Question Computer freezes and I can't figure out why ?

[Moisture19]

I've been using an older/budget PC for quite some time but now it is behaving in a weird way. It's freezing every day a few times per session and mostly when just browsing the web or switching windows, but never when gaming.

The way it freezes is that at first I'm free to move around the mouse and highlight whatever it's on top. I can even open up new tabs or windows but they never load. Eventually the mouse itself locks and I'm unable to use the keyboard either; for about 30 seconds before everything catches up.

What I've done this far is factory resetting my entire PC. I wiped the entire Hard Drive and did a fresh install of Windows 10, but it still froze the same way. I've also tried to set the BIOS setting to the default/recommended settings that the system suggested. Lastly I ran HCI Memtest for a few hours and reached 650%-750% and no errors.

Screenshots:

Specs:

Case	Corsair Graphite 230T
Case Fans	Default Case Fan
Processor	AMD FX (tm)-6300 Six-Core Processor
Processor Cooling	Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO V2
Memory	16 GB [4 GB x4] Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB / 1600MHz
Video Card	Palit GeForce GTX 1070 Dual 8GB
Motherboard	GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3P (rev. 1.0)
Power Supply	NZXT C650 Gold V2
Primary Hard Drive	WD Blue 3D NAND SSD 2.5" SATA III 1TB
Secondary Hard Drive	Western Digital Blue HDD 3,5" SATA III 1TB
Sound Card	Realtek High Definition Audio (I think)
Network Card	Realtek PCIe GbE Family Controller
Operating System	Windows 10 Home (64-bit)

Note 1: It's worth mentioning that the GPU, Cooler, SSD and PSU have been newly installed.

I know some basics of computer building, but would not call myself good at it by any means. But from what I've read these type of freezes could be caused by not enough power or faulty hardware. I've tried to run checks and troubleshoot every piece of equipment and restoring everything to it's default state but nothing helps and I still have no idea if it's hardware or software related. Any kind of help or pointing me at the right direction would be highly appreciated

 

[Aeacus]

It doesn't look good for your wallet.

Fix: New CPU-MoBo-RAM combo.

Why?
Based on your symptoms, and the fact that you're running ancient CPU (released in 2012), same ancient MoBo (also released in 2012/2013) and DDR3 RAM, i'd say that your CPU is on it's way out. Could be MoBo issue too, but i suspect CPU.

Your PSU is solid and great quality, so i don't think issue would be with power delivery. That, and if issue would be with power delivery (either PSU or MoBo VRMs), you'd see reboots/shut downs instead. GPU is also solid, hence why games work.

What you could try, is benching CPU. CinebenchR, Prime95 and/or AIDA64.
For GPU bench, you can use Unigine Superposition.
And for RAM, memtest86, at least 2 full passes (13 tests in one pass), while 4 full passes is considered acceptable. One pass for 16GB of RAM should take ~2.5h. So, 4 passes is ~10 hours.

About 330 bucks can get you new, up-to-date, CPU-MoBo-RAM (DDR5) combo. Like so;

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i3-13100 3.4 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($136.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B760M PG Lightning Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($116.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston FURY Beast 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR5-5200 CL36 Memory ($75.12 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: Palit Dual GeForce GTX 1070 8 GB Video Card (Purchased For $0.00)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T ATX Mid Tower Case (Purchased For $0.00)
Power Supply: NZXT C650 (2022) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $329.09

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-08-29 06:04 EDT-0400

Do note that i added the rest of the current components you have to the build as well, which you can reuse, but i put their price at 0. Also, CPU comes with CPU cooler and you don't need to buy aftermarket CPU cooler. Nor can you reuse your CM Hyper cooler, since it doesn't have LGA1700 socket bracket. CPU has iGPU in it, as redundancy, just in case your GTX 1070 should die. This way, you can hook monitor to MoBo and continue using PC, except gaming, since iGPU isn't that powerful.

