PC freezing randomly while benchmarking at stock settings

[lostintech]

Hey guys,

Just a tiny bit abt myself and my rig, I used to be pretty hardcore with the overclocking stuff a few years ago, in the time of the AMD barton(if my memory isnt failing me). I'd attempt to OC virtually anything that can be OC'd, but stopped for the past 5 years or so, and I'm completely and totally lost with the new technology in the market now.

So on to my rig, after using my previously extensively OC'd rig for the last 4-5 years(im surprised it lasted that long), it finally gave in and i had to upgrade. Here's what i got:

Mobo: Asus P5Q Deluxe
CPU: Intel C2D E8500 3.16ghz
RAM: OCZ 1gb 6400 5 5 5 18 x 4 total 4gb
GFX: Palit ATI Radeon 4870X2HD 2GB
PSU: Epsilon 700w
OS: Vista Ultimate 32bit
Running 2 displays

My Problem:

So now that I got my claws on a new rig, I thought, hey might as well try givin it a lil tweak, I heard its pretty ez to get it to 3.8ghz without any crazy modding or cooling solutions.

Before i go on, I did experience 2 random lock-ups while playing FC2, but attributed it to outdated drivers. So I made sure everything from OS to Mobo to GFX was updated.

Anyways, before i did any tweaking, i downloaded CPUZ and SiS Sandra. And for comparison sake, i decided to run a SiS benchmark at stock settings. And low and behold, my computer froze up before it even hit the half way mark. So i figured overclocking wasnt for me, and just left it at that. This all happened a week ago.

So within the last week, i have experienced the following:

1. 1 crash while surfing the net
2. 1 crash while doing nothing
3. 5 crashes while playing various different games, ranging from WoW to FC2 to Dota.

What do i mean by crash? Well, for the 1st 2, the computer just locked up, and i had to do a manual restart(hit the button). For the game crashes, 1st the game window would crash, then i would do the usual "end process" and the window closes and everything seems fine. However, upon attempting to execute any program, be it mozilla or a game, the computer would completely freeze, and i would have to do a manual restart again.

So i used the SiS software "analysis" tool, and here is the summary:

Vcore higher than rated maximum, Check Vcore setting. (its on auto under my bios settings, cpuz says its 1.2v)
GFX Bios is too old, Check for an update(which i couldnt find)
GFX driver not certified (im using the latest one from the official website)
Refresh rate of at least 75 is recommended (my monitors don't support anything more than 60)

So thats about it in a large nutshell, can anyone help me here? Is there anything i can do to resolve my problems or at least find out what is causing the crashes?

Thanks heaps in advance!

Lostintech

 

[serpent1202]

Lostintech,

I see 2 potential problems. Both are related to your ram. What is the recommended voltage for it to run at stock settings. It will range between 1.8v and 2.2v. If its rated at 2.1v and you have it set in bois to 1.8, you'll experience these exact problems.

The 2nd problem is your filling all 4 of your RAM slots and still trying to OC. When you fill all your ram slots, it usually requires more voltage to get the ram to even run at its stock settings, let alone even trying to OC anything.

The first thing I would do it just make sure your bios is setting the ram vcore to the right setting. Then take out 2 sticks and run some tests and see if it clears up the problem.

Then go to newegg and buy 2X2gig kit! =D

Good Luck.