[SOLVED] Computer Freezes while playing games.

[Ricu]

I originally built this pc for music production but during the past 4 years it has served as a gaming setup I have only updated the gpu a couple of times but the other parts are from the original built and they still work perfectly in any game I throw at them. When I built the computer I had no clue what I was doing but somehow I got it running I have no deeper knowledge about volts or other things that professionals have and I don't think I ever updated any drivers manually other than gpu drivers so some of the drivers may be ancient.

I played RDR2 for the past 2 years mainly with no major issues but recently my computer started to freeze during gameplay on other games. I have been playing Rise of the Tomb Raider as of late and after around 10-30 min game just freezes and I can do nothing else than restart the computer. I decided to take the computer apart and examine if there is any indication of what the problem might be. I removed every single component from the motherboard as well as all the power cables. I plugged back cpu, ram's, gpu, ssd, and all the power cables. I started tomb raider again running with rivatuner this time so I could see some stats. When the computer freezes there are no visible signs in temps or motherboard to indicate the problem but after about 15-30 seconds red light between cpu and ram slots lights up I don't know if it is meant for the rams or for the cpu but here is also some photos and stats I attached if they give you any clues. And yeah I know that some of the parts look silly, at the time I built the computer I did not know I can't overclock the cpu so thats why there is that monster cooler 😀

The rig is currently out from chassis sitting on my table ready to go for any testing you suggest, cheers!

Hardware that is currently plugged in:
Motherboard: Asus Z10PE -D8 WS
CPU: Intel Xeon E5 2630 V3
Ram: Kingston 2x8GB 1rx4 pc4-2133p-rc1-11(I have 16GB's more but for some reason, they cause the computer to be unstable)
SSD: Samsung EVO
GPU: Asus 1070ti oc'd
PSU:Cooler Master V850 80PlusGold
Keyboard
Mouse
Internet cable
Bluetooth adapter for the ps4 controller

Photos were taken after the image freezes:

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=T1Zrc2hTVi1XWk9RZHJKcXp1d1l5bHd0cUstV193

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=T1Zrc2hTVi1XWk9RZHJKcXp1d1l5bHd0cUstV193

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=T1Zrc2hTVi1XWk9RZHJKcXp1d1l5bHd0cUstV193

 

[rgd1101]

brand and model of the psu?

 

[Ricu]

Cooler Master, RS-850-AFBA-G1

EDIT: while writing this the computer froze while not gaming or under heavy load. I tried to boot it up multiple times and the motherboard was just hanging on error code b7 which I think has something to do with memory. I swapped a different ram stick and this time only one 8gb ram and it booted up normally no clue what is wrong here?

EDIT: this is the exact psu https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/power-supplies/v-series/v850/

 

[Ricu]

With this current ram stick, my pc has been running a couple of hours now so it may be just that one of those other ram sticks or even one socket is somehow damaged but I feel this is still something else than just the ram stick being damaged, have to do some more testing with the other sticks to see if this is just random or if there really is a damaged stick, meanwhile all help and suggestions are more than welcome, thanks!

 

[rgd1101]

turn on the xmp memory profile?
ran memory test on all stick?

 

[Ricu]

turn on the xmp memory profile?
ran memory test on all stick?

Sorry, I don't know what these are? How to turn on xmp profile and what program to use to run the memory test?

Edit: also I was able to insert all the ram sticks to their sockets and finally start the computer at the moment it is running so would be good time to test the memory now.
Edit: inserting the rams was a strange process because all the ram sticks needed to be placed in a specific socket in order for the computer to start I know it sounds strange but that's what happened. I had to just try and get error codes one stick after another for as long as the motherboard did not give any error code and booted to windows, it's almost like the sockets remembered which ram sticks I inserted to A1, B1, C1, and D1 sockets during my original build or something if it makes any sence.

 

[dorsai]

Sounds like you have a memory module going bad

 

[Ricu]

Sounds like you have a memory module going bad
[/QUOTE]

Is there a way I can verify that?

 

[Ricu]

turn on the xmp memory profile?

So I searched from the bios for anything that says xmp but couldn't find it. I found something called Ai Overclock Tuner which was set to auto by default the other two settings were manual and OC tune, but I don't know if this has anything to do with the xmp profile?

 

[Ricu]

I run Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool when all 4 ram sticks total of 32gb were plugged in. After a while, the test got stuck in step 1 out of 2 59% and 29% completed. Some people said that you should let it run overnight to make sure it completes but the red light on the ride side of the cpu light up again so I thought there was some type of problem and it got stuck because of that. I have now successfully run that test with only one ram plugged into slot A1 as the mobo manual states that should be used if only one ram stick is inserted. And it went through in a matter of a couple of minutes without errors in the log. I'll continue doing this with the rest of the ram's but I think it will get stuck again when I insert the rams to the right side of the cpu, if it does that should it mean that either slot C1 or D1 is damaged or could it be just a ram stick? Anyways I continue my tests and share the results once ready.