But if you were to go with DDR4 RAM, you could get it under 300 bucks. Like so;

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i3-13100 3.4 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($136.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI PRO B760M-P DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($99.99 @ B&H)
Memory: Kingston FURY Beast 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($38.98 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: Palit Dual GeForce GTX 1070 8 GB Video Card (Purchased For $0.00)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T ATX Mid Tower Case (Purchased For $0.00)
Power Supply: NZXT C650 (2022) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $275.96

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-08-29 06:07 EDT-0400

Same CPU as above, but MoBo that supports DDR4 RAM and cheaper DDR4 RAM as well, bringing down the combo price, saving about 55 bucks.

Note: you need to make clean Win install if you go with new CPU-MoBo-RAM combo.

 

[Moisture19]

Thanks for the thourough information. I was afraid I was going to need to bust my wallet open, but luckily it doesn't sound as bad as I had feared.

I will run some benchmark tests before making a decision and might update depending on the results.

 

[Zerk2012]

Thanks for the thourough information. I was afraid I was going to need to bust my wallet open, but luckily it doesn't sound as bad as I had feared.

I will run some benchmark tests before making a decision and might update depending on the results.

You can get the mounting bracket for the hyper 212 for 5 bucks.

LGA1700 Mounting Bracket Kit

LGA1700 Mounting Bracket Kit

store.coolermaster.com

Edit I would probably spend just a few bucks more for a 6 core processor.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/pQNxFT/intel-core-i5-12400f-25-ghz-6-core-processor-bx8071512400f

 

[Aeacus]

Edit I would probably spend just a few bucks more for a 6 core processor.

Yeah... And add few bucks more to get i5-12600K with 4 more cores (10c/16t). But rather than getting i5-12600K, few bucks more gets i5-13500 with even more cores (14c/20t). But a bit more over i5-13500 gets i7-13700K with even more cores (16c/24t) and so forth. Before you know it, you're looking at Core i9 with price tag of 500 bucks.

Idea was to make the fixing of PC cheap. If OP wants, they can upgrade CPU at later date.
Also, i5-12400F is F-suffix, meaning no iGPU for redundancy.

 

[SkyNetRising]

It's freezing every day a few times per session and mostly when just browsing the web or switching windows, but never when gaming.

Memory	16 GB [4 GB x4] Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB / 1600MHz
Primary Hard Drive	WD Blue 3D NAND SSD 2.5" SATA III 1TB
Secondary Hard Drive	Western Digital Blue HDD 3,5" SATA III 1TB

Any kind of help or pointing me at the right direction would be highly appreciated

Can you show CPU-Z - memory and spd tabs?

I'd try with 2 ram modules installed in proper dual channel slots (instead of 4 modules).
And disable ram overclocking (AXMP/DOCP) in BIOS.

Check health of your drives.
Use SSD manufacturer specific tool for SSD.
Use HDtune for HDD.
Post screenshots.

 

[Moisture19]

I've ran CineBench and got ~2150 in multicore score, so there's that

Yeah... And add few bucks more to get i5-12600K with 4 more cores (10c/16t). But rather than getting i5-12600K, few bucks more gets i5-13500 with even more cores (14c/20t). But a bit more over i5-13500 gets i7-13700K with even more cores (16c/24t) and so forth. Before you know it, you're looking at Core i9 with price tag of 500 bucks.

Idea was to make the fixing of PC cheap. If OP wants, they can upgrade CPU at later date.
Also, i5-12400F is F-suffix, meaning no iGPU for redundancy.

As for now I most likely will just need a cheap fix, yeah. I tend to use my PC a lot for work stuff and at times gaming. A decent motherboard does sound nice though as it would future proof the setup a bit since I'm extremely limited on what I can slot into my current one.

Can you show CPU-Z - memory and spd tabs?

I'd try with 2 ram modules installed in proper dual channel slots (instead of 4 modules).
And disable ram overclocking (AXMP/DOCP) in BIOS.

