Loud buzzing crash

[soriagi]

Hi there, I've been having some trouble my computer and I think that it is a hardware error.

Sometimes if I play some high-end games (this happened on Medal of Honor multiplayer the other night) I get a crash. There's no BSOD, the PC just freezes and there's a loud buzzing noise that comes from the speakers. I have to re-start the computer. I've seen forums with this sort of problem before but never with any actual results, and obviously my problem could be different.

I've tested the graphics card with OCCT for half an hour and had no problems. I've not done the power supply test yet because I'm a bit scared of it (there's a warning!) I've done a memtest and got 1 error. Is this enough to cripple the system during games?

There seems to be enough air around the system and all the fans are working properly.

System:

i5 2300, 4GB RAM, ATI HD 5770, 550W PSU (I think) and ASUS p8H67-M motherboard.

I'd really appreciate a bit of help Thanks.

 

[arson94]

Yea, 1 error is definitely enough. But you say it only happends while playing higher-end games right? It's possible that maybe your motherboard doesn't supply enough voltage to the RAM by default and you just need to increase to the proper level. This would require you to look up your RAM and see what voltage it claims it needs. That information should be easy to find.

If that's not the case, your RAM might just be bad. Or maybe only 1 stick of RAM is bad. How long do you have to let MEMTEST run before the error occurs? Also, you can run memtest with only 1 RAM stick in at a time to figure out which stick is bad.

 

[gchildt]

I used to have a similar problem with my computer and assumed it was the video card. After further research i discovered that i had a bad power supply. I had enough power to handle the load, but for some reason my power supply lost it's ability to provide a stable load. I would get bluescreens and crashed games. Sometimes while play a hardware intensive game, my computer got louder. I though it was just the GPU, CPU, and chasis fans just spinning up. It was actually the power supply. Not to make this TL;DR... Replaced PSU all worked great afterwards!

 

[dalmvern]

How is your memory set up? 2x2GB? If this is the case, take one stick out, boot the computer, run memtest again. If you get an error, shut down, switch out the memory sticks, boot and run memtest. If you get an error on one stick or the other, thats probably faulty memory that you need to replace. Otherwise the issue is elsewhere.

 

[soriagi]

Thanks for your replies.

The voltage is set to AUTO on the BIOS and it looks like it's on 1.5V. I'll take out a stick and see if I still get the error. The error was on the first pass but not the second.

Do you think I should do the OCCT power supply test?

 

[danraies]

Try monitoring the cpu temps at load (prime95 plus some core temp monitor) and see what you get - that can happen when you're not dissipating heat properly. Also, what happens when you restart your computer? Do you get any warnings other than windows asking to start in safe mode?

 

[soriagi]

No warnings or error logs. The memory is 2x2GB by the way. Ok, I'll try those CPU temp things

 

[soriagi]

Hmmm, after only a minute or two on full load the processor got to 81C. Maybe I didn't install the fan correctly? I may think about getting a new fan. Is this a good idea or is 80C perfectly ok?

 

[danraies]

80C is a little high. I'm not sure if it's high enough to force shutdown, but it's higher than it should be and you should probably fix it. I have an i5-2500K and my stock heatsink came with thermal paste pre-applied, but it was in like three little strips instead of a uniform circle. I was getting high temps, too, and when I took the heatsink off there was space between those three strips where I wasn't getting any paste. I cleaned it off and put on some new Arctic Silver 5 and they went right down.

You might eventually want an aftermarket heat sink, but the stock fan should keep it closer to the 50C range without any problems.

 

[rozz]

Ever think sound card was the issue?

Please also post your sound card you are using. I have heard that Realtek HD audio has some issues with MoH and BC2 games. Check for updated drivers on that too.

Just to test it out - try disabling you sound card and play the game - see if it freezes then. you wont have sound but hey - at least you will narrow down the problem.

 

[rozz]

actually, i am having the exact same issue with my copy of BC2 come to think of it. I had just forgotten about it since i changed to my laptop instead of using my desktop which also has an Asus mobo in it using realtek audio. Let me know the results, I may of just fixed my own issue to. >)

 

[arson94]

Hmmm, after only a minute or two on full load the processor got to 81C. Maybe I didn't install the fan correctly? I may think about getting a new fan. Is this a good idea or is 80C perfectly ok?

No, 80C is too hot if it really is your CPU temp. Intel lists their maximum operating temperature at 72C. You could try just reapplying thermal paste and see if that helps before you go buy an aftermarket fan. Either way, you still shouldn't be getting any errors in MEMTEST.

 

[Proximon]

Also, you need to specifiy how you are measuring temps. Use Real Temp or HWMonitor to measure your core temps. You should be in the 60's under prime95 on your cores, with stock cooling. Anything more is a BIG ALARM and needs to be fixed right away, hoping no damage has been done.

 

[soriagi]

I don't know what the problem was with the temperatures but I seem to have fixed that now - bought and installed a coolermaster cooler. Getting 55C max on prime95 when using coretemp to check the temps. I'll continue to play some games to see if I get the crash with buzzing.

 

[rozz]

i also fixed my issue with my Bad Company 2 game. I disabled my onboard Realtek audio device and installed an external USB X-Fi card. Played for 5 hours strait - no crash.

 

[Proximon]

Good news.

 

[soriagi]

Hi again.

Well it's still crashing, but now it's with a BSOD. The screendump mentioned something to do with ATI so I now presume it's the graphics card. I was playing Mass Effect on pretty high settings when the crash happened. Any suggestions?

Graphics card is XFX HD 5770 single slot.

 

[arson94]

Try uninstalling all ATI/Catalyst software and then reinstalling the latest drivers first if you haven't done so already.

 

[soriagi]

I've re-installed but not properly uninstalled first. I'll do that now.

 

[arson94]

Sometimes it makes a difference to completely uninstall first. Not always, but sometimes.

 

[soriagi]

I have a bit more info on the problem I was having if anyone can help.

I tried switching the graphics card to the 4x speed PCIe slot on my mobo and I've not had a crash since - of course my FPS has dropped slightly so it's not an ideal solution.

I've got two ideas surrounding this:

1. My mobo's 16x PCIe slot is broken.
2. The H67 chip is oveheating as the graphics card was jut above this and was maybe blocking airflow.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

 

[arson94]

The heatsink on your video card could have been blocking airflow or even just heating the northbridge heatsink up even more by being so close. Either way, you would get the same results. The only way I can think to test your two hypotheses though would be if you could any better cooling to the Northbridge and try again. However, have you tried touching the Northbridge to see if it is even hot when your computer does crash? If it is not hot to the touch, then that might be a good indication your 16x PCIe slot is bad.