PC freezes while playing games (but not during lower-stress use)

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Idiot Wind

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My PC will suddenly freeze while playing games (but not while doing other lower-stress activities like browsing the internet). Upon trying to restart it, sometimes it works fine; other times it tries to turn on, shuts off on its own, and tries to turn back on on its own, and will repeat this indefinitely; and other times it will turn on (and stay on) but freeze while at the Windows login screen. I've discovered that using the CMOS reset button on the mobo allows me to boot up without any issues after the PC freezes. I can then go back to playing games for some time, but after a few hours (or sometimes a few days) the freeze inevitably happens again.

Other things I have determined / ruled out:
- freezing has occurred while playing different games (i.e., it's not just one game that causes it)
- my CPU never gets much hotter than ~75 degrees (Celsius) and everything else is at a proper temperature
- I've already removed my RAM and graphics card from the mobo and put them back in (i.e., nothing appears to be wrong with how I've installed them)
- I've run Windows Memory Diagnostic and nothing turned up
- I've updated my BIOS to the latest version
- All my parts are relatively new--bought around Jan. 2017.
- I don't have any extra parts to swap out with the ones I'm using
- It's not a problem from virus / malware

Specs:
- MOBO: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD5
- RAM: G.Skill Trident Z (16GB 3200MHz DDR4)
- CPU: Intel i7 6700K
- Video: MSI GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB GDDR5)
- Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2 (750W)
- CPU Fan: Cooler Master GeminII M4
- SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB
- HDD: WD Blue 1TB
- OS: Windows 10

Thanks for the help. There are some threads on here detailing similar problems but nothing quite the same as mine; also, I've tried their solutions with no success.

Thanks again.
 
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Idiot Wind

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About 12 minutes in and everything is fine so far. 18 minutes left. Are there any sensors / info I should be relating to you other than just seeing if it freezes?

Also, I have the fps capped to 60 (that was default); should I run the test again with that higher?

As you might be able to tell, this is my first build and I'm pretty new to a lot of this troubleshooting, so thanks for your help / patience.

Edit: 30-min test has concluded without any issues / freezing
 
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Idiot Wind

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Okay so the issue/freeze occurred while I was testing the CPU (by itself, not in tandem with the GPU). Temps were around 70, although one core (Core 1?) reached 80 shortly before the freeze.
 
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Idiot Wind

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Not sure what to say; it definitely froze just like the issue I've been having. This seems to confirm that the freeze occurs only during higher-stress uses, and not simply as a matter of time. Could it be a power supply problem with insufficient power reaching the CPU as it has to work harder? Or, does the likelihood of a mobo short increase the more you stress your hardware?
 
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Idiot Wind

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Sorry didn't see you responded. BIOS has voltage set to Auto by default but next to that it reads 1.245V; what should I manually set it to?
 
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GhislainG

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Try it to see if manual setting helps (you can try higher voltages as well, but don't go too high and monitor the temperatures); if it doesn't help then you'll need to figure out what component is causing the freeze. Can you borrow a PSU from a friend? It probably isn't the issue, but it's a quick and easy test. At least you can easily reproduce the issue.
 
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Idiot Wind

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Upped voltage by +0.1 to 1.345V, ran the stress test, and same freeze occurred after ~8 minutes. Temps were in 70s and crossed into 80s occasionally. Any more suggestions other than swapping out power supply? Thanks for your patience; I'm getting pretty frustrated and am just about to tear the PC apart and rebuild it and see if that magically solves whatever the issue is. :fou:
 
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Idiot Wind

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Update:

Came back from a few days out of town and had the same startup problems (repeatedly turning on/off on its own) despite the fact that the PC shut down normally before I left. So, the startup issues occur sometimes without the random freeze preceding them. Any more thoughts? Could this mean it's actually more of a matter of time / an intermittent issue rather than an issue that occurs when the CPU is stressed?

I tried replugging in all power supply connections, so there shouldn't be anything wrong with them.
 
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GhislainG

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Like I wrote before, you'll have to start replacing parts at some point to determine where the issue is. Your last description could indicate a motherboard issue, but unfortunately it could be something else. If it was my system, I'd test with another PSU simply because it's easy, particularly if you have a spare or can borrow one. Then I'd probably swap the motherboard, but the GPU could also cause that issue.
 
