Newly Built PC / Games Crash!

theharryg

Honorable
Dec 15, 2012
12
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10,510
Hello,

I recently built a new gaming rig, and seem to be having issues when trying to run most of my games.

I have an Intel 4690k 3.5ghz CPU, a GTX660 GPU, and an ASUS Z97-A mobo, all inside of a huge full case with lots of fans and a nice cpu heatsink. What I would think is all the bells and whistles as far as hardware goes.

I first installed windows 8.1, which I regretted from day 1.. I went through and downloaded all the updates and drivers and what not. I couldnt play a single game more than like 2 minutes before it'd crash.

The screen would freeze, and the audio would start looping.. And many times it was hard to even get the task menu up to end the task. More often than not I would have to do a hard reboot.



So then I upgraded to the new windows 10 technical preview edition or w/e. Ive been a lot happier so far as far as general tasks go on a day to day basis. A few of my games even play without crashing at all. But, the majority of my games still crash after just a couple minutes of playing them. They run flawlessly up to the crash, as far as fps goes, it looks great, and runs smooth, and then bam!, it crashes. Never any error report either, which makes me even more confused as to how to fix this issue.

So that's why I'm here, I am hoping one of you might know more about this type of thing that I do.

*Edit* I've monitored the temps closely and nothing is overheating..

Id appreciate any help,

Thanks,

-Harry
 

theharryg

Honorable
Dec 15, 2012
12
0
10,510


First of all, thanks for responding!

CPUID HWMonitor shows my max cpu core temps are 56 degrees C, and my max gpu temps are 63 degrees C.

My PSU is an Antec NeoECO 620C 620watt.

I have not run memtest86. I will look into how to run that test.
 

theharryg

Honorable
Dec 15, 2012
12
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10,510


So I ran memtest86 and did not run into any errors..

I'm really at a loss here, I've got all the windows updates and drivers, I just don't what else to check. My games will start up just fine, load just fine, and then start to play just fine, and then all of a sudden less than 5 minutes later it has a hiccup and the graphics freeze up and the audio starts stuttering / looping. If im lucky, i can get to the task manager and end the task. Otherwise I'm forced to reboot.

What baffles me even more is the fact that one of the very few games that does run well, is GTA5, and other smaller less demanding games like CS:GO crashes...
 

theharryg

Honorable
Dec 15, 2012
12
0
10,510


I'm going to take that advice and start over with a fresh install of windows 8.1. You're not the first person to suggest that to me. At this point, my frustration level is kinda high. I think just starting over is the best move.

I really appreciate you stopping by and trying to help me out man. I will definitely post the results of how this goes, after it's all said and done.

-Harry
 

theharryg

Honorable
Dec 15, 2012
12
0
10,510


Well, after a fresh install of windows 8.1 and after installing all the windows updates, drivers, and firmware It's still crashing when I try to play a game. I installed CS:GO, to test it, and the game launch and loads the game, but once I'm in a match it doesn't last more than maybe 10-20 seconds before it crashes.

A weird thing I noticed with this crash, is that sometimes when it freezes up in-game, I will ctrl alt del, get the task manager up, and notice that the game is still running (I don't see "no responding")... so I'll try to go back into the game and It'll be running just fine, unfrozen.. but shortly after that it'll freeze up again. Usually around the 2nd or 3rd time of freezing it'll actually show "not responding" in the task manager and there's no saving it from there.

I don't know if that sheds any light on what type of issue, but I figure the more details the better..

Another thing is that I do have an audio card installed. An Asus Xonar DX 7.1. Could there be conflicting issues between that and maybe windows 8.1 or something?

*Edit* This crashing issue seems to be intermittent. I would say about 75% of the time it crashes, but if I catch it at just the right time I can play the same exact game that was crashing before, for as long as I want..

 

theharryg

Honorable
Dec 15, 2012
12
0
10,510


Okay, so I've tried a few things and have been paying attention to the event viewer to narrow down maybe what is causing these crashes.

I did remove the audio card and try the onboard audio, that did not prevent the crashes while in a game.

So the issue seems to involve "nvlddmkm".

The description I get in this error is:

"The description for Event ID 13 from source nvlddmkm cannot be found. Either the component that raises this event is not installed on your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install or repair the component on the local computer."

In doing research to fix this I was reading that this error could be caused by many things, one of which is the PSU.

My PSU is only a few months old, but it is only 620w. I added up each component in my machine and as far as I can tell, I think I need about 725w minimum while under a load. What confuses me with this theory though is why the whole machine doesnt just power down at that point. It simply just freezes the game I'm in.

Idk, im still very lost and would love any extra feedback.

Thanks,

-Harry

 

theharryg

Honorable
Dec 15, 2012
12
0
10,510
Well, I think I may have solved it, finally..

I found another thread from a guy who was having similar issues as me, and he was saying that it was the newer nvidia drivers. Apparently all the newer drivers cause some sort of conflict somewhere. He mentioned the last nvidia drivers that worked for him was version 344.75. So I uninstalled the current up to date driver, and installed that specific version.. So far I've been able to play games w/o crashing or errors. Keeping my fingers crossed this will work long term. It really sucks not being able to play on a rig that you just built lol..

Anyway, thanks again for the help, tiny voices.

-Harry