Check health of your drives.
Use SSD manufacturer specific tool for SSD.
Use HDtune for HDD.
Post screenshots.

Now I'm a bit confused of what you mean about the RAM. Would it help to reduce the modules? And I'll double check if any overclocking is enabled in the BIOS on the next reboot.

EDIT: XMP/Overclocking was, and still is, disabled.


In the meantime, here are the screenshots:

Note: The only difference between each slot is the Serial Number and nothing else.

 

[Zerk2012]

Yeah... And add few bucks more to get i5-12600K with 4 more cores (10c/16t). But rather than getting i5-12600K, few bucks more gets i5-13500 with even more cores (14c/20t). But a bit more over i5-13500 gets i7-13700K with even more cores (16c/24t) and so forth. Before you know it, you're looking at Core i9 with price tag of 500 bucks.

Idea was to make the fixing of PC cheap. If OP wants, they can upgrade CPU at later date.
Also, i5-12400F is F-suffix, meaning no iGPU for redundancy.

If you just look at it like that the FX has no built in graphics.
Lower priced than yours with the 6 core processor

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/BbzLCz

 

[Aeacus]

If you just look at it like that the FX has no built in graphics.

I know that old AMD FX-6300 doesn't have iGPU, but it doesn't mean OP has to get new CPU without iGPU as well and be worse off. Better to get CPU with iGPU for redundancy.

A decent motherboard does sound nice though as it would future proof the setup a bit since I'm extremely limited on what I can slot into my current one.

Latest Intel 700-series MoBos will also support upcoming 14th gen CPUs. Latter was confirmed by MSI's leak,
article: https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/24/23844095/intel-14th-gen-processors-performance-msi-leak

 

[Zerk2012]

I know that old AMD FX-6300 doesn't have iGPU, but it doesn't mean OP has to get new CPU without iGPU as well and be worse off. Better to get CPU with iGPU for redundancy.


Latest Intel 700-series MoBos will also support upcoming 14th gen CPUs. Latter was confirmed by MSI's leak,
article: https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/24/23844095/intel-14th-gen-processors-performance-msi-leak

All LGA 1700 boards will support 14gen it just a refresh that is the way Intel has always done it.
That really has nothing to do with anything since most people don't upgrade every year and the 6 cores should be fine for a good bit

 

[SkyNetRising]

Now I'm a bit confused of what you mean about the RAM. Would it help to reduce the modules?
EDIT: XMP/Overclocking was, and still is, disabled.

Did you try with two ram modules ? (reducing ram to 8GB)
Do freezes still happen?

 

[Moisture19]

Did you try with two ram modules ? (reducing ram to 8GB)
Do freezes still happen?

I changed it just now and been using my PC for 15 minutes without any issues. In contrast it used to freeze every 3-5 minutes. I have no idea what magic you just pulled off but you might have just saved it. I will, however, use the PC for a few hours more before I can say with certainty that it's fixed.

 

[Aeacus]

I have no idea what magic you just pulled off but you might have just saved it.

RAM slots dying on older MoBos isn't that unheard of. It could be the issue for you. Or memory control chip on MoBo is the one that acts up, making running 4x sticks of RAM unstable, thus producing the error you're seeing.

 

[SkyNetRising]

I have no idea what magic you just pulled off but you might have just saved it.

No magic there.
4 module configuration is harder on cpu memory controller and may require additional DRAM parameter tuning in BIOS to remain stable.
2 module configuration just requires less effort.

 

[Moisture19]

No magic there.
4 module configuration is harder on cpu memory controller and may require additional DRAM parameter tuning in BIOS to remain stable.
2 module configuration just requires less effort.

After an entire day of using the computer it seems to have done it. It sure isn't fast as it is an old PC and I will still look into getting a new mobo and possibly CPU, but as for now, simply removing the RAM sticks from slot 3 and 4 stopped my computer from freezing. Thanks everyone involved for the assistance and guidance ^^