Question Can someone help me figure out why my PC malfunctions while gaming?

Jan 7, 2023
1
0
10
Here’s a little background before I list out what I’ve done so far followed by my system specs. Sorry it’s wordy but I want to capture as much info as possible. I’ve been a long time lurker so I appreciate any advice!

Background: I built my a PC about a year ago (didn’t tune components much) and the last several months I’ve been having issues with USB peripherals disconnecting or the whole system freezing and crashing while I play games like Overwatch, FIFA, Dota, etc. Sometimes the game will freeze completely and I’ll have to do a hard reboot, but at the very least either of my mouse and keyboard will disconnect within 5-10 minutes of playing (even in menus), and only restarting my computer will fix this. Doesn’t happen any other time of regular PC use, just when playing a game. It’s odd to me because I use a USB wifi adapter which I plug into the motherboard and never have issues with it disconnecting. I should also note that when the PC fully crashes the disk utilization climbs to 100% and the CPU will get into the mid-90s C, so I’m speculating it may be something with the mobo or CPU, or maybe the power supply is getting too stressed. However, I believe AMD has said it’s normal for the 5600 to run in the mid 90s so I don’t know if CPU cooling is really an issue. Also the display ports from the monitors are plugged into the GPU.

Of the many things I’ve tried, I updated the chipset driver and my games ran fine for about a month before going back to the same problem a couple weeks ago. I am not sure what to do at this point other than spending hundreds of dollars on replacement parts. Below are all the things I’ve tried so far mostly in chronological order:
  • Checked drivers for peripherals
  • Plugged mouse and keyboard into designated ports in mobo and in other USB ports in mobo and front of pc case
  • Updated chipset driver from mobo’s website
  • Updated BIOS to latest version
  • Replaced SATA 2.5 SSD with NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD
  • Reapplied thermal paste to CPU and rerouted cables for better airflow in the case
  • Fresh windows 10 install
  • Activated windows (got a key from a friend, had been using an inactivated version) and got a bunch of new updates including some from AMD
  • Ran stress tests on my GPU (FurMark - FHD test) and CPU (Prime95) and both seemed to perform fine. GPU never really went past 70-75C; ran the CPU test for well over 5 minutes and it starting getting too hot for my liking (95-98C) so I force stopped the test.
  • Updated GPU driver
  • Replaced old Logitech G500 mouse with G502 Hero
After all of these things, I still have the same problem. I really appreciate any and all help! Hoping it’s just something obvious I’m missing but who knows. There are some things I wanted to try next, but I don’t know what to do beyond this:
  • Test a different mobo, power supply, and/or RAM sticks. Replace as needed
  • Move RAM sticks from A2/B2 slots to A1/B1 slots
  • Improve CPU cooling
  • Tune voltage settings for CPU and/or GPU
  • Tune fans for CPU and/or GPU
PC Specs:
  • Motherboard: ASRock B550m Pro4 AMD AM4 microATX
  • CPU: Ryzen 5 5600x (w stock cooler)
  • GPU: Asus Dual Nvidia RTX 3060
  • RAM: Crucial Ballistix 16GB (2x 8GB) DDR4-3000
  • SSD: WD_Black SN770 1GB Gen4 NVMe
  • Power Supply: EVGA Bronze 650W BQ
  • Mouse: Logitech G502 Hero
  • Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow V3
  • Case: Lian Li Lancool 170M MatX
Thank you!
 
Last edited:

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

Updated BIOS to latest version
For the sake of relevance, please state the BIOS version.

Move RAM sticks from A2/B2 slots to A1/B1 slots
Revert to slots A2 and B2.

Fresh windows 10 install
Where did you source the installer for the OS?

Power Supply: EVGA Bronze 650W BQ
How old is the PSU in your build?

disk utilization climbs to 100% and the CPU will get into the mid-90s C
Seems to me like it's memoryleak, that's an issue with your OS(essentially a corrupt OS)...the solution to that is a reinstall of your OS after recreating your bootable USB installer to rule out a corrupt installer.

Case: Lian Li Lancool 170M MatX
How many fans are in the case and how are the fans oriented in your chassis?