I recently decided to upgrade my PC in anticipation of Quakecon, and I have been running into problems with my computer: namely, when playing a graphics intensive game like Smite or Borderlands 2, I will be able to play certain game modes/locations for a while, but after playing for a while my screen will go black and my computer will do a hard restart. There are no error messages when my computer starts up, and when I check the event log the only info I can find is that the computer "stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly."
Here are my specs:
Mobo: Asrock 970 extreme 3
CPU: AMD FX-8350
Heatsink: Stock
Ram: 8Gb (2 sticks @ 4Gb) Ballistix Sport
PSU: Corsair 500W (Has been temporarily replaced with a Corsair 650 W, more on that later)
GPU: Radeon HD 6850
Case: Cooler Master HAF series RC-912
Main Hard Drive: Samsung SSD 120 Gb
Second Hard Drive: Western Digital 500 Gb HDD
It's important to note that my 500W PSU, 500 Gb HDD and the Radeon HD 6850 all came over from my last computer build, so I know that all of these parts (at least, at one time) used to work just fine. All other parts are brand new from Micro Center.
My first thought was that my gpu/cpu was overheating. I found that my cpu and my gpu idle at around 40-45 C, and when under load, hwmonitor reports both the cpu and gpu at around 60-65 C. I didn't think these temperatures were too bad, but I went ahead and applied new thermal paste to my cpu just to be safe. After doing this, cpu temperatures did not show much difference.
My second idea was to check the RAM. I ran both the windows memtest and memtest86 on both sticks, and both came back with no errors.
My next idea was that maybe my PSU (500W) was not putting out enough power to use all of these components when everything was running, so I went out and grabbed a stronger PSU(650W), but I am still having the same crashing problem.
My graphics drivers are up to date, my bios is up to date, and directX is up to date. All of my windows updates have been installed as well.
I'm honestly not sure what to do anymore. I've been scouring the forums and internet for a while looking for a solution, but I haven't found anything of note. Any help/insight you can provide would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Here are my specs:
Mobo: Asrock 970 extreme 3
CPU: AMD FX-8350
Heatsink: Stock
Ram: 8Gb (2 sticks @ 4Gb) Ballistix Sport
PSU: Corsair 500W (Has been temporarily replaced with a Corsair 650 W, more on that later)
GPU: Radeon HD 6850
Case: Cooler Master HAF series RC-912
Main Hard Drive: Samsung SSD 120 Gb
Second Hard Drive: Western Digital 500 Gb HDD
It's important to note that my 500W PSU, 500 Gb HDD and the Radeon HD 6850 all came over from my last computer build, so I know that all of these parts (at least, at one time) used to work just fine. All other parts are brand new from Micro Center.
My first thought was that my gpu/cpu was overheating. I found that my cpu and my gpu idle at around 40-45 C, and when under load, hwmonitor reports both the cpu and gpu at around 60-65 C. I didn't think these temperatures were too bad, but I went ahead and applied new thermal paste to my cpu just to be safe. After doing this, cpu temperatures did not show much difference.
My second idea was to check the RAM. I ran both the windows memtest and memtest86 on both sticks, and both came back with no errors.
My next idea was that maybe my PSU (500W) was not putting out enough power to use all of these components when everything was running, so I went out and grabbed a stronger PSU(650W), but I am still having the same crashing problem.
My graphics drivers are up to date, my bios is up to date, and directX is up to date. All of my windows updates have been installed as well.
I'm honestly not sure what to do anymore. I've been scouring the forums and internet for a while looking for a solution, but I haven't found anything of note. Any help/insight you can provide would be appreciated.
Thanks!