Question Can't figure out why Fortnite keeps killing the PC ?

[Smwynn117]

I've been building computers for over a decade and I work in IT as a systems admin, so I'm no stranger to troubleshooting pc issues. But this has me scratching my head.
I built a pc for my friend (now gf) a couple years ago and it had been working fine until the past couple weeks. We started playing Fortnite together (Yes, I'm in my 30s and enjoy Fortnite) and the game keeps crashing frequently. Usually within 15 minutes. Sometimes its a soft crash and the game just closes but most times the entire system will freeze and require a reboot. Yesterday it even BSOD, but she didn't get a snapshot of the error code in time.

These are the original specs:
Ryzen 5 2600
MSI b450m Bazooka v2
2x 8gb ddr4 3200
RX 580 Sapphire Nitro GPU (Now a GTX 1070 MSI Gaming X)
Kingston 256gb SATA SSD
Seagate 500gb HDD
EVGE 600w 80+ Bronze psu
3x 1080p monitors

When these crashed first started, the screens would be all messed up or not register at all and would have to reinstall the graphics driver to get them to all work again. So this led me to believe there was a driver or gpu issue. I ran DDU and reinstalled the drivers fresh while in safe mode. This did not fix anything and the same thing happened less than 15 minutes into Fortnite. I then had her reinstall Fortnite, but that didn't make a difference.

At that point I tried to see if it was a problem with the GPU itself. I installed Firestrike and Unigen Superposition benchmarks and ran them both in loops on highest settings. The GPU was at 100% usage and reached a max of 74c but never crashed after several back-to-back runs over 30 min.
I had her do another round of Fortnite till it crashed and then once the PC had recovered, I searched the windows even viewer for any errors around that time and did not see anything related to app crashed or hardware/driver failures.

At that point, I did a drive wipe and a full reinstall of Win10. Reinstalled all the needed mobo/cpu/gpu drivers fresh and applied all windows updates. Reinstalled Fortnite and it crashed a few minutes in. All the same issues as before.

Fast forward a week and I acquired a GTX 1070 to swap her with since so far it made sense that the issues were likely graphics related. She brings her PC to my house and I get it installed and use GeForce experience to apply the new drivers and do a reboot. We load up Fortnite and play 2-3 rounds without any issues and its running smoother than ever (more powerful gpu). Later that night when she is back at her place, we are playing together and it starts crashing every few minutes again. And this time is when the BSOD happened...
So I'm at a loss as to what the issue could be. Everything else seems to work flawlessly, but Fortnite keeps causing crashes.

Any input or suggestions would be helpful. I may be experienced, but I still sometimes miss something that should be obvious or didn't think to check.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey there,

Yeah, that's a bit unusual.

Given you've already re-installed OS, drivers and OS updates, you might test your ram.

You can do this with the Windows Mem Diagnostic, or outside of OS environment with memtest86+. If there are any errors that could be the issue.

What bios is running on the machine? If it's too out of date, then it's possible theirs a bug fix in a newer version that may remedy the issue. It can also bring better memory compatibility among other performance enhancements.

The latest bios that isn't really that up to date is 7A38vPB, but it's from June 2020. Your board may already have this. The only other one available is the beta 7A38vPF1. This is very recent. and has the new Agesa 1.2.0.7 microcode which brings lots of fixes. It very well might be worth considering upgrading to this one. A note to consider on this: Updating to 1.2.0.7 is a one way trick. You cannot downgrade it if there are further issues. You should weigh up the benefits of the update.

What exact model PSU do you have? Whilst I don't think this is a PSU issue, EVGA have made some average lower tier PSU's that have potential to cause issues.

 

[Smwynn117]

Hey there,

Yeah, that's a bit unusual.

Given you've already re-installed OS, drivers and OS updates, you might test your ram.

You can do this with the Windows Mem Diagnostic, or outside of OS environment with memtest86+. If there are any errors that could be the issue.

What bios is running on the machine? If it's too out of date, then it's possible theirs a bug fix in a newer version that may remedy the issue. It can also bring better memory compatibility among other performance enhancements.