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Idiot Wind

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Removed the motherboard and checked to make sure all mounts were proper / no possibility of shorts. Also made sure all power supply connections were secure. Was monitoring CPU and RAM usage and nothing was out of the ordinary (i.e., no malware was causing RAM to lock up). Freeze still happened while playing Rocket League and while the system was under relatively low stress (~20% CPU usage, 30% RAM usage). What if this isn't something that happens while stressed, but rather intermittently?

Also, someone recommended a system restore to a point at which I wasn't having these problems. Does this seem like something decent to try, or do I need to order new parts and start testing/replacing things one by one?
 
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GhislainG

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A system restore to a previous point works only if the issue is caused by software; you can give it a try. Personally I probably wouldn't because you already determined that the issue can be duplicated if you stress the CPU; if it freezes while running Prime95 Small FFTs, then either the CPU or the motherboard is defective. The CPU may throttle if the cooler isn't powerful enough, but it should not freeze or cause errors. If you prefer to keep the temperature lower (I don't know how good your cooler is), then use P95 26.6 and let it run for hours or until it freezes. If running P95 causes the freeze, then seriously consider replacing the CPU first.
 
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Idiot Wind

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Okay, will try these and get back to you.

In the meantime, there do seem to be some potential software problems though. For instance, when I put my PC to sleep (rather than shut down) and try to turn it on again, I get a black screen with only the time showing and no other responsiveness (i.e., can't login). Weird glitch-y issues with the Windows 10 process wouldn't be the product of defects with CPU/mobo right? I'm having general difficulty determining if this is an intermittent vs. high-stress-only issue, as well as whether it's hardware vs. software. Ugh
 
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GhislainG

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Can't you test with another OS installation? If not, then backup your SSD and reinstall Windows 10 from scratch to determine if that resolves the issues (disconnect the HDD before reinstalling to make sure that it doesn't contain the boot partition). I always keep an old hard disk for that type of test.
 
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Idiot Wind

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Ran Prime95, small FFTs, and recreated the freeze after about 9 minutes (CPU at 100%, RAM at less than 20%). Cleared CMOS (my usual solution) and got Prime95 running again, this time experiencing a freeze after around 18 minutes.
  • ■ Is there any significance to the slightly different times?
    ■ The freeze has happened at lower levels of stress (e.g., browsing the internet), but stress appears to increase the likelihood/occurrence of freezes. I assume you still believe the best guess is a hardware issue, specifically with the CPU?
    ■ After clearing CMOS and starting up again, the PC will turn on for a second, shut off on its own, then turn on again; but, after this second turn-on it'll boot up fine (i.e., it's not the perpetual on-off problem). Is there any significance to the fact that the PC shuts off automatically (i.e., has one failed boot-up) but then boots up fine?
    ■ When the PC froze after the second Prime95 test, I'm pretty sure I heard the jingle that Windows plays when you unplug something from the USB port. Is it possible there's a visual/functional lockup while the audio still works? What would be the significance of that?
Thanks for your help. I know we seem to be arriving at the info that it's a hardware problem, but hopefully these little extra questions don't bother you--just want to make sure you have as much info as possible, since it can be hard to know what's relevant to the issue at hand.
 
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GhislainG

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What part have you replaced so far? With all the tests performed so far, you already determined that either the CPU or the motherboard most likely is causing the issue.

The time it took for the system to freeze while running P95 is meaningless.

"After clearing CMOS and starting up again, the PC will turn on for a second, shut off on its own, then turn on again; but, after this second turn-on it'll boot up fine (i.e., it's not the perpetual on-off problem)." This is normal if you didn't save the settings.

Did you remove the GPU and run P95 with the monitor connected to the motherboard? That would definitely eliminate the GPU as a possible cause of that issue.
 
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Idiot Wind

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Yep just did a Prime95 run without the GPU and it still froze. The screen also started flashing different colors (which never happened before), but I imagine that was just the freeze causing something weird to happen to the on-board graphics card? Or does that indicate the hardware problem is with the mobo and not the CPU?

Gonna try a system restore, and if that doesn't work a re-install of Windows--I'm hoping it's a software problem and one of those will solve it. If not, I'll have to pursue your theory that it's a hardware problem. I'm saving that for last because I don't have any parts to swap out with (this is my first build, and I don't have any PC builder friends in the area), so I'd have to buy a new CPU/mobo/PSU to swap.

Thanks
 
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