CPU, but I’m thinking about grabbing the g3258 and mobo combo at microcenter as a backup/testbed.
I have managed to do this whole writeup on the machine without it restarting!
Everything is being run entirely stock and default settings in BIOS except initially I had my RAMS XMP settings enabled, I disabled them after the second reboot, right before I loaded all the monitoring software.
Windows 8.1 Pro 64 bit
CPU Intel i7 4790K At Fault? Not likely, but not 100% sure : it is not overclocked, though I did attempt. I found after research and much frustration that the chip just runs too hot to really do anything with (it’s been kind of disappointing in that regard). I’m cooling with a **Corsair H100i** with SP120 fans, and the temps at a stable 4.6Ghz would creep into the high 80s in more modern games, even after reseating and cleaning. I was not comfortable with this so I disabled OC. It is blazing fast without the OC so I’m happy with it for now. I do not suspect it is the CPU for a few reasons. Firstly, I ran Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool and everything was fine. Secondly, I ran Memtest86 for 4 passes in parallel cpu mode and it passed with 0 errors. I know this is primarily a memory test, but it does but a hefty load on the CPU. Thirdly, if the CPU is having issues, my motherboard would usually tell me through POST codes, or the OS would tell me by having actual bug error codes in the event viewer, as illustrated in my event viewer logs for OC failure reboots.
RAM 4x4GB G.Skill 1600Mhz DDR3 At Fault? No : only running on built in XMP settings, and now default bios settings. I don’t think it is at fault due to passing 4 passes of Memtest86 in parallel mode, as listed above. I think my motherboard would throw post errors as well.
GPU EVGA GTX 780 Superclocked At Fault? Very unlikely. I ran a Furmark 1080 Benchmark several times, and the burn in for several minutes, the temps stayed excellent at sub 65. I will say that the screen has frozen, and the drivers have crashed several times in the past week or so though. In the past though, when working with machines with faulty GPUs, they usually do not reboot the whole system, they just throw artifacts, double images, freeze, etc, while audio and stuff continues in the background. My screen was freezing and the audio was continuing to play normally and eventually the machine, but I’m still not pinning this on the GPU and I’ll further explain why, when I get to the part that I suspect the most.
PSU Corsair AX850. At fault? Maybe, but maybe not This very well could be the suspect, but let’s be honest: It’s a Corsair, I’ve had it for almost 4 years with no issues, it’s still under warranty. It’s a best and incredibly durable and reliable PSU tried and tested by thousands. The main reason it is not my primary suspect is that when PSUs are failing, the OS usually does not have time to create an Event Viewer Log. That is my experience in Windows 7 and previous OS anyway. I just replaced a PSU in a relatives PC that was causing the machine to reboot at random, and that was exactly the case: no logs, but also, there was a spin down in the fans. That’s the other reason I do not suspect the PSU, there’s no full power interrupt, my fans and everything just keep going (it could be too subtle for me to notice though).
Storage Samsung 840 Pro 256 GB OS drive, and some 7200RPM drives. At Fault? No I don’t know what happens when an SSD is failing, but I doubt it’s a full reboot. The platter drives wouldn’t cause a reboot either.
Motherboard ASUS Z97 Pro Wifi-AC At Fault? Primary Suspect . This is my main culprit. All the other hardware failures would usually have the mobo throwing up error codes, and creating logs with some details in them, but the one time I’ve had to deal with a failing motherboard this is exactly what was happening. Granted this was 8 or so years ago, and things have changed, but I really don’t know what else it could be. I suspect that due to my graphics drivers failing, it has something to do with whatever we call the replacements for south bridges on intel boards nowadays. I think whatever is forwarding the GPU bus to the CPU on the motherboard is faulty and is causing my drivers to fail and the machine to reboot at random. I could be totally off base, but it seems like the most likely scenario to me.
This is my diagnosis, but I could be wrong, which is why I’m seeking second opinions. If you guys have any idea or ways I could further diagnose please let me know. I figure I could probably throw the PSU into my HTPC to test it, but I’m not sure it’s the suspect anyway and would prefer to know how to test the motherboard some more. Unfortunately I don’t think I have an extra PSU powerful enough to run this system and test with, but I may be able to borrow one. I also don’t have a spare 1150 motherboard and CPU, but I’m thinking about grabbing the g3258 and mobo combo at microcenter as a backup/testbed.
I have managed to do this whole writeup on the machine without it restarting!
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