Hello Dudes and Womenfolk,
I am at the end of my rope here with this issue. I have been seeking a solution since the middle of the summer, and have exhausted numerous attempts at a fix. I apologize in advance for the wall of text this will probably turn into. I figure I should be as thorough as possible at this point.
PROBLEM
-My system freezes/becomes unresponsive during any and all levels of use, be it games/internet browsing/acad drawing/youtubing.
-Audio loops, making that robot-esque noise, although peculiarly makes slow progress through whatever sound-byte was playing until system recovers.
-System always recovers, usually takes 30s, but has lasted up to 5-6min. Never BSODs.
-Occurs randomly, and I do mean randomly. Sometimes I can play TF2/DoD:S/Eve/whatever for hours on end with no issue, and other times the system freezes on and off continuously. Same goes with all other applications I use heavily (Adobe Suite 5, AutoCAD 2013, Rhino4) as well as web browsing (I use Chrome).
-no BSOD means no minidumps to check
THINGS I HAVE TRIED THAT DID NOT WORK/HELP
-reseting BIOS to stock speeds on RAM/CPU
-updating/rolling back drivers, have run DriverSweeper each time
-updating/rolling back BIOS
-updating everything I could off Asus MOBO support site
-running antivirus, I use Avira, hasn't found anything before or after OS reinstall
-updating SSD firmware
-ensuring power settings are set to never sleep the SSD/HDD
-defragging the hell out of my WD HDD
-reinstalling Win7, after reformatting both hard disks
-running Windows in Safe Mode
-testing RAM sticks with Memtest, individually and collectively
-removing GPU and using onboard graphics
-installing a dedicated sound card and disabling onboard sound
-installing a voltage regulator betweeen my PSU and the wall outlet
-installing a different, brand new PSU
-swapping SATA ports for my hard disks, tried em all, disabled 3rd party Marvell ports
-a whole lot of BIOS fiddling
-dropping the whole thing off for a diagnostic at my local computer store (Microcenter)
THINGS I HAVE CHECKED THAT SEEM OKAY
-temps: have run Hardware Monitor in all applications, nothing unusual, GPU tops at 75c in games, CPU at 48c
-SSD SMART data: a single reallocated sector, estimated life left at 100%
-eEvent Viewer: have watched this unceasingly for anything unusual, nothing found
THINGS I HAVE DEDUCED (AND COULD BE WRONG ABOUT)
-not corrupted/bad software applications/games
-not a bad/corrupted OS install
-not bad driver software
-not a bad GPU
-not a bad SSD
-not a bad PSU
MY SYSTEM
CPU: i7-2600k
MOBO: Asus P8Z68-V Pro (BIOS 3402)
RAM: Mushkin Blackline 996991 4x4gb (two dual channel kits)
GPU: Sapphire 6950 2gb Flex Edition
PSU: Corsair GS800 rev1 (800w, older 80Plus Standard Certified version)
SSD: OCZ Agility 3 60gb (boot disk, contains only OS, drivers, and critical applications)
HDD: WD Caviar Black 750gb (7200rpm, contains all other applications, games, programs)
CASE: Corsair Carbide Series 500R
HSINK: Zalman CNPS9900MAX-R (135mm)
KEYBOARD: Corsair K60 Mechanical
MOUSE: Cyborg R.A.T.5
MONITOR: Dell U2412M 24" LCD (1920x1200)
DVD/RW: Sony Optiarc something
WIRELESS: D-Link DWA-556 Xtreme N (PCI x1 slot)
SPEAKERS: Logitech z506 crap
Some things to note, the problem only occurs when I am doing something. The folks at my computer store could probably not replicate the problem because firing up Prime95 and FurMark and letting it sit all night doesn't make it freeze. I can stress test all day without issue, but as soon as I start browsing websites/using my pc nomrally - BAM! frozen.
I am considering buying a new motherboard at this point, but figured I should finally post up my problem at Tom's before I go spending even more money.
I will update my post as I try new things/remember things I tried.
Also, if this post is in the wrong forum section, please direct me to the correct one.
Thanks!
I am at the end of my rope here with this issue. I have been seeking a solution since the middle of the summer, and have exhausted numerous attempts at a fix. I apologize in advance for the wall of text this will probably turn into. I figure I should be as thorough as possible at this point.
PROBLEM
-My system freezes/becomes unresponsive during any and all levels of use, be it games/internet browsing/acad drawing/youtubing.
-Audio loops, making that robot-esque noise, although peculiarly makes slow progress through whatever sound-byte was playing until system recovers.
-System always recovers, usually takes 30s, but has lasted up to 5-6min. Never BSODs.
-Occurs randomly, and I do mean randomly. Sometimes I can play TF2/DoD:S/Eve/whatever for hours on end with no issue, and other times the system freezes on and off continuously. Same goes with all other applications I use heavily (Adobe Suite 5, AutoCAD 2013, Rhino4) as well as web browsing (I use Chrome).
-no BSOD means no minidumps to check
THINGS I HAVE TRIED THAT DID NOT WORK/HELP
-reseting BIOS to stock speeds on RAM/CPU
-updating/rolling back drivers, have run DriverSweeper each time
-updating/rolling back BIOS
-updating everything I could off Asus MOBO support site
-running antivirus, I use Avira, hasn't found anything before or after OS reinstall
-updating SSD firmware
-ensuring power settings are set to never sleep the SSD/HDD
-defragging the hell out of my WD HDD
-reinstalling Win7, after reformatting both hard disks
-running Windows in Safe Mode
-testing RAM sticks with Memtest, individually and collectively
-removing GPU and using onboard graphics
-installing a dedicated sound card and disabling onboard sound
-installing a voltage regulator betweeen my PSU and the wall outlet
-installing a different, brand new PSU
-swapping SATA ports for my hard disks, tried em all, disabled 3rd party Marvell ports
-a whole lot of BIOS fiddling
-dropping the whole thing off for a diagnostic at my local computer store (Microcenter)
THINGS I HAVE CHECKED THAT SEEM OKAY
-temps: have run Hardware Monitor in all applications, nothing unusual, GPU tops at 75c in games, CPU at 48c
-SSD SMART data: a single reallocated sector, estimated life left at 100%
-eEvent Viewer: have watched this unceasingly for anything unusual, nothing found
THINGS I HAVE DEDUCED (AND COULD BE WRONG ABOUT)
-not corrupted/bad software applications/games
-not a bad/corrupted OS install
-not bad driver software
-not a bad GPU
-not a bad SSD
-not a bad PSU
MY SYSTEM
CPU: i7-2600k
MOBO: Asus P8Z68-V Pro (BIOS 3402)
RAM: Mushkin Blackline 996991 4x4gb (two dual channel kits)
GPU: Sapphire 6950 2gb Flex Edition
PSU: Corsair GS800 rev1 (800w, older 80Plus Standard Certified version)
SSD: OCZ Agility 3 60gb (boot disk, contains only OS, drivers, and critical applications)
HDD: WD Caviar Black 750gb (7200rpm, contains all other applications, games, programs)
CASE: Corsair Carbide Series 500R
HSINK: Zalman CNPS9900MAX-R (135mm)
KEYBOARD: Corsair K60 Mechanical
MOUSE: Cyborg R.A.T.5
MONITOR: Dell U2412M 24" LCD (1920x1200)
DVD/RW: Sony Optiarc something
WIRELESS: D-Link DWA-556 Xtreme N (PCI x1 slot)
SPEAKERS: Logitech z506 crap
Some things to note, the problem only occurs when I am doing something. The folks at my computer store could probably not replicate the problem because firing up Prime95 and FurMark and letting it sit all night doesn't make it freeze. I can stress test all day without issue, but as soon as I start browsing websites/using my pc nomrally - BAM! frozen.
I am considering buying a new motherboard at this point, but figured I should finally post up my problem at Tom's before I go spending even more money.
I will update my post as I try new things/remember things I tried.
Also, if this post is in the wrong forum section, please direct me to the correct one.
Thanks!