 

[rgd1101]

test the c1 and d1 stick by itself

 

[Ricu]

test the c1 and d1 stick by itself

I'll do that I run the A1 and B1 sticks in A1 and B1 slots without errors. Should I insert the sticks that were originally in C1 and D1 slots to A1 slot for individual testing? Or can they be run in C1 and D1 slots wihtout anything on slot A1 meaning will the computer boot if there is nothing on A1 slot?

 

[rgd1101]

if you do both and failed, you have to test individual again to see with one failed

 

[Ricu]

Okay, I will test ram stick c1 and d1 in slot A1 to rule out the possible ram stick problem now and I'll post my results shortly here...

 

[Ricu]

I tested ram stick c1 on slot A1 without errors although when I inserted this c1 stick to slot A1 it didn't boot up so I removed the stick and re-seated it into the A1 slot and it booted up normally.

 

[Ricu]

I inserted Stick d1 to slot A1 and the motherboard was hanging on b2 code and
post screen or whatever it is called asked me to enter setup to recover bios(no idea why it wants to recover my bios)
so I entered bios and exit it immediately and the computer booted straight to windows.

After running the memory diagnostic tool test it gave me no errors so I guess the sticks are fine. How could I test the ram slots?

 

[Ricu]

Something I did not remember to tell you in the original post is that during the past 2 weeks when I have been playing games whenever the game freezes I cannot move my mouse and my headphones give me this really loud buzzing noise sometimes but not always. I searched from other forums for an answer to this problem but didn't find anything completely similar. In some forums, it was stated that this buzzing noise may relate to gpu driver problems(which makes some sense) or memory problems. Still don't see the connection how a memory problem can cause a buzzing noise and I am 100% sure it is not a physical noise but a noise that comes from the headphone aux out straight from my motherboard to my headphones that are plugged in while playing.

 

[Ricu]

I personally don't mind if slots c1 and d1 are out of use I can get away with just 16 gb of ram in any game I have played so far but it would be nice to know if they are broken and also what caused them to break so I can avoid that in the future when changing to a different mobo. But for as long as this motherboard is working I don't think I'll upgrade cause I would have to spend so much money for another motherboard that supports this cpu. My original idea was to update this setup so that I have two xeons running on it and more ram but I never felt the need for it cause it was running so fine.

 

[Ricu]

I did two additional tests.

I inserted ram stick d1 to slot C1 to run the test and then I inserted ram stick d1 to slot D1 neither test gave me any errors.

So to summarize it up.
I have now tested every slot (A1, B1, C1 and, D1) and every ram stick(a1, b1, c1 and, d1)
individually with no errors with the windows memory diagnostics tool (in standard mode, not the extended run).
I know Asus doesn't recommend populating any other ram slots individually than slot A1 but obviously, I had to test the slots somehow.

Also, the motherboard did not give me any red lights while running the diagnostic tests on individual sticks or slots so I am a bit confused about what I should do next?

I just started to think that maybe there has been some dust or other dirt in the slots that has been piling up over the years or the connection to the ram sticks was for some reason too weak or could it be some other problem?
I guess the test still won't run when I populate all the slots and the red light will beam up on the right side of the cpu but at least this is something now isn't it?

 

[Ricu]

So I started the test again with all slots populated this time, the test run:
test pass 2 of 2 82% completed
overall status 91% completed
then got stuck and the red light is beaming like a christmass tree once again.

 

[Ricu]

Okay I read the manual a bit more and checked the layout of the motherboard and what the red lights mean. This red light that lights up for me is for cpu not for ram sockets, in this motherboard every single ram slot has its own dedicated err led next to the ram socket. So what should this mean? Can I somehow test the cpu and find out what is the problem with it cause when I am gaming the cpu temperature rarely goes over 60 celsius. I haven't paid too much attention to the cpu temps, to be honest, but usually, it stays between 50-60 celsius during gameplay and is only using 20-50% of the cpu performance when checking rivatuner ?

 

[rgd1101]

so it kind of work with 1 stick but failed with 2 or more?
were the ram from 1 kit or 4 individual stick?

 

[Ricu]

The test goes through with two sticks but fails with four sticks inserted. All the sticks are identical and came with the same package. Last night I played 4 hours without problems and let the pc run overnight with all sticks inserted, didn't crash so even though it fails the memory test it clearly works better than before.

 

[rgd1101]

well it if work. don't touch it again.
could be just need to reseat.