CPU problem, GPU problem, Ram Problem IDK please help

[kmfa1988]

Where do I begin. I will start with my PC specs:

CPU: i7 3770k (now set to default turbo of 3.9ghz in bios) 5 years old
Motherboard: Maximus V Gene (5 years old)
Ram: 2 x 8gb g.skill Trident DDR3 2133 (5 years old)
GPU: 980 ti w/acx 2.0 6gb (less than 2 years old)
HDD & SSD: 1TB 7200 RPM & 250gb samsung 840 EVO
PSU: Corsair TX750 (5 Years old)
(1) 24" acer 1080p monitor (1) 27" Predator 1440p monitor
Windows 7 Home Premium

Problems that are happening:
Never overclocked my rig until recently because I have always been afraid as I had no idea what to do. The past couple of days I decided to give it a shot as I have researched for years on how to do it and watched loads of videos.

I started out simple by going into my bios of the maximus v gene and just switching the simple cpu level up options that were available. I went to 4.2ghz level up from the stock 3.9ghz that I have never touched before. I have my predator monitor on DVI and my acer on HDMI.

I ran the appropriate tests and monitoring systems (prime95, coretemp,cpuid,HZ monitor, intel burn test) and everything seem to be great. I ran prime95 for something like 6 hours. As I opened up PUBG video game to play it runs so smooth and better than ever. Then out of nowhere I get blue pixel blocks on my screens, colors turn pink and blue on the foliage. I can hear everyone in discord still, my computer just doesn't respond??? No mouse, keyboard working at all. The weird thing is that I everything is still connected as I can speak and here my friends.

Okay so that is the newest problem I have. I gave up on OC and went back to defaults in the bios, now my screens twitch/tear when moving from one screen to another while playing a game, if in full screen they flicker from black to picture multiple times. Everything just seems so laggy. What can the problem be.

I also messed around a bit with the memory clock and core clock of the GPU through MSI after burner but set that back to factory settings as well.

One other question is does afterburner interfere with Nvidas control panel, the device settings options seem to be different from the default on afterburner?

The biggest problem I have is that I believe I have a decent PC and should be able to OC my 3770k at least to 4.5 with no problems to gain that extra performance free of charge. I do not run watercooling but from the monitoring coretemp it doesnt seem as though i should have to however, I am running an after market cooling fan on my cpu Master Cooler with a larger heat sink. But I do plan on running a watercooling unit on the cpu in the near future.

Someone please help me as I really dont want this to be the end all and have to build a new pc I feel I can get a few more years hopefully with small upgrades (motherboard in particular).

 

[SlayZombi]

I have an FX 8320 along with an R7 260X (About 4 years old for my build. Even modest overclocking can cause random blackscreens out of nowhere. With these blackscreens I can still hear audio fine but video is completely cut off. This sounds a lot like your problem. For AMD cards, a program called WattMan (Radeon Settings) will set all overclocking back to default if an error is detected. I'm not sure about how Nvidia handles it, but do go into the Nvidia control panel and make sure EVERYTHING is set back to normal. This seems to be an issue that only stemed from your decision to overclock, correct?

Now, as for the cooling, I would suggest replacing both the GPU and CPU thermal paste if you never have. I use Arctic Silver 5 and it works wonderfully. My 4 year old GPU had the thermal paste completely DRY as a bone when I replaced it 2 weeks ago. That should help heat dissipation. Now, you also mentioned a Cooler Master heatsink, which I assume is the EVO 212 (I also have that). Make sure you blow out that heatsink with an air compressor if you have one. Also ensure that your exhaust fans are clear of dust, make sure they are not obstructed, and check case air flow (cable management is important to enable good airflow.

By setting everything to factory now you should be able to get rid of your issues, and the cooling methods I suggested (nearly at no cost) might be able to allow you to retry overclocking once you get it all done.

Good luck!

 

[kmfa1988]

I have an FX 8320 along with an R7 260X (About 4 years old for my build. Even modest overclocking can cause random blackscreens out of nowhere. With these blackscreens I can still hear audio fine but video is completely cut off. This sounds a lot like your problem. For AMD cards, a program called WattMan (Radeon Settings) will set all overclocking back to default if an error is detected. I'm not sure about how Nvidia handles it, but do go into the Nvidia control panel and make sure EVERYTHING is set back to normal. This seems to be an issue that only stemed from your decision to overclock, correct?

Now, as for the cooling, I would suggest replacing both the GPU and CPU thermal paste if you never have. I use Arctic Silver 5 and it works wonderfully. My 4 year old GPU had the thermal paste completely DRY as a bone when I replaced it 2 weeks ago. That should help heat dissipation. Now, you also mentioned a Cooler Master heatsink, which I assume is the EVO 212 (I also have that). Make sure you blow out that heatsink with an air compressor if you have one. Also ensure that your exhaust fans are clear of dust, make sure they are not obstructed, and check case air flow (cable management is important to enable good airflow.

By setting everything to factory now you should be able to get rid of your issues, and the cooling methods I suggested (nearly at no cost) might be able to allow you to retry overclocking once you get it all done.

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply. I plan on doing some cleaning up on my system tomorrow. Wire management has always been a pet peeve of mine so thats not an issue. However I like the mention of doing my thermal paste on my cpu as I havent done it since I built it (over 4 years ago) why didnt I think of this facepalm. I have everything set back to factory settings, I just want to know if certain programs as mentioned in my original post take priority, MSI afterburner over Nvidia control panel?

Thanks again!

 

[SlayZombi]

I have an FX 8320 along with an R7 260X (About 4 years old for my build. Even modest overclocking can cause random blackscreens out of nowhere. With these blackscreens I can still hear audio fine but video is completely cut off. This sounds a lot like your problem. For AMD cards, a program called WattMan (Radeon Settings) will set all overclocking back to default if an error is detected. I'm not sure about how Nvidia handles it, but do go into the Nvidia control panel and make sure EVERYTHING is set back to normal. This seems to be an issue that only stemed from your decision to overclock, correct?

Now, as for the cooling, I would suggest replacing both the GPU and CPU thermal paste if you never have. I use Arctic Silver 5 and it works wonderfully. My 4 year old GPU had the thermal paste completely DRY as a bone when I replaced it 2 weeks ago. That should help heat dissipation. Now, you also mentioned a Cooler Master heatsink, which I assume is the EVO 212 (I also have that). Make sure you blow out that heatsink with an air compressor if you have one. Also ensure that your exhaust fans are clear of dust, make sure they are not obstructed, and check case air flow (cable management is important to enable good airflow.

By setting everything to factory now you should be able to get rid of your issues, and the cooling methods I suggested (nearly at no cost) might be able to allow you to retry overclocking once you get it all done.

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply. I plan on doing some cleaning up on my system tomorrow. Wire management has always been a pet peeve of mine so thats not an issue. However I like the mention of doing my thermal paste on my cpu as I havent done it since I built it (over 4 years ago) why didnt I think of this facepalm. I have everything set back to factory settings, I just want to know if certain programs as mentioned in my original post take priority, MSI afterburner over Nvidia control panel?

Thanks again!

As I mentioned, I have always run AMD so I have no experience with Nvidia. I suggest maybe uninstalling Afterburner temporarily just to see if that solves it. And yeah, 4 years without a thermal paste swap is pretty long. Your 2 year old GPU is probably good but if you want to swap it anyway. I suggest Arctic Silver 5 personally.