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$520 Build Freezing

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Hi all, got a problem that's been bugging me for the past month or so. First thing's first, I bought all my parts in mid August, so it's relatively new. Now the problem I have is random. I could be doing anything on the pc when it'll just freeze randomly. It won't freeze completely at first (I can move the mouse and click things) but whenever I click a folder or program to launch, it won't launch it and eventually i can't click anything and I have to do a manual restart. Not sure if it's a software or hardware problem but here are my specs:

RAM: Wintec AMPX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333

HDD:Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

MB: BIOSTAR TH67B LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

Processor: Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

PSU: Cooler Master 600W extreme power plus

I feel like it's a hard drive problem considering it has the lowest score (5.9) on system scores. But i need professional opinion. I would appreciate any help.


-Stevan

More about : 520 build freezing

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I would say your rig is getting hot, but that case has decent stock fans. Are you overclocking your CPU? The more likely culprit is Windows itself. It's not uncommon for people to re install Windows every few months. Try this nifty program called SpeedFan to confirm it's not a heat related issue.

Your drive being slow has nothing to do with it shutting down randomly. There are guides here at TH to trouble shoot your hardware. Read them. Id start with running memtest on your memory. Itll stress test it and if your problem lies there, itll find it. 2nd id try another power supply CoolerMaster altho they make great cases, rebadges some of the worst PSUs that are made. They arent called Crappermaster for no reason.
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To test your temps, use HWmonitor from CPU-ID, speedfan is garbage. Get memtest86, can burn it to a self booting CD/DVD and run it in its own DOS. Stress tests your memory and its free. Let it run overnight.

vrumor said:
To test your temps, use HWmonitor from CPU-ID, speedfan is garbage.

I disagree, does HWmonitor allow you to change your actual fan speeds and such? No. They were both designed to serve slighty different roles:

HWmonitor
SpeedFan

I had a very similar thing happen with my computer after I changed my antivirus settings.

I would open a folder and it would open, then eventually I could "appear" to open another program, but it would only spin and spin and spin (not the HDD, the blue "thinking" icon). Soon I couldn't open anything, but the mouse icon was still visibly moving around if I moved the mouse. And it would feel like everything froze. What was really happening (I think) was that my antivirus was trying to scan every single file in a folder at once and it got bogged down.

I changed a setting in AV (specifically Avast antivirus->real time shields->expert settings->scan all files) and everything is fine now.

Just a thought.

cbag said:
Ewww, your +12V looks awfully low.


Would have to agree you ether have a bad PSU or that program is not reading your voltage correctly. If it is reading it correctly that would account for the locks ups that is for sure.

Quote:
I feel like it's a hard drive problem considering it has the lowest score (5.9)

If mean the Windows Index Score then 5.9 is all you are going to get with a standard Hard Disk Drive. To get a higher score you would need to move to Solid State Drive.

cbag said:
Ewww, your +12V looks awfully low.

All of your PSU voltage figures look bad. Your PSU is dead, man.



What would be a normal PSU figure? Also, would the fact that I don't have my PC plugged in directly in an outlet have anything to do with the low figures? I have it plugged into a surge protector. Is there another program that can read PSU voltages so I can get a second opinion?

stevan6 said:
What would be a normal PSU figure? Also, would the fact that I don't have my PC plugged in directly in an outlet have anything to do with the low figures? I have it plugged into a surge protector. Is there another program that can read PSU voltages so I can get a second opinion?


Normal PSU figures are very close to the 3.3V, 5V and 12V.

Plugging your PC into the surge protector is perfect. Don't plug it into the wall outlet directly.

Go into your BIOS, and you will have the readings there (somewhere under motherboard status...)

quicksand10 said:
Normal PSU figures are very close to the 3.3V, 5V and 12V.

Plugging your PC into the surge protector is perfect. Don't plug it into the wall outlet directly.

Go into your BIOS, and you will have the readings there (somewhere under motherboard status...)


Yep. Your 5v doesn't look too bad, but your 3.3v and 12v are really bad. For example here are my current voltages:

3.25V
5.05V
11.84 V
Anonymous

stevan6 said:
So bottom line is new PSU huh? What would be a reccomended PSU for my build. Most likely going to buy in a tiger direct store or online on newegg


HWmonitor can be wrong mine is showing 1.15V now for +12 v using HWmonitor but my voltages are fine in bios and easytune 6. I have a Corsair tx 750 v2. Not saying that it's not the PSU, to be sure check other sources for your voltages.

If my 12 V was at 1.15 V my computer wouldn't work, neither would yours at the stated voltages.

It's probably not the RAM then. What are your voltages in the BIOS?

If you are getting a new PSU soon, try one of these:

SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

XFX Core Edition PRO650W (P1-650S-NLB9) 650W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...



If a new working PSU doesn't fix it (or a OS reinstallation as ivan1984 suggested), my next guess would be a faulty motherboard.

To get an idea on whether or not it's your hard drive, download Speedfan and go on the S.M.A.R.T. tab (one of the last ones). Do an extended test for your hard drive and it should tell you if it's okay.

Other than that, I would try formatting the drive and starting from scratch...
But before that, let us know what Speedfan says about your HDD.
Anonymous

stevan6 said:
Ok so I finally went into the Bios (kept forgetting lol) and it says my 12v is 11.8 and my 5v is 5.1. I'm assuming that's good so it has to be a software problem if I'm not mistaken?


Your voltages are within range. I recommended that you reinstall your windows os a few days ago. There is no way at this point to be sure if it's a hardware/software problem but what you want to do is isolate the problem.
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