The latest bios that isn't really that up to date is 7A38vPB, but it's from June 2020. Your board may already have this. The only other one available is the beta 7A38vPF1. This is very recent. and has the new Agesa 1.2.0.7 microcode which brings lots of fixes. It very well might be worth considering upgrading to this one. A note to consider on this: Updating to 1.2.0.7 is a one way trick. You cannot downgrade it if there are further issues. You should weigh up the benefits of the update.

What exact model PSU do you have? Whilst I don't think this is a PSU issue, EVGA have made some average lower tier PSU's that have potential to cause issues.

It's an EVGA 110-BQ-0600-K1 600 BQ, 80+ Bronze 600W, Semi Modular.
I did check the bios during my troubleshooting and it is using the latest official version you mentioned. I'll have her run the mem test and see what happens. It would be odd if that turns out to be the issue cause G. Skill Ripjaws is one of the most widely compatible brands. Also you would think it would cause errors in other games and functions.
But we will see what happens. Thanks for the input!

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

It's an EVGA 110-BQ-0600-K1 600 BQ, 80+ Bronze 600W, Semi Modular.
I did check the bios during my troubleshooting and it is using the latest official version you mentioned. I'll have her run the mem test and see what happens. It would be odd if that turns out to be the issue cause G. Skill Ripjaws is one of the most widely compatible brands. Also you would think it would cause errors in other games and functions.
But we will see what happens. Thanks for the input!

Hey,

From what I can see, the BQ are made by Anydson, and are not good quality. They have a bad rep for PSU's. I'd possibly look at changing that out soon.

Just to be clear: Are the crashes BSOD's, mostly? Or hard freezes where the system seems to just hang, and the sounds get stuck, or shut down and re-starts?

 

[Smwynn117]

Hey,

From what I can see, the BQ are made by Anydson, and are not good quality. They have a bad rep for PSU's. I'd possibly look at changing that out soon.

Just to be clear: Are the crashes BSOD's, mostly? Or hard freezes where the system seems to just hang, and the sounds get stuck, or shut down and re-starts?

Most are hard freezes that require forcing the pc to power off. Only had the one BSOD so far

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Okay, I don't see it being a PSU issue, but I would consider replacing that one soon.

Hard freezes typically point to ram issues, or a hardware conflict.

Whilst the Ripjaws are a good set of DIMMS, and compatible, that doesn't mean there isn't a bad DIMM. So lets rule that out, and work form there.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[rickypicky5]

So the PC works ok at your house but not at her house?

 

[Smwynn117]

Okay, I don't see it being a PSU issue, but I would consider replacing that one soon.

Hard freezes typically point to ram issues, or a hardware conflict.

Whilst the Ripjaws are a good set of DIMMS, and compatible, that doesn't mean there isn't a bad DIMM. So lets rule that out, and work form there.

Let us know how you get on.

Ran the memory test 3 times and had no errors.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Ran the memory test 3 times and had no errors.

Okay then, I think you have to consider the bios update.

 

[michael.vaught1998]

Did you clean the computer or update any of the drivers yet? Sometimes after a while, you need to remove your gpu drivers with ddu alongside whatever software your card uses.

 

[g-unit1111]

Okay, I don't see it being a PSU issue, but I would consider replacing that one soon.

Hard freezes typically point to ram issues, or a hardware conflict.

Whilst the Ripjaws are a good set of DIMMS, and compatible, that doesn't mean there isn't a bad DIMM. So lets rule that out, and work form there.

Let us know how you get on.

No it's totally a PSU issue. If you run your PC on idle it won't have any issues with your PSU because your GPU is not being utilized to its' full extent. But once you start using anything that involves use of your GPU, then it has the potential to wreck havoc on your PSU.

I wouldn't touch the RAM or BIOS until you know for sure that it's a PSU issue. And I say that because it may have ran fine on an RX580 because that's an older card with different power requirements. The 1070 is a huge upgrade from that and will use a lot more wattage.