Computer freezes

[systemcheck]

one of these is broken had pc for about 3 1/2 years then starting early last week it started to freeze up on me. Then it became more reoccuring so i reinstalled the OS to no prevail. Thats when i noticed the heat, mobo gets to about 120 F, cpu 141 F, gpu 161 F this is with the new cpu fan running at 2000rpm. Without the new cpu fan (the old one in place) the mobo is 130 F, cpu 170 F, gpu 161 F, that is when is freezes on me. From the test i was able to do the ram is good and the gpu is good. Last nite inserted a different psu but test was inconclusive due to the fact my boot files went missing but still powered on my no fans then (bad psu idk). then yesterday i installed a new cpu fan (old one stopped didnt notice) and the cpu tem went down to 130. replaced gpu still frooze on me when i play a game after a little bit. I think it may be the psu, cpu, (hopefully not) the mobo. What is broken?

asus p5n32 e sli
intel core 2 duo 3.0 e6850
535watt psu
xfx nvidia gts 250 1gb
2x dvd cd combo rw
2x sata hdd

 

[MadAdmiral]

Freezing usually indicates a problem with the RAM. What RAM are you running? Have you run MemTest86+? If not, download it, burn it to a CD, boot from the CD drive and run it overnight.

 

[systemcheck]

im running 4 2gb pc 6400 800mhz cosair sticks (these were part of the upgrade right before the freeze, yes i have and all test passed, i have not tried taking them out yet though i that something i should try? how would the ram make the hardware appear hot, i hear my stuff is running hot?

 

[MadAdmiral]

You're stuff isn't running that hot. It's about 55 degrees Celsius, which isn't bad, assuming that the temps your giving are under full load.

You might want to list everything you upgraded.

 

[systemcheck]

these temps are after upgrade under full load like playing a game idk, cant minimize game to see but if i remember once, i exited out and cpu said something like 170 and gpu at 161.

i upgraded from geforce 8800 512 mb to gts 250 1gb
2gb pc 6400 ram to 8 gb of ram

then everything seemed to happen about 2 or 3 weeks later, was playing games great (for hours, now on first start up for about 1 to 2 hours max) fps is fine no lag nothing just a sudden freeze nothing works but restart, and now it restart while doing nothing (idle) even once during boot

 

[shortstuff_mt]

MadAdmiral is right, it seems to be a RAM problem. How long did you let Memtest86+ run? It needs to run multiple passes to fully test the RAM. You should just let it run overnight.

Did you manually set the RAM speed/timings/voltage to the correct specs in the BIOS? I've seen RAM that was causing system instability due to not getting enough voltage pass multiple passes of Memtest86+, but cause the system to freeze under normal use. Raising the RAM voltage completely eliminated the problem. You may even need to raise the voltage slightly higher than the rated voltage since running four sticks of RAM is harder on the motherboard.

Do you have a 64-bit OS so you can use all that RAM? What do you use this system for? Are you aware that there is absolutely no difference between 4GB of RAM and 8GB when gaming? 8GB of RAM is only needed when using very RAM intensive software like Photoshop or CAD software.

Edit: Another possibility is that you're pushing your old PSU to hard with your upgrades. I'm not aware of any quality units with a 535W rating. What PSU do you have? How old is it?

 

[systemcheck]

ok to start memtest ran for about an hour, i'll do the test overnight or untill it freezes i guess

no overclocking on the ram i loaded default settings, how would i know if they are at the proper settings and if not what is the proper voltages.

yes im running vista home preium 64, yeah i know it sucks but i know to to remove the crap from it runs just like 7! and the 8gb ram purpose part of a deal i got. 4gb ram i needed and the 8 gb ram were the same price, so what the hell right.

the psu came with the case when i bought it about 3 1/2 years ago type idk but i was thinking in about 2 weeks of getting a fullsize tower (upgrade from mid size) that comes with a 750 psu

 

[shortstuff_mt]

We need to know EXACTLY what model number your RAM is. There are a lot of RAM kits that match your description.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=40000147%201052315794&Description=corsair%20ddr2%20800&name=4GB%20%282%20x%202GB%29

The RAM will have a sticker on the side with their rated speed/timings/voltage. You should manually set all those values in the BIOS. Many motherboards don't supply the RAM with enough voltage when using "Auto" settings, especially when you populate all the RAM slots. You should set the RAM values correctly before running your overnight Memtest86+ test. I'm guessing that setting those values correctly will solve your freezing problems. It does more times than not.

Edit: What case/PSU combo were you thinking of getting? Most PSU's that come with cases are complete garbage. A quality PSU is the key to a stable system. You don't want to replace one POS PSU with another.

 

[systemcheck]

here is the link of the ram i got

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148164

the case i was thinking (for better cooling and thinking of going water on it)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129063

 

[MadAdmiral]

That should be fine for the PSU. Antec makes some decent units.

 

[systemcheck]

what happens if all my ram comes back as good

what would some of the other possiblities be?

 

[MadAdmiral]

Then we check something else. That's how you troubleshoot. You check the most likely culprit first, and then you move on.

 

[systemcheck]

okay then ill do the memtest tonight then post back

 

[systemcheck]

mem test doesn't get past 5%

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Looks like faulty RAM, then. You should now run Memtest86+ on each individual stick to find the faulty one. I know it's no fun, but there aren't really any shortcuts when troubleshooting hardware issues.

 

[systemcheck]

did the memtest on all 4 stick and guess its not the ram

its slot 1 and 3 on the mobo yea there goes a $400 board, oh well works great as long as i dont use those slots

thx guys

 

[systemcheck]

ps this site is more responsive and seems more intelligent than techrepublic.com other place i posted this like a month ago

 

[shortstuff_mt]

I wouldn't be so sure the slots are faulty. Did you manually set the RAM speed/timings/voltage in the BIOS before performing the RAM test? Running four sticks of RAM is harder on the motherboard and often even requires bumping the RAM voltage up a notch above the rated value for stability. Your RAM is rated at the standard 1.8v, but I would try it at 1.9v and see what happens.

 

[systemcheck]

no i did not set it all i know how to do is set the voltage in the bios so what should it set it too cause with only two sticks of ram in slot 2 and 4 teh pc been on full load since 10 last nite its been 12 hours now