Black screen / sound skipping/ computer freeze

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ArtisticAnarchist

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Mar 25, 2012
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Hey guys, I've been doing alot of digging to try and figure out why this issue keeps happening. At first, I thought it might be my GPU overheating or a memory issue. (And it still could be. I know very little about these kinds of problems.) But recently my computer has been really agitating me because when I've tried playing a game like dota2 or deus ex, the issue described in the title happens. Suddenly, and without warning the screen will go black and the sound will begin skipping. At the same time the GPU fan ramps up to what I'm guessing is 100%, and the whole thing freezes. I have to actually restart the computer and then power it off again, then power it up once more to get it running again.

I don't -think- it's a temp issue, as it only runs about 44c or 110f max when it crashes like this, and I've run windows memory diagnostic as well to see if it's a problem with my ram. I'm lost at this point, and I could definitely use some help. Also, my card drivers are up to date, so there's that as well.

Right now my specs are as follow:

Intel core i7 960
EVGA SLI3 motherboard
12 gigs of DDR3 triple channel memory
and finally i'm running crossfire with two AMD radeon HD 6950s

Would appreciate any help trying to hammer out this problem.
 
Solution
K
Try Memtest: http://www.memtest.org/ in addition to windows memory diagnostic. Run several passes. Also, i do not see your psu on the list of your specs.
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kelthic

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Feb 28, 2012
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A lot of options, yes. most often freezes are bad RAM in my experience, that's why i jumped on that first. Report your errors and try swapping out the graphics cards to see if that is your problem. if you have a spare psu, swap that out as well and report back :)

Flashing your BIOS can be dangerous to your PC and should never be a first resort, but it can improve and correct incompatibility issues with the components in your motherboard, so it might be that could resolve the problem. lets do the other things first, though. What RAM did you get out of curiousity? Some motherboards can be very picky about the RAM you put in them
 
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ArtisticAnarchist

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Mar 25, 2012
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At first I was using a triple channel kit of Corsair Vengence, and I thought that the RAM was the issue as well so I switched over to G-Skill, which was just defective. (I've sent it back now for a refund, and the Corsair RAM went through 9 passes without a single error, so I jumped the gun).

 
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ArtisticAnarchist

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Mar 25, 2012
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The dump file didn't load into the folder I made, I do have this though.

The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.

This is how Even Viewer describes the event, but the computer never actually turns off? I have to physically restarts it after it crashes, but I dunno.
 
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kelthic

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Reverted? I haven't ever changed them at all.
Click to expand...

k.

wierd that registry cleaner won't remove those. i've never had a problem with that. Could try in safe mode.


Quote :


But recently my computer has been really agitating me because when I've tried playing a game like dota2 or deus ex, the issue described in the title happens. Suddenly, and without warning the screen will go black and the sound will begin skipping. At the same time the GPU fan ramps up to what I'm guessing is 100%, and the whole thing freezes.





Does this statement mean your issue only occurs when gaming? If so, try removing one card and gaming on one card only. If that works fine, switch cards and see if you are able to game on the other card. This will better rule out video issues than installing the latest drivers. Could be one card is going bad.

also try this please. sorry this is taking so long, i'm really jsut trying to narrow it down.
 
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ArtisticAnarchist

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Nah man it's alright. It's just really annoying. I built my own computer years back, and even after selling it to a friend, it's been dropped while moving a dozen times. The actual case is almost nothing but the basic frame, and I don't think he's dusted it once since getting it a year and a half ago - but it still works perfectly. I got CP to make this because in the end it was cheaper, and... argh... yeah. I'll try switching cards to see if that works.
 
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kelthic

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I hear you. Just feel bad that almost everything we've looked at has been a dead end so far, except possibly the PSU. :(
 
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ArtisticAnarchist

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Mar 25, 2012
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Also, the crash -has- happened when I have not been gaming once or twice, but i can literally force it to happen by just starting up Deus Ex and starting a new game. It crashes within the first few minutes of the little walk-around.
 
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