Unstable system

[marshallbradley]

Hi everyone!

I just finished my new (and also first, but I was very careful!) gaming rig. This is the build:

- 1GB MSI HD 7850 (Factory over clocked to 900Mhz)
- Intel Core i5-3450 with stock heatsink
- 2x4GB GeiL Black Dragon 1333Mhz DDR3
- MSI H61M-P31-G3 Motherboard
- 650W OCZ ZS Series 80PLUS Bronze Power Supply
- Antec One Case
- 500GB Toshiba SATA III 7200RPM Hard Drive
- Windows 7 Ultimate (x64)

The first sign of instability was consistent crashing 2-3 minutes into GTA IV. Under-clocking the card to stock settings (860Mhz) seemed to prevented GTA IV from crashing. However I began to consider RMAing the graphics card, so I began running some stability tests. Memtest86+ passed, so I can hopefully at least establish it's not a memory issue (I may run a longer test overnight though). Prime95 fails within 8 minutes, and IntelBurnTest on the second iteration. So now I feel like it's not only my GPU which is screwed but also my processor. Although Heaven Uniengine and 3D Mark will run for at least 30 minutes (perhaps I should run these for longer), Crysis benchmark freezes within 4 loops. Temperatures are not too bad, with graphics card not exceeding 60C and the processor is around 72C during IntelBurnTest (idle temps are 28C and 31C respectively).

Any ideas how I could be more certain what exactly the issue is with? It could even be the motherboard (unfortunately I have no other system to test components on). Should I RMA? I'm trying to decide if it is worth the hassle. The gaming stability so far has been pretty good, but I fear not taking care of the issues now could lead to worse problems further down the line.

Thanks,

Marshall

 

[kyleamos12]

Static Shock. Congratulations you are the only person in the world who has ever suffered from this! (joking)

1. Does it do this with any other game? If not it could be all the bugs in GTA4 and there are A lOT!!! So try another game and give me a shout back.

2. I don't know the PSU recommendation for 7xxx series or Intel processors so you could be suffering from a bottleneck even though I highly doubt it! Good Luck!

 

[marshallbradley]

Static Shock. Congratulations you are the only person in the world who has ever suffered from this! (joking)

1. Does it do this with any other game? If not it could be all the bugs in GTA4 and there are A lOT!!! So try another game and give me a shout back.

2. I don't know the PSU recommendation for 7xxx series or Intel processors so you could be suffering from a bottleneck even though I highly doubt it! Good Luck!

I'm hoping it wasn't me not being grounded, I bought the wristband and everything!

In answer to question 1 I've played quite a bit of Sleeping Dogs, which hasn't crashed so far IIRC. I've briefly played Crysis and Skyrim, but not long enough to get any idea of stability. This still doesn't explain the Crysis Benchmark freezes and the Prime95/IntelBurnTest fails (which could all be processor issues I suppose).

In answer to question 2 I'm pretty sure it's not a power issue. 7850s are not very power hungry cards by any means, so I feel 650w from a pretty reputable brand should be able to pull its weight.

Thanks,

Marshall

 

[smorizio]

make sure the mb bios is up to date. the newest firmware is for the ib cpu chips and ram on most new mb. if the mb bios does not have the right cpu code issues can happen.

 

[MotherFerJones]

Im with smor on flashing your BIOS, sounds like the mobo is tweaking out. Before you RMA it try flashing the latest BIOS from MSI's website. Actually now that i think about it try looking at the traces, "little lines etched in" on the mobo to make sure none look damaged.

 

[marshallbradley]

Im with smor on flashing your BIOS, sounds like the mobo is tweaking out. Before you RMA it try flashing the latest BIOS from MSI's website. Actually now that i think about it try looking at the traces, "little lines etched in" on the mobo to make sure none look damaged.

Thanks for the quick replies! The BIOS is up to date according to the BIOS itself (it says 2.5 which is the latest on the MSI website) so I don't think it's that. Should I reflash anyway? I can't see any visible scratches on the motherboard. They could be hidden by other components though or the case.

Any idea how to tell between a GPU/CPU/Mobo fault?

Marshall

 

[MotherFerJones]

its hard to say, a bad mobo is hard to diagnose because it can manifest in so many different ways since everything is hooked up to it. If you have a good motherbord laying around in a computer that you know to be good, then you could test the components individually to rule them out. If your feeling feisty you could always just RMA all three mobo/gpu/cpu but be ready to fight on the phone for a bit.

 

[marshallbradley]

its hard to say, a bad mobo is hard to diagnose because it can manifest in so many different ways since everything is hooked up to it. If you have a good motherbord laying around in a computer that you know to be good, then you could test the components individually to rule them out. If your feeling feisty you could always just RMA all three mobo/gpu/cpu but be ready to fight on the phone for a bit.

Thanks for all the input! I've decided to RMA the graphics card and the CPU. If it turns out the CPU and graphics card are fine, I will just order a new board (since my current one was only ~£35 and I want to upgrade to something with USB 3.0 anyway) and get a refund on the board at a later date.

We'll see how it goes...

Marshall