(Solved) PC performance worsens after series of crashes

[Tomas Hung]

My PC had been handled Battlefield 4 and Watch Dogs at High/Medium settings and 1080p quite well until a recent series of crashes
I was playing Watch Dogs when suddenly the PC crashed and it took me 30 minutes to clean the RAM and the GPU then put them back in because everytime I restarted it it would BSoD. During the process I had touched the GPU without discharging myself first and another time I turn the PC on without plugging the GPU to the PSU. After sometimes the rig started working normal again
But then, everytime I tried playing a game, especially during hardware intensive moments, then the screen would tear and the PC would crash. So, once again, being a newbie to the PC building world, I blamed the GPU and would only try to fix it, not anything else. After consulting the internet, I installed a new driver then go for a 3-day vacation. But, when I got back, the PC would crash 2 more times then the performance started to worsen: I can barely get to 12fps with Watch Dogs and 20fps with Battlefield 4 (the crashing still happened). So I checked the only thing I haven't check on my rig, the CPU fan. Only then did I find out that it is dirty as hell. So I clean the fan, then miraculously the crashing stops, the performance get better by 1-2 frames
Question is, what might have caused the decreased in quality of my beloved PC?
Thanks you guys in advance

 

[Darkbreeze]

Install HWinfo (Download the correct 32 or 64 bit version from the internet) and then run sensors by checking the box next to sensors only when you start the program after installation. Take screenshots of the sensors window. It might take a couple of screenshots to capture all the sensors as you scroll down in the window. Post the screenshots here and we'll see what's going on.

 

[Tomas Hung]

Here they are

 

[Darkbreeze]

Ok, it seems like something is going on with the hard drives because they are showing 100% on read and write. Did you have anything running while you took those screen shots? Do you have defragmenter set for auto? Are you using System restore or is it disabled? I'd disable it for now until you get things straightened out. Same with the defragmenter. Your temps looked ok but of course the system was at idle, or pretty close, so I'd open HWinfo again, run one of your really intense games or use Prime95 to exert a load on the cpu and after about five minutes, take another screen shot series just like these, which was perfect by the way, I wish everybody understood and would do it correctly, and then post the results.

 

[Tomas Hung]

If it wasn't for your clear instruction
Yes, I was running Windows Update when I took the screenshots
This is when I'm running Unturned at highest settings. If you want anything more intensive I can run Battlefield 4
Thank you for your support

 

[Darkbreeze]

Temps actually look pretty good as does HD read/write. Do you have this rig overclocked or are you using turbo core via either bios or overdrive? How much RAM do you have installed because I'm not seeing the physical memory installed amount in the screenshots, only the usage.

 

[Tomas Hung]

I'm not overclocking or running Turbo core and my RAM is 2 4GB DDR3

 

[Darkbreeze]

So you have 8GB RAM total, just so I make sure I understand correctly? Because in the first set of screenshots it's showing 76% memory usage with 3106MB being used and in the second set it's showing 52% with 2112 being used. This would indicate you only have 4096MB of RAM installed. If you have 2 4GB modules installed then one of the modules is NOT being recognized or has a problem. Can you verify you have 2 4GB modules installed or in fact only have 2 2GB modules.

Also, and maybe more importantly, could you install Belarc advisor and then take a screenshot of the summary window. This program will tell me EVERYTHING about your computer. For security reasons you can black out anything pertaining to your personal information so it's not visible here in the forum because it will show up including IP address etc using whatever graphics application you may have, or just crop the screenshot so only the upper portion of the shot is shown. You can tell which section contains all the system related information and you can download the program here:

http://www.belarc.com/Programs/advisorinstaller.exe

 

[Tomas Hung]

Here you are
Well, it's weird, it says I have 8192 of memory but only 4096 of installed usable RAM

 

[Darkbreeze]

This IS the problem and we need to figure out what's going on. Are you sure you have the modules in the correct slots. I think you have them in the wrong two slots. If you have one module in the slot closest to the cpu and then skip a slot and another module in the third slot from the cpu, that is wrong. You need to have one module in the second slot from the cpu and one in the last slot from the cpu. Shut down, move the modules, reboot and check the system info again.

 

[Tomas Hung]

I'm sure I have my RAMs set up exactly like you said
So I'm beginning to think that one of them is defect
Also, you might need my system spec
I use a Gigabite GA970A mobo
A FX-8320 CPU
A HD 7770 for GPU
And as you can see here 2 4GB DDR3 RAM (they're the same model and had been working well till you showed me that something wrong is happening)

And here is a pic of the Belarc adviser page

 

[Darkbreeze]

Turn off the computer, remove the module that is closest to the processor and try to reboot. If it won't, turn it back off and replace the module that is still installed with the other module and try again. If it will boot with one module but not the other, replace the faulty module.

 

[Tomas Hung]

Thanks to your instruction I've identified the faulty module and will proceed to have it fixed/replaced as soon as possible
You are the real magician out here
Once again, thank you and very much appreciated

 

[Darkbreeze]

Glad to help and hope everything goes more smoothly now for you. Take care and if you need further help or help in the future don't hesitate to